Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has recruited Herbert Smith private client tax partner Rupert Ticehurst for the firm's City base.

Ticehurst has joined BLP's London office as a partner in the the UK top 20 firm's tax department.

He has been a partner at Herbert Smith since 2005 and headed the firm's private wealth and charities practice. He advises on tax and trusts, in particular legal disputes for families, individuals and charities for UK and international clients.

He will join BLP's trusts and personal tax team, which is headed by City partner Jonathan Kropman and sits within the larger tax team led by Michael Wistow. The hire takes the number of partners in the tax department to 26 firmwide.

Commenting on the hire, Kropman said: "We are one of the few City firms with such a strong private client team. UK and, in growing numbers, international clients face ever more complex challenges from increasingly assertive tax authorities around the world. At the same time trusts are seeing more disputes particularly at the ultra high net worth end of the spectrum.

"Trustees, family offices and the individuals for whom we act value our broad range of tax expertise as well as the skills in BLP's other key disciplines such as real estate, funds and private equity where our advice is so useful to families, their family offices, trusts and private banks for whom we act."

The news follows BLP's recent launch of a Southeast Asia private client practice led out of its Singapore office by Simon Michaels, who has joined the firm from Baker & McKenzie.