Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has re-hired prominent high yield partner Gil Strauss less than two years after he joined Weil Gotshal & Manges in London,Legal Week can reveal.

Strauss, who is set to make the move on 8 September, was previously an of counsel at Simpson before being brought directly into the equity at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 2010, in what was an unusual move for the magic circle firm.

A specialist in US securities law, Strauss is one of the City's leading advisers of equity sponsors and underwriters on high yield bond offerings, restructurings and initial public offerings.

Strauss is one of four leaders of Weil's capital markets practice, alongside New York partners Matthew Bloch and Alexander Lynch and Warsaw partner Anna Frankowska.

He joined Weil at the beginning of 2013, following the firm's hire of former London banking head Stephen Lucas from Linklaters.

In a shock move earlier this year, Lucas departed for Kirkland & Ellis, three years after joining Weil from Linklaters.

At Simpson, Strauss will work alongside fellow high yield partners Nick Shaw and London office managing partner Greg Conway. The hire is understood to have been driven by client demand for high yield advice.

"Stephen (Lucas) worked very hard to get Gil to join, and to help build the high yield relationship with Advent," one Weil source told Legal Week. "It doesn't surprise me that Gil will have been looking elsewhere after Stephen left."

Strauss is also understood to have been in talks with another US firm before opting to join Weil.

When Strauss signed for Weil at the end of 2012, office managing partner Mike Francies said: "Gil is viewed by sponsor and banking clients alike as one of the best high yield lawyers in the market.

"Hiring someone of Gil's calibre was a natural step to take – his addition leverages our US high yield capabilities in one of the key services groups to service the private equity and financial institutions in the market."

His departure leaves Weil with David Meredith as its sole high yield partner in London.

Earlier this year, Strauss co-led a team advising lenders including Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Barclays on the financing for the acquisition of Flint Group by Goldman Sachs and Koch Industries.

He also led a team leading for Aston Martin Holdings on its private offering of $165m high yield notes in March.

Simpson Thacher was not immediately available for comment.