Global law firm King & Wood Mallesons has hired a longtime financial services and regulation partner from Herbert Smith Freehills to join its Sydney office.

Sarah Yu specialises in superannuation and life insurance, and joins the firm after 20 years at Herbert Smith Freehills.

Yu has a strong track record advising high-profile financial services organisations, including on issues related to changes arising from the banking Royal Commission, a government-initiated inquiry into the financial sector, King & Wood Mallesons said.

"We have deliberately sought to maintain our genuine depth of capability across all financial services regulatory specialisations," Evie Bruce, managing partner of mergers and acquisitions and banking and finance, and leader of the financial institutions sector, said in a statement.  "Sarah's expertise in superannuation and life insurance will only further enhance our offering to clients."

King & Wood Mallesons chief executive partner Berkeley Cox added that the financial institutions sector is a key focus area for the firm.

"KWM's strong reputation in the market is built on the quality of our people and the outcomes they help our clients achieve," Cox said. "The importance of the superannuation industry will continue to increase and our clients continue to face significant regulatory challenges, so we are deliberately investing in growing our existing cohort of experts with great people like Sarah to enable us to support our clients."