Latham & Watkins has hired Clifford Chance (CC) German banking and capital markets head Alexandra Hageluken in Frankfurt.

Hageluken joined CC in 1999 and made partner in 2006. She was appointed as the head of the German banking and capital markets practice in 2013 for a four year term.

She leaves the firm amid a restructuring in the country that will see around nine partners exit before the end of the year.

Hageluken's start date at Latham is still to be confirmed.

At Latham's Frankfurt office she will be reunited with CC's former global co-head of private equity Oliver Felsenstein who joined Latham from the magic circle firm in May.

The US firm also recruited CC private equity partner Burc Hesse in Munich in March. Both moves were unrelated to the review of CC's German operations.

In London, Latham has hired a trio of CC partners in recent years including Africa co-head Kem Ihenacho in 2014 and global private equity practice head David Walker and private equity partner Tom Evans in 2013. 

Dirk Oberbracht, office managing partner of Latham & Watkins in Frankfurt, said: "Hageluken is one of the most highly regarded leverage finance partners in Germany. She has a broad practice spanning more than fifteen years of experience advising on many of the market's landmark deals."

Other recent departures from Clifford Chance in Germany include the firm's Munich intellectual property (IP) head, Marc Holtorf, who left for Pinsent Masons. 

It is understood that no decision has been taken by CC management on whether to replace Holtorf and the firm would not be drawn on whether his departure was part of the restructuring in Germany.

Most of the exits amid CC's region-specific review have been partners from the corporate practice.

CC's German corporate head Arndt Stengel, who was based in Munich, quit for Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy in March, as two Duesseldorf corporate partners joined White & Case in the same month.