Kirkland & Ellis has strengthened its City office with the addition of a partner from Shearman & Sterling.

Shearman capital markets partner Ward McKimm (pictured) is understood to have handed in his notice yesterday (12 April), with the intention of joining US rival Kirkland.

McKimm, who joined Shearman in New York in 1997 and moved to London in 1999, represents both underwriters and issuers on international securities offerings, with a particular focus on high yield transactions.

Most recently he acted on Dublin-headquartered Ardagh Glass's €1.7bn (£1.5bn) acquisition of Dutch metal packaging company Impress Cooperative from private equity house Doughty Hanson.

In a related move, US capital markets partner William Burke is due to relocate to London from Kirkland's Chicago office in early May.

The moves will take Kirkland's London office to 30 partners, and the number of capital markets partners to five. The firm's most recent London partner hire saw Howrey competition partner Shawn Goodman join last month, prior to which it had brought in private equity duo Gavin Gordon and David Arnold from Ashurst.

Kirkland chairman Jeffrey Hammes commented: "Our London office has had a strong transactional offering in M&A, private funds, debt finance, tax and restructuring for many years, but Ward's international capital markets experience adds a new dimension.

"Ward has a fantastic reputation as one of the leading US securities lawyers practising in London, and Bill, a highly regarded member of our US capital markets practice, will complement Ward's arrival and offer additional US capital markets support to our European clients."

The news comes against a backdrop of City law firms ramping up in high yield, a US product that many UK law firms have failed to crack, despite growing demand from clients.

Linklaters last year hired high yield specialist Mark Hageman from US firm Cravath Swaine & Moore for its City office, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer hired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett counsel Gil Strauss as a partner to bolster its acquisition finance and high yield practice last July.

Allen & Overy had previously brought in former Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy heavyweight Kevin Muzilla in a bid to bolster its credibility in the practice.