Proskauer Rose has further strengthened its City funds team with the hire of private funds partner Kate Simpson from US rival Kirkland & Ellis.

Simpson, who trained at SJ Berwin and made partner at Kirkland in 2008, has worked with clients including CVC Partners, LaSalle Investment Management, Lion Capital, Palamon Capital Partners and Change Capital Partners.

The hire comes after the announcement yesterday (27 July) that two SJ Berwin partners are joining Proskauer, with City funds partners Nigel van Zyl and Oliver Rochman set to join the US firm when they have served out their notice periods.

Van Zyl has been a partner in SJ Berwin's private funds group since 2007, having joined the firm in 2000, and his clients include HgCapital, Lion Capital, Hermes Private Equity, Unilever and Rabobank.

Proskauer's global co-head of private investment funds David Tegeler commented: "Nigel, Kate and Oliver are a tremendous complement to our private investment fund capabilities in London and around the world."

He added: "They bring a proven track record of success representing many of the most prominent private equity firms and investors in Europe, Asia and emerging markets, and that experience will be extremely valuable to our clients as we enter into a period of increased fundraising activity and a growing secondaries market, with regulatory changes looming on the horizon."

Proskauer also added to the team with the hire of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) funds partner Peter McGowan in June this year. McGowan, who was a partner at Clifford Chance for seven years, spent six years as a partner in BLP's financial services and funds practice.