Baker McKenzie has continued its London hiring push, capitalising on a rare partner duo departure from White & Case.

The international firm has hired White & Case corporate finance partner duo Rob Mathews and David Becker.

High yield partner Mathews joined White & Case as a partner in 2004. Notable deals he has acted on include advising Italian telecom company Wind Tre on a €10bn cross-border high-yield bond deal in 2017.

Becker had spent a decade at White & Case as a partner, having joined from US firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel in 2008.

The pair are a rare departure from the US firm's London base, which has made numerous hires in recent years. However the firm saw global private equity co-head Richard Youle leave for Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in 2017 alongside private equity partner Katja Butler.

The hires come as Bakers continues to grow its transactional offering in the City, with London managing partner Alex Chadwick stating its aim is to grow that headcount by 30% by 2020.

Notable recent hires have included co-head of Sidley Austin's London global finance team Matthew Dening, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer finance partner Geoff O'Dea, and a corporate finance team from Ropes & Gray.

Chadwick said: "Rob and David's appointments kick-start a year of further growth as we expand our banking and finance, private equity, corporate and corporate tax practices."

EMEA head of capital markets Adam Farlow added: "We have been on a mission to find the best and most talented high yield partners to complement our strong and growing leveraged finance team."

A White & Case spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Rob Mathews and David Becker have left White & Case. We wish them every success in their future endeavours."