DLA Piper has hired JP Morgan litigation and employment counsel Julie Gorham as its new head of employment for Asia, in a move to boost capacity.

Gorham will work alongside the firm's Asia Pacific practice head Pattie Walsh, who also oversees the London employment team.

She was previously associate general counsel and executive director at JP Morgan in Hong Kong for four years, advising the bank on employment law and internal investigations, as well as contentious regulatory proceedings and civil litigation.

Prior to that Gorham was with magic circle firm Allen & Overy in the city, training and working with the firm in London before relocating to Hong Kong.

DLA Piper now has two employment partners in Asia Pacific, in addition to a team of associates in Hong Kong and two Of counsels in mainland China – Chris Lin in Beijing and Ying Wang in Shanghai.

In Australia it lost a team of 23 to national outfit HWL Ebsworth in November; losing three partners Jenne Tzavaras, Joanna Apostolopoulos, Ivan Medak and their teams who specialise in statutory workers' compensation insurance.

However the firm has also been recruiting in Asia, chiefly on the US side as it looks to build bridges between its American and Asia offices, the firm's global co-head Tony O'Malley taking an active role in the strategy.

Earlier this month the firm took on M&A partner Paul Chen as its new head of corporate for the region, replacing Mabel Lui, who joined Winston & Strawn with a three-lawyer team just days earlier.

Related: DLA appoints US M&A partner as new Asia corporate head