Offshore firm Mourant Ozannes has bulked up its London and Jersey offices with the hire of two partners from Walkers and Maples and Calder.

The firm has doubled the partner count in its London office with the hire of Robert Duggan for its investment funds practice. Duggan has joined from the London arm of Walkers where he was a partner for the past three years, having also spent time in the firm's Cayman Islands office.

Meanwhile, Simon Palmer has joined Mourant's Jersey-based investment funds practice from the Cayman arm of Maples and Calder, where he was a partner for seven years. Both moves are intended to strengthen Mourant's Cayman law capability.

Cayman Islands managing partner, Neal Lomax, said: "We are currently in the process of developing our Cayman law capability, which is a strategic priority for Mourant Ozannes.

"This strategy involves recruiting first-class personnel who have a proven track record and reputation in the Cayman Islands legal market. It also involves broadening our geographic coverage by extending our Cayman offering to other time zones."

The hires take partner headcount across the firm to 48, with 27 in its Jersey practice and two in London. The firm is looking to expand significantly over the next 18 months.

Mourant Ozannes is the product of a merger between Mourant du Feu & Jeune and Ozannes and went live on 1 May 2010, creating one of the largest offshore law firms in the world.