Mayer Brown has hired Ashurst finance partner Doo-Soon Choi in Hong Kong.

Choi is the latest partner to exit Ashurst following a spate of departures from the firm's London office. His practice focuses on a number of areas including leverage finance, syndicated loans and real estate finance.

Choi worked in London and Australia, where he was seconded in 2012, before moving to Hong Kong in 2014. He was promoted to partner at Ashurst in 2007.

Richard Stock, co-leader of the firm's banking and finance practice, said: "With his background in complex, cross-border acquisition finance for clients across a variety of industries, Doo-Soon is a valuable addition to our Hong Kong office."

He joins shortly after the arrival of Latham & Watkins corporate partner Rod Brown, who joined Mayer Brown in Singapore in March.

In London, Ashurst has seen a number of exits in recent months. Latham recruited restructuring and insolvency partner Simon Baskerville from Ashurst last month, less than a fortnight after hiring Rob Moulton, Ashurst's global co-head of financial regulation.

Meanwhile, White & Case hired London disputes head Mark Clarke and equity capital markets partner Jonathan Parry earlier this year.

Ashurst released its financial results last month, announcing the firm's turnover had dropped by 10% to £505m in 2015-16, down from £561m last year. Profit per equity partner plunged further still, with partners to take home an average of £603,000, 19% down from last year's figure of £747,000.

New managing partner Paul Jenkins told Legal Week he is looking to "draw a line under" the firm's financial performance, which has fallen two years in a row. Jenkins said: "We did have a tough year and I was disappointed with the results. It's now very much about me getting out there and bringing partners along with me to improve the firm's position. It's very much about improving our profitability."