While the likes of Latham & Watkins and Goodwin Procter have grabbed headlines with a flurry of splashy hires, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has continued to steadily build what is becoming a formidable European presence, thanks to some significant moves in London, Paris and Germany.

It's been a busy few months in Europe for the firm, which last week bolstered its London office with the hire of Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) energy co-head Anna Howell – a move that caps a challenging time for HSF's energy group after fellow co-head John Balsdon joined Latham at the end of 2016.

Howell's hire came shortly after Gibson Dunn ended a five-year search for a Paris litigation practice by capturing a four-partner team from Ashurst earlier this month, while in May it bolstered its Frankfurt office with another hire from Latham & Watkins – this time of dispute resolution and white-collar defence partner Finn Zeidler. Zeidler's recruitment came after Gibson Dunn originally launched an office in the city last year with the hire of two Latham partners.

Gibson Dunn now has five offices in Europe, with Brussels and Munich sitting alongside bases in Frankfurt, London and Paris.

Although the firm may have been ramping up its investment in Europe recently, it actually has one of the longest-standing Paris offices of any US law firm, having opened in the French capital in 1967. In fact, in a surprising quirk, it was the firm's first office outside California – established a full 15 years before it even went to New York.

For decades, the firm's French practice focused almost entirely on transactional work. But as the market emerged from the most recent recession, the firm came up with a new strategy to broaden the Paris office into areas that would complement its practice both locally and in the US – most notably in litigation.

"Our growth [in Europe] is driven by a very simple statement: to offer our clients the same practice strength that we have in the US," says Paris office head and international management committee chair Bernard Grinspan. "It has taken some time [to establish a litigation practice in France], but we wanted to find the right group that fits with our culture and has a compelling business proposition."

It's a similar story in London, albeit in reverse. Unlike many of the elite US firms, which have narrower practices in the UK that often focus on private equity or finance, Gibson Dunn is seeking to build a broader offering that spans a wide range of transactional and litigation work. London corporate chair Charlie Geffen says the aim is to create a "classic top-end" London corporate finance practice, and the firm has made a number of significant hires during the past three years to that effect.

The strategy appears to be working. Gibson Dunn has in recent years become a solid US performer for UK public M&A – although still not quite in the same league as Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, which remains the American firm to beat in that area. And following its hiring of a two-partner team from Herbert Smith Freehills in 2015, it now also has a strong capital markets practice.

The firm recently announced its 20th consecutive year of increased revenue and its 21st straight year of profit growth

Grinspan says that neither the firm's recent European activity, nor its longer-term strategy in the region, is being governed by the UK's decision to leave the EU. "We are definitely not guided by Brexit," he says. "There will be some changes and we are looking at it as potentially an opportunity, but London is not suddenly going to collapse or be replaced [as a key hub for business and finance] by Paris overnight."

Likewise, Geffen says the firm has not been cashing in on the newfound strength of the US dollar against the pound, which has significantly weakened since the Brexit referendum last June. He does admit, however, that the increased buying power has been a boon to all American firms operating in London, which generally pay their UK-based partners in dollars.

"Nobody makes big strategic decisions just on the basis of an FX movement, but the stronger dollar clearly has been very helpful to US firms," he explains.

Gibson Dunn's strong financial performance won't hurt either. The firm recently announced its 20th consecutive year of increased revenue and its 21st straight year of profit growth, with average profit per equity partner hitting $3.3m.

Looking ahead, Grinspan says the firm has no specific targets on headcount or revenue growth for Europe. But he is clear that the firm isn't done hiring just yet.

In addition to continuing its plan to develop existing practices and win greater market share, Geffen says the firm is looking to "fill some gaps". High on the agenda is adding financial regulatory capability in London – Gibson Dunn has a strong contentious practice in the US and acted for Swiss bank UBS in the Libor rigging scandal.

It also wants to expand its antitrust offering following a double hire in 2013 from the now defunct Office of Fair Trading, led by cartel and criminal enforcement head Ali Nikpay.

In France, the firm is on the hunt for more litigation partners and specialist white-collar expertise, and has longer-term plans to expand the antitrust practice to the country.

"We're not intending to stop here," Grinspan comments. "What we want to achieve is to build the best quality practices we can. That takes time and patience, but if you want high-end practices then you need to find the best quality lawyers."