Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has poached Fried Frank senior partner Valerie Ford Jacob, along with corporate partners Michael Levitt and Paul Tropp, as it continues its hiring spree in New York.

Jacob, senior partner of Fried Frank and head of the firm's global capital markets practice, joined the firm in 1978 and made partner in 1986.

She was head of the London office until earlier this year, though – as of this week – was listed on the firm's website as splitting her time between New York and the City.

She advises both issuers and underwriters in in all types of securities offerings, including initial public offerings, secondary offerings, high-yield offerings, mezzanine and bridge financings, as well as regulatory matters.

As co-managing partner of the firm, she helped spearhead the ultimately unsuccessful talks between Fried Frank and Ashurst in 2003.

She stepped down from the co-chair role earlier this year, having initially intended to remain in the joint leadership role with chairman David Greenwald until March 2015.

Levitt and Trop were also longstanding members of Fried Frank, having been made partners in 2001 and 2005 respectively.

The Fried Frank trio is the latest in a string of lateral hires by Freshfields in New York, as the magic circle firm continues with a major push into the US transactional market.

On Tuesday, the firm secured the hire of former Shearman & Sterling global M&A head Peter Lyons, building on the creation of two new management positions earlier in the month.

Former Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz's partner Mitchell Presser has been recruited to lead Freshfields' US M&A practice, while former Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom banking partner James Douglas has come in to head the firm's US leveraged finance practice.

Another Wall Street heavyweight takes Freshfields nearer to its target of 25 transactional team parters in New York.

In April, Freshfields also succeeded in hiring another US white shoe capital markets partner in the shape of Ash Qureshi, formerly of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, for its London corporate team.

The magic circle has traditionally found breaking into the New York market testing. Some observers, however, are upbeat about the prospects for Freshfields' growing transactions practice.

"Their strategy is quite good actually," commented one rival magic circle partner. "The question will be getting enough M&A work in to be a credible player. M&A has picked up in general so I think you can afford to have something out there without worrying too much."

Other commentators, however, are unsure as to the merits of the strategy.

"I doubt they are going to be generating vast amounts of new business," said a former magic circle partner. "It won't be dissimilar to all the US firms in London trying to break into the magic circle. A lot of work they do is for existing clients, especially private equity."