BlackRock has picked up former Europe and Middle East general counsel of Barclays' investment arm Erica Handling, who has joined the funds manager in a similar role.

Handling, who left Barclays at the end of March, moved over to BlackRock earlier this month.

She replaces James DesMarais as EMEA GC, who retired in December to return to the US.

DesMarais spent nine years with the funds manager, seven of which were in London, and served as chief compliance officer of EMEA and Asia-Pacific before taking on the GC role.

Between DesMarais' departure and Handling's arrival, BlackRock drafted in one of its senior US lawyers, Richard Ostrander, to fill the position on an interim basis.

Handling's exit is one of several departures to have affected Barclays' in-house legal team this year.

Other notable exits include Joanna Carver, Barclays' global head of legal for corporate banking, who left the bank around March; managing director of litigation and investigations Jonathan Peddie, who stepped down in March; global GC for corporate and investment banking Judith Shepherd, who is in the process of leaving the bank; and Dave Hart, Barclays' former head of litigation, who took up his new post as head of litigation at BT last month.

Rick Vassell, the bank's global GC for wealth and investment management, is also understood to have left late last year.

Handling's former position at Barclays is currently being filled by Asia-Pacific GC Simon Croxford, who has moved back to London to do the job. He is also currently still filling his Asia role until a successor is appointed.

The mounting exits are understood to be the result of an attempt to streamline the bank's legal function as it undergoes a wider restructuring exercise that is set to see the bank cut 19,000 jobs.