Allen & Overy's (A&O's) Italy office has seen a seven-strong team of lawyers depart for White & Case, including partner Paola Leocani (pictured).

Leocani joins the US firm's Milan office alongside a counsel, three associates and two trainees.

Leocani joined A&O's international capital markets practice in 1998 and was made up as a partner in 2006. She has worked on mandates including the Italian Government's €18bn (£15.4bn) bond sale in 2012, the third issue of a four-year inflation-linked bond.

The US firm has recently made strides to bulk ups its European capital markets presence. Earlier this year the firm picked up a five-strong capital markets team from Linklaters in Paris, and secured the hire of Latham & Watkins Madrid corporate chief Juan Manuel De Remedios to launch a Spanish offering focusing on M&A and debt and equity capital markets.

White & Case global head of capital markets Stuart Matty said the expansion of the firm's capital markets practice is one of the firm's strategic priorities.

Meanwhile, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy has sealed the hire of A&O New York derivatives partner John Williams.

Williams joined A&O in 2003, where he was made up as a partner in 2007.
Key recent work Williams has been involved in includes advising the Canadian and European banks during negotiations with US regulators on compliance with the Volcker Rule, a major proposed federal reform on propriety trading.

His hire comes after Milbank added A&O US head of financial services regulatory Douglas Landy to its banking group in New York in March this year.

Landy had worked at the magic circle firm since 2008 after joining from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft. While at A&O Landy represented some of the largest US and foreign financial institutions, including JP Morgan, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.