Two Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) London partners are to depart the firm, to Bird & Bird and Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Real estate partner Anthea Bamford is joining Weil Gotshal & Manges and BLP's head of hotels group Karen Friebe is moving to Bird & Bird.

They are the first City partner exits from BLP since it announced merger talks with US firm Bryan Cave last month (16 October).

Bamford first joined BLP in 2016 as a partner from Clifford Chance (CC), where she was a senior associate. She had spent nearly 10 years with CC, having joined the firm from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) as an associate.

Weil London managing partner Mike Francies said: "We are pleased Anthea is joining the firm at a time when we are building momentum with our real assets practice…Her expertise will supplement our full-service offering for real assets clients covering corporate, funds, financing and real estate."

Weil has built up its City real assets practice recently with other laterals including, in April, Baker McKenzie real estate finance partner Paul Hibbert and HSF's London head of private equity James MacArthur.

Real estate partner Friebe joined BLP in 2014 from DLA Piper, where she was a partner. Her practice focuses on the development, acquisition and disposal of hotels and other types of property in the hospitality and leisure sector, in addition to general commercial real estate matters.

Previous exits from BLP in London include corporate finance partners Julian Stanier and Gareth Jones who joined Pinsent Masons at the start of October.

However, it has been strengthening in areas such as litigation, where in September it sealed the triple hire of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's former Asia disputes head, Richard Chalk, and Vinson & Elkins arbitration partner George Burn in London, alongside HSF's Thailand head of dispute resolution Gavin Margetson.

The firm could push through its merger with Bryan Cave as soon as 1 January next year, according to sources close to the firm.

It is understood that BLP partners are expecting to vote on the deal in the next four weeks.