Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has hired Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate partner Ben Spiers, in a rare lateral hire in London.

Spiers is the firm's first lateral hire in London since 2014, when the firm hired high yield partner Gil Strauss from Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Spiers is the relationship partner for a number of key Freshfields clients including Hewlett-Packard, BT and British medical equipment manufacturing company Smith & Nephew. Other clients include Sony, European publishing house Axel Springer, and Morgan Stanley.

His practice focuses on M&A and restructurings, particularly in the technology sector. He was head of Freshfields' technology media and telecoms sector group for five years.

Greg Conway, the managing partner of Simpson Thacher's London office, said that Spiers "is an excellent addition to our London M&A practice", because of his "wealth of knowledge and excellent reputation".

Spiers said: "Joining Simpson Thacher is a unique opportunity and one I am looking forward to immensely.  I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work for two great firms in my career."

Previous Freshfields partners to have left for US firms include its executive partner Michael Lacovara, who left to join Latham & Watkins in New York in June, and a four-partner team in Paris that left to join Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe in May.

The hire of Spiers is Simpson's first London lateral hire since it brought in high yield star Strauss from Weil in 2014. In 2015, the firm promoted three associates to partner in its London office.