Dechert is to further bulk up its City arm with the hire of LG banking and finance partner Charles Malpass, with the recruitment marking Dechert's fifth partner hire in London since April.

The highly-regarded partner is set to join Dechert's London banking and finance team in January next year along with associate Catherine Gooding.

He joined LG as a partner in 2006 from Sidley Austin and specialises in structured finance deals and restructurings, with a particular emphasis on transactions with a real estate element.

Malpass' hire takes the total number of banking and finance partners in Dechert's City practice to four.

News of Malpass' move comes after the US firm last week sealed the hire of its fourth partner from DLA Piper in recent months, bringing in Miriam Gonzalez as the new head of its European Union trade and EU government affairs practice.

Dechert had already hired three partners from DLA Piper earlier this year, including global co-head of litigation and regulation Neil Gerrard and EMEA head of corporate crime and investigations Jonathan Pickworth in April.

Malpass' forthcoming departure is the latest in a string of exits from LG, coming after a three-partner financial litigation team quit in September for DLA Piper, while intellectual property and media head Georgie Collins left for Brown Rudnick last month.

Commenting on his move, Malpass said: "Dechert is a strong and well known US firm, with an international focus, and this sits well with my clients and my practice. It is also expanding in London, which is exciting."