Eversheds has added a partner to its Hong Kong arm with the hire of former Slaughter and May litigator Mark Yeadon.

Yeadon, who spent 22 years at Slaughters, including 20 in Hong Kong, becomes the fourth partner in Eversheds' Hong Kong disputes team. The office currently houses almost 30 lawyers, a number which the firm plans to grow to 50 in the next 12 months.

Eversheds Hong Kong managing director Nick Seddon, said: "The key thing is that Mark has two particular areas of experience that have a strong strategic fit with us – financial services dispute work and regulatory work.

"These are the areas that we are concentrating on at the moment across Asia and we are looking to grow our lawyer count over the next year."

Slaughters has also relocated senior associate Mark Hughes to Hong Kong to bolster the local dispute resolution practice.

Eversheds launched in Hong Kong in October 2008 with the hire of Seddon, the former Asia head at now-defunct firm Heller Ehrman, adding to its existing presence in Shanghai.

The UK top 10 firm announced in April this year that it is set to open its third office in Asia with a Beijing launch planned after the firm's Shanghai office passed its three-year probationary period.