Goodwin Procter has hired Ashurst tax partner Heiko Penndorf as it continues to build up the Frankfurt office it launched last year.

Penndorf, who specialises in national and international tax law and has particular expertise in loan portfolio and securitisation transactions, will join Goodwin's Frankfurt office once he has served out his notice.

His move makes him the fifth partner to leave Ashurst for Goodwin in Frankfurt in about six months. The US firm hired a four-partner team from the UK firm in November last year to launch the office, which marks Goodwin's second European office after London.

Corporate and finance partners Peter Junghänel, Stephan Kock, Marc Bohne and Lars Jessen all joined Goodwin in Frankfurt during January this year.

Real estate specialist Junghänel served as managing partner of Ashurst's German offices from 2009 to 2013, while Kock led Ashurst's German international finance department for eight years.

Penndorf was an associate at Ashurst before joining Mayer Brown as a partner, rejoining Ashurst in 2012.

Goodwin London chair David Evans, also a former Ashurst partner, said of his hire: "Driven by domestic and cross-border client demand, Goodwin Frankfurt has grown significantly since launching just a few months ago."

Last week, White & Case recruited its second London partner from Ashurst in as many weeks, with the hire of the firm's London disputes head, Mark Clarke.

Clarke's hire follows that of equity capital markets partner Jonathan Parry, whose move from Ashurst to White & Case was announced in April.

Clarke, who is also global co-head of Ashurst's resources and infrastructure disputes group, has a practice focused on disputes in the energy and infrastructure sectors where he acts for governments, state-owned entities and private companies in both litigation and arbitration.