King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) competition partner Philipp Girardet has resigned from the firm to join Willkie Farr & Gallagher's London office.

Girardet will be joined in London by Rahul Saha, a senior associate in KWM's competition team. Their start dates are not yet known.

Girardet has been a partner at KWM since 2010, having joined the firm in 2007. His areas of expertise include mergers, cartels and competition litigation. He also has experience in advising on UK criminal cartel investigations.

He advised Universal Music Group on its £1.2bn acquisition of EMI Recorded Music in 2012.

Willkie Farr London managing partner Peter Burrell said: "Philipp's facility and deep experience with both EU and UK competition law will further expand Willkie's litigation, enforcement and compliance capabilities in London."

His exit follows the loss of a six-partner KWM private equity team in Paris in March, to Goodwin Procter. KWM is now suing both Goodwin and its former private equity partner Richard Lever, who joined Goodwin in May 2015, over the moves.

The highly regarded team included the firm's Paris managing partner Christophe Digoy. It is understood the team accounted for a significant amount of KWM's European revenues.

Meanwhile, in August, the firm's German head of funds Sonya Pauls resigned to join Clifford Chance.

Willkie Farr has been relatively quiet in the London market recently. Its last significant lateral partner hire was in October when it recruited Clyde & Co corporate partner Andy Tromans. He joined the firm's corporate and financial services practice in London.

Previously, it hired a pair of private equity partners – Matthew Dean and Claire McDaid – from Kirkland & Ellis in London in 2014.

In May this year, Willkie Farr made another high profile appointment, recruiting Bain Capital Credit's European general counsel Mark Fine as a partner for its London office.

KWM declined to comment.