Linklaters has made its second lateral partner hire in New York in a week, with the recruitment of restructuring partner Margot Schonholtz from Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

Schonholtz focuses on debt restructurings, loan workouts and asset sale transactions, with recent key roles including advising the creditors on the Chapter 11 cases of Sabine Oil & Gas and Samson Resources.

She joined Willkie in 2010 from Kaye Scholer, where she also spent five years after arriving as part of a five-partner team which left Clifford Chance's (CC's) New York office in 2005. In 2004 she was awarded 'super-point' status by CC, granting her a pay package above the top of the magic circle firm's lockstep.

Her move marks the second recent high-profile New York lateral hire for Linklaters, after the firm last week announced it was bringing in Baker & Mckenzie white collar crime head Douglas Tween.

Linklaters restructuring head Tony Bugg said: "Linklaters' strategy is based on meeting clients' needs and their market opportunities and US bankruptcy law is increasingly becoming a key component to global restructurings."

US head Scott Bowie added: "Margot's arrival further evidences our commitment to investing in our US practice in a manner consistent with our global ambitions."

The latest moves mark a break from Linklaters' recent cautious approach in the US market.

Previous hires in the US include Weil Gotshal & Manges lawyer Michael Kam, who was recruited as a senior counsel and head of its US executive compensation and ERISA group in May 2014. The firm's last partner hires in the US were in Washington when it brought in two tax partners in May 2013 from now-defunct Bingham McCutchen. Including Schonholtz, it now has 23 partners in the US.

The firm's US strategy was a  key topic of discussion during the recent managing partner election process, which culminated yesterday with the appointment of banking head Gideon Moore to the role.