DLA Piper is set to hire a six-partner real estate team from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM).

KWM partners William Naunton, Cornelius Medvei, Edward Page, Jeremy Brooks, George Burrha and Bryan Pickup are all set to join DLA along with managing associate Omer Maroof, who is to join the firm as a partner.

They will join the firm, subject to a partner vote, along with eight lawyers and three trainees.

Naunton will co-head the real estate group at DLA alongside current UK head of real estate Laurence Rogers.

Rogers said: "The very unfortunate circumstances facing KWM have presented us with the opportunity to add a highly regarded small team with a strong client base, demonstrating our continued commitment to the real estate sector."

Naunton and former Eversheds senior partner Medvei were part of a team that joined KWM in 2014, along with tax partner Clive Jones. Naunton was appointed as head of KWM's Europe, UK and Middle East (EUME) real estate group earlier this year, while Pickup is also a former real estate practice head, having led the department at legacy SJ Berwin for 10 years until 2007.

Meanwhile, Jones is set to join Greenberg Traurig along with five other real estate partners, as revealed by Legal Week earlier today.

Jones, real estate funds partners Steven Cowins and Marc Snell, real estate partner Matthew Priday, corporate finance partners Michael Goldberg and David Fitzgerald are all set to join the US firm's City base alongside their teams.

It is understood around 25 lawyers could move with the partners.

A host of firms are currently in discussions to take on various partners from KWM EUME, which is heading towards a pre-pack administration that is likely to happen next month.

Reed Smith is in talks with a large number of partners, understood to include competition partner Tom Usher and joint head of life sciences and healthcare Cameron Firth, as well as a number of tax partners including London tax head Gareth Amdor.

Usher and Firth are also understood to be among partners talking to Winston & Strawn.

Other firms that are interested in taking on parts of KWM Europe include KWM's own Asian arm and Mayer Brown.

Dentons had previously been talking to KWM's European management about a potential deal to take over the EUME business but pulled out of discussions recently, leaving no single-firm takeover of the business on the table.