Dewey & LeBoeuf has made a double private equity partner hire from Taylor Wessing including private equity head Mark Davis.

Davis is joining the US firm's City office alongside private equity partner Russell Van Praagh.

For Dewey, the hire marks the launch of a dedicated private equity practice in the London office, with some of the key client relationships of the two new partners including heavyweight private equity houses such as The Carlyle Group and Oakley Capital.

Taylor Wessing has appointed Martin Winter to head the private equity group in anticipation of Davis' departure. Winter had previously been head of the private equity practice group but is now the firm's senior partner. The firm will have five dedicated private equity partners following the departures. The team also has nine associates.

Davis advises on cross-border private equity and other M&A transactions, with particular expertise in major leveraged buyouts, and has a close working knowledge of the private equity market in the Middle East.

Van Praagh advises on private equity and investment fund acquisitions and exits, with broad experience of deals in a range of industries, including the automotive, retail and energy sectors. He has advised on transactions across the UK, Europe and the US.

Dewey London M&A practice head Stephen Horvath told Legal Week: "We have hired them because they are two brilliant private equity lawyers and we didn't have a specialist group in this area in the London office. We do a lot of work in the area but you need to have the lawyers with the market reputation to win and maintain mandates. These partners have a very broadly based clientele and we have a London practice which is broad and very well able to support their practice."

Davis commented: "Russell and I are both very excited by the opportunities that Dewey & LeBoeuf's international office network and top quality client base offer. Alongside these new prospects, there are a number of similarities between the firm's international presence and strategy and our own experience, which makes us certain that we will immediately feel a part of the global team."