Hogan Lovells has strengthened its London corporate practice with the hire of Eversheds' Russia chief David Levin.

Levin, who joins the firm today (9 January), has been at Eversheds since 2008, before which he led US firm Chadbourne & Parke's London corporate practice.

At Eversheds, Levin had been dividing his time between London, Moscow and Kiev, and was recently sent on a six-month secondment to Russian firm Monastyrsky Zyuba Stepanov & Partners. His practice focuses on the energy sector and renewables initiatives in Russia.

Hogan Lovells global corporate co-head Andrew Skipper said: "Our London corporate finance practice has built great momentum over the course of this year, advising on deals such as the £4.9bin takeover of Northumbrian Water Group and SABMiller's AUS$11.5bn (£7.6bn) bid for Fosters. It is a good time for us to be hiring someone with David's experience in the energy sector."

Levin is also a former lawyer at legacy firms Mayer Brown & Platt and Lovells.

Levin added: "Hogan Lovells will give me the global platform to further build my practice. Energy is a key sector for the firm, particularly in the US and Europe. Having spent seven years at Lovells earlier in my career, I am looking forward to returning to the firm on a personal as well as a professional front."

The news comes after it emerged last week that Hogan Lovells has lost five highly-regarded energy partners in its Washington DC office to DLA Piper, including global energy co-chief Kevin Lipson.