Taylor Wessing has hired a seven-lawyer team, including two partners, from Bird & Bird in Paris.

Bird & Bird public sector head Sophie Pignon and banking and finance partner Eric Charvillat lead the team, which includes three associates, one of counsel and a consultant.

Pignon has particular experience in public sector contracts and issues related to state-owned property. She advises sponsors and government in complex contractual arrangements in a range of sectors, both in France and internationally.

She joined Bird & Bird from Ashurst in 2010.

Charvillat has been a partner at Bird & Bird since 2017, and specialises in project financing in the public sector.

With the new additions, Taylor Wessing will have 21 partners and about 40 associates and counsel in its Paris base, led by France managing partner Gilles Amsallem.

Firms to recently expand in Paris include DAC Beachcroft, which launched an office earlier this month with the hire of an eight-strong team of lawyers from local firm HMN & Partners.

France was a target for a number of international firms in 2018, with many citing Brexit as a catalyst for renewed interest. In October, US firm Kirkland & Ellis sealed the hire of two Linklaters partners to set up in the French capital, and in November White & Case made a trio of hires from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe to boost its presence in the city.