Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has hired high-profile M&A rainmaker Alan Paul from Allen & Overy (A&O), following the announcement of his retirement from the magic circle firm at the close of last year.

Paul (pictured) will join BLP next month as a senior consultant after 27 years as a partner at A&O. He has advised on more than 120 UK public takeovers throughout his career and is also well-known for his private equity work.

Key deals he has worked on include Macquarie's £8bn takeover of Thames Water in 2006, Alliance Unichem's 2005 merger with the Boots Group and Heineken's £7.8bn takeover of Scottish & Newcastle in 2008.

BLP has hired a number of ex-magic circle partners in recent months, including the notable hire of former Linklaters corporate chief David Barnes in March this year. He joined the firm after retiring from Linklaters last summer.

The firm also recruited finance partners Prashanth Satyadeva from Clifford Chance and Steve Clark from Dechert for its London office earlier this year.

Elsewhere, projects partner Andrei Baev moved to BLP from A&O at the close of last year, shortly after the firm hired a four-strong team from Linklaters in Germany to launch offices in Berlin and Frankfurt.

Paul said: "There are exciting developments taking place at BLP as they balance investment in their homegrown team with external recruitment. I look forward to being able to make my contribution to the firm's ambitious plans for its international corporate practice."

Paul, who was seconded to the UK Takeover Panel in the mid-1980s and is a member of the Panel's Rules Committee, said he did not intend to be a full-time partner at another law firm when his retirement was announced in November last year.