Greenberg Traurig has gained 10 new clients following its recent hire of six partners from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) in London.

The partners joined Greenberg in London earlier this month alongside 25 lawyers from KWM's now defunct European arm, which went into administration last week (17 January).

Greenberg has confirmed that the team – which includes real estate funds partners Steven Cowins and Marc Snell – has brought the following private equity funds clients with them: Cain Hoy, CBRE Global Investment Partners, Europa Capital, M3 Capital Partners, Paloma Capital, Revcap, Brockton Capital and Rockspring, as well as retail giant Westfield and British Airways Pension Fund.

The other partners joining from KWM are real estate partner Matthew Priday, corporate finance partners Michael Goldberg and David Fitzgerald and tax partner Clive Jones.

Speaking to Legal Week, Greenberg's executive chairman Richard Rosenbaum (pictured above), said: "The move in London is very much in line with current strategy. We are growing the same areas in New York, Chicago, Berlin, Warsaw, Miami and Amsterdam, so it was a natural fit."

Rosenbaum added: "While our London office is excellent in what it does, it didn't really do much in private equity or real estate, and it didn't do any funds work".

Last year, Greenberg – known in the US for its real estate prowess – held merger talks with Berwin Leighton Paisner. However, those talks broke down, in part due to differences over culture.

Greenberg launched in London in 2009 as Greenberg Traurig Maher, with former Mayer Brown heavyweight Paul Maher joining as chair of its UK limited liability partnership. In September last year, the firm rebranded as Greenberg Traurig in the UK, dropping Maher's name from the masthead, although he remains London chair.