DLA Piper has bolstered its City energy and infrastructure and project finance teams with the appointment of a former CMS Cameron McKenna partner and a lawyer from Ofgem.

Former CMS partner Trevor Butcher, who left his previous firm at the end of April, is due to join DLA Piper in August.

Butcher specialises in international projects with an emphasis on the energy and infrastructure sectors, including private finance initiatives and public 
private partnership road and rail projects.

Meanwhile, Irene Hurrel joined DLA as a partner last month from the in-house legal team at energy watchdog Ofgem, where she headed the sustainable development division legal team. Hurrel, who specialises in UK and EU energy regulation, will head DLA's new dedicated energy practice, which is an offshoot of the regulatory practice.

DLA head of infrastructure and commodity finance Charles Morrison commented: "We take the view that it is essential to have someone like Irene in the team who is well-regarded in the sector and on the regulatory side. It is this specialisation and real industry knowledge that clients want."

Finance and projects group head Bob Charlton added: "Trevor will strengthen our international projects practice and help us to reach critical mass in our London office, where we are very busy at the moment with a number of significant PPP projects."