Professional services leader EY has made another play in the legal market with the hire of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Richard Norbruis.

Norbruis (pictured), a corporate partner in Freshfields' Amsterdam office, will join EY as a partner in September, when he will lead the firm's global transaction law practice and will operate from its Amsterdam office.

Norbruis has been global people partner at Freshfields since 2011, where he has had responsibility for people related matters including recruitment, learning and development, diversity, and also partner development and leadership. He was previously a partner at NautaDutilh.

His hire represents the latest in a string of legal hires by EY, with the accounting giant hiring former Berwin Leighton Paisner finance chief Matthew Kellett at the end of April and Addleshaw Goddard corporate head Phillip Goodstone in March.

Kellett, who is joining in September, will lead the legal arm of EY's financial services division. He left BLP in October, having first joined the firm in 2010. Prior to that, he was managing director and head of financial structuring at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Goodstone is also set to join EY in September to help launch the auditors' push into the UK legal market.

The European moves come as EY also looks to extend its reach into legal business services across Asia and mainland China. Legal Week previously reported that EY is hoping to expand its legal offering to Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Korea and Indonesia, subject to regulatory requirements.

Commenting on his move Norbruis said: "After many happy years at Freshfields, this presents a fantastic opportunity to continue in a senior global leadership role in a highly ambitious and fast growing legal practice that is part of one of the largest professional services organisations in the world. I very much look forward helping to build a global quality law practice at EY."