Berwin Leighton Paisner has hired a real estate team from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to join its Moscow office, Goltsblat BLP (GBLP).

The team consists of Vladislav Sourkov who is current head of Akin Gump's Russian real estate practice, Rustam Aliev who will be joining as a partner and senior counsel Dmitry Maltsev. The Moscow-based trio – who were previously at CMS – are expected to join GBLP in January 2014.

The new additions will make GBLP's real estate practice, led by Vitaly Mozharowski, one of the largest in Russia with 19 lawyers and four partners.

Sourkov said: "My team and I are looking forward to hitting the ground running and working on the many domestic and international real estate deals that GBLP is involved in."

BLP international real estate partner, James Knox, said: "As Russia is forecast to see investment in the sector reach between $7-8bn this year, it is already one of the largest real estate markets in Europe – with Moscow the third largest real estate investment city after London and Paris."

BLP has over 360 real estate lawyers worldwide and has worked on several international transactions this year, including Allianz's €300m acquisition of the office complex 'Skyper' in Frankfurt.

The hires follow the announcement in November that Karen Friebe, the former global co-chair of DLA Piper's hospitality and leisure group, will join BLP's London real estate practice next year.

At the beginning of the month BLP revealed a 6% increase in revenue at the half-year point, following a series of disappointing financial results for the firm in recent years.