Weil Gotshal & Manges tax partner David Irvine is set to join US rival Kirkland & Ellis, as the latter firm continues to aggressively expand in London.

Irvine will join Kirkland as a partner later this year, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Legal Week.

His move marks the second lateral boost for Kirkland's expansive London base this year, after the firm last week sealed the hire of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer private equity partner Adrian Maguire.

Irvine joined Weil's City base in 2011 from Clifford Chance, where he had been a senior associate. He was made up to partner at Weil in January 2016.

He is the second partner to quit Weil's London base in recent months, after banking head Mark Donald resigned from the firm late last year to join White & Case.

Kirkland overtook Latham & Watkins as the world's largest law firm by revenue last year, taking in $3.2bn, and has continued its sustained recruitment push in London. Last year, the firm launched a City intellectual property (IP) practice with the hire of Allen & Overy global IP head Nicola Dagg, who moved to the US firm with a team of lawyers.

Kirkland is also preparing to launch its second continental European base in Paris after recruiting a pair of Linklaters partners for the new base.

The firm is currently awaiting approval from the Paris Bar Association for the launch, with the partner duo – corporate lawyers Vincent Ponsonnaille and Laurent Victor-Michel – working out of London in the interim.