Jasper Helder, the chair of Baker & McKenzie's EMEA international trade practice group, has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld's London office.

The move comes as companies face growing uncertainty about the future of cross-border commerce in the wake of the Brexit vote and Donald Trump's US presidential victory.

Thomas McCarthy, leader of Akin Gump's international trade practice, said that Helder's hire reflected his group's interest in transforming from a Washington DC-based practice to one with greater global presence.

"The changes that we're seeing have just accelerated the need for our services among a wide range of clients because of the uncertainty," McCarthy said.

Helder said that Brexit and Trump's campaign, which emphasised upending US trade agreements, put trade regulations in global headlines, furthering a trend that has been in motion for several years.

"Trade regulation as a foreign policy tool has been used more and more across the world," Helder said. "In companies, there's also a trend [where] they now recognise that, if you need legal advice on how to navigate all those different polices, just having a German or Dutch lawyer doesn't cut it anymore."

Helder will relocate from Baker & McKenzie's Amsterdam office to Akin Gump's London office, a move that he called a 'Brentry'. Despite the post-Brexit uncertainties over trade between the UK and Europe, Helder said that "negotiators [in trade deals between the two entities] will find a way to accommodate business interests".

McCarthy said Akin Gump has known of Helder and worked with him on a variety of matters going back 10 years, including one involving United Parcel Service on customs and sanctions issues.

Helder represents European and US clients on export control, sanctions, customs, trade agreements and other trade and regulatory issues. He joined Baker & McKenzie from Bird & Bird in 2010.