Reed Smith partner Laura Brunnen and senior counsel Martin Bowen have advised on their first deal for the firm since joining from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) at the start of this year.

Bowen and private equity partner Brunnen (pictured above) led the US firm's team advising private equity house Graphite Capital and tyre manufacturer Micheldever Group (MTS) on the £215m acquisition of MTS by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, one of Japan's largest tyre manufacturers.

Bowen, who has a longstanding relationship with Graphite, began work on the deal while still at KWM, and brought the client across to his new firm.

While at legacy SJ Berwin in 2011, he advised the private equity house – which specialises in UK mid-market investments – on its £215m sale of shoe manufacturer Kurt Geiger to US clothing company The Jones Group.

Graphite senior partner Markus Golser said: "The Reed Smith private equity team, led by Laura Brunnen – who transitioned the sale process seamlessly from her former firm in the face of some adversity – delivered the deal spot on budget and on time."

Bowen and Brunnen joined Reed Smith as part of a 50-strong team that came over from KWM last month. Reed Smith Europe and Middle East head Tamara Box credited the KWM group's "clear team orientation" for driving the decision to make such an ambitious growth move, adding that the firm is now by no means resting on its laurels.

The hires saw Reed Smith pick up expertise in tax, financial regulatory, corporate and private equity, and Box said Reed Smith will continue to focus on these areas.

"You cannot overstate the importance of these spaces. In private equity especially we can – and will do – a lot more. We're looking at the media, energy, corporate life sciences, alternative lending and real estate spaces."

She said the firm's future growth plans include assessing further need in the European and Asian private equity markets, in particular.

Reed Smith's team hire from KWM is the largest to be made from the firm's collapsed European arm. The US firm has added eight partners to its London office including financial regulatory partners David Calligan, Tim Dolan, Tamasin Little and Adrian Brown; corporate partners Delphine Currie and Mark Sanders; and tax partner Gareth Amdor, as well as seven partners in Paris and two in Germany.

Other firms to have picked up teams of partners include Goodwin Procter, DLA Piper, Greenberg Traurig, Winston & Strawn, Baker McKenzie, Macfarlanes and Covington & Burling.