Latham & Watkins has made its sixth partner hire in London in two months, with the recruitment of Slaughter and May structured finance partner Sanjev Warna-kula-suriya.

The move represents a rare example of a partner leaving the elite magic circle firm in London for a rival. Warna-kula-suriya is set to join Latham as a partner in the corporate department.

Latham London managing partner Jay Sadanandan said: "In today's market, sophisticated investors are increasingly sourcing and deploying capital in a variety of new and creative ways. Sanjev is a true innovator, who over the years has advised on many of the market's most groundbreaking transactions."

Witold Balaban, global co-chair of Latham's financial institutions group, added: "Sanjev has an exceptional reputation in the City and he will play a key role in the continued expansion of our capabilities in offering financial institution clients an integrated top-tier global platform for their cross-border transactional needs."

The hire is the latest in a string of laterals this year for Latham in the City.

The US firm announced on Friday that it was hiring Allen & Overy's former banking head (and failed senior partner contender) Stephen Kensell in London – marking its fifth partner hire in the City in around two months.

The firm also hired Dechert real estate finance partner Jeremy Trinder and GE Capital real estate counsel Quentin Gwyer as partners during June and July.

Also in June, Latham hired Ashurst global co-head of regulation Rob Moulton and last month it recruited fellow Ashurst restructuring partner Simon Baskerville.

Warna-kula-suriya made partner at the magic circle firm in 1997. His start date at Latham is yet to be confirmed.

He has more than 25 years' experience advising private equity sponsors, hedge funds, commercial and investment banks and corporates on range of capital raising and investment transactions.

Warna-kula-suriya's clients include Deutsche Bank, US investment management businesses Fortress and Highbridge, and Swedish financial services group Nordea.

He is ranked in Chambers UK as a leading individual in the 'capital markets: structured finance and derivatives' section.

Slaughters senior partner Steve Cooke said:  "Sanjev has had a career with us spanning some 28 years, of which he has been a partner for 19 years.  We wish him all happiness for the future."

Lateral partner departures from Slaughter and May are rare. Those that have made the jump include tax partner Graham Iversen, who left the firm in late 2014 to become head of Greenberg Traurig Maher's London tax practice, and more recently, finance partner Mark Dwyer who joined DLA Piper in December 2015.