Hogan Lovells has added a third partner to its new Luxembourg office with the hire of tax counsel Gerard Neiens from Allen & Overy (A&O).

Neiens – who will join the firm as a partner on 16 September – will join investment funds partner Pierre Reuter and corporate partner Jean-Michel Schmit, who were recruited from Benelux firm NautaDutilh, along with a team of four Nauta associates.

The new Luxembourg office, which opened on 1 August, will focus on investment funds work.

Neiens was admitted as an avocat in Luxembourg in 2004 and as an avocat a la Cour two years later.

Global co-CEO David Harris said: "Having an experienced and high-profile tax lawyer on the ground is fundamental to the development of our office in Luxembourg, which is an increasingly important jurisdiction for investment funds and tax. Gerard's arrival was planned to complement that of Pierre and Jean-Michel and enhances our client offering in the investment funds arena across a number of industries."

Neiens added: "There are a lot of opportunities in funds and tax work in Luxembourg at the moment with the trend from offshore to onshore. In addition, Hogan Lovells' strong US presence is an opportunity to increase work from the US in Luxembourg."

The Luxembourg base is Hogan Lovells' 19th in Europe. The firm also recently expanded into Brazil with the launch of an office in Rio de Janeiro.