Fieldfisher has bolstered its regulatory practice ahead of Brexit by bringing in ex-UK Prime Minister David Cameron's former legal adviser, Andrew Hood, from Dechert as a partner.

His hire represents a coup for Fieldfisher as the critical phase of the Brexit negotiations nears. Between October 2014 and January 2016, Hood served as general counsel of the Prime Minister's office, helping the government develop policy and providing regulatory, constitutional and litigation advice ahead of 2016's Brexit referendum.

He spent more than 13 years as a lawyer and negotiator for the UK Government in total, including three years in Brussels. He also worked as a lawyer at the Foreign Office and was head of international and EU law at the Attorney General's office between August 2014 and January 2016.

During his time with the Prime Minister's office he was heavily involved in Brexit-related matters, before leaving in 2016 to join Dechert as a director in the firm's international trade and government regulation team. At the US firm, he advised on matters such as export licence grants and international EU and UN sanctions regimes, working alongside practice co-chair, Miriam Gonzalez.

"I enjoyed my time working with Miriam, but I was looking for a move – and I didn't want a big firm," Hood told Legal Week. "I wanted to do work that captured the intersection of regulatory and other advisory work."

He added: "Fieldfisher has a much wider offering at a sectoral level, particularly in tech and energy, as well as financial services. And they're also leaders in data. That breadth and expertise ties in well with my background in government and trade advisory work."

At Fieldfisher, he will be working with the City firm's Brexit taskforce chief and regulatory group co-head John Cassels to develop the firm's trade and Brexit expertise. He will sit on the taskforce alongside Cassels.

"Brexit is a huge factor in terms of press and business attention, so there is an immediate demand from clients and companies," said Hood. He added: "Longer term, it will impact how clients prepare themselves in regulatory and trading dimensions, and the deals they do both in the EU and outside.

"Concerns like anti-dumping and sanctions issues will need to be addressed in the UK. Fieldfisher has seen this. It has great breadth in its practices and wants to expand its regulatory offering."

Fieldfisher made more than 20 lateral hires during the 2017-18 financial year, including former Dentons UK intellectual property head John Linneker and Shepherd and Wedderburn data privacy partner Judy Krieg in London. The firm saw revenue rise by 24% to hit £207m, a new record high, with profit per equity partner rising 17% to £750,000.