Ashurst City disputes partner Ben Giaretta is set to move to Mishcon de Reya.

Giaretta, who has spent 18 years at Ashurst, is the third London partner to quit during the past three weeks. He will join Mishcon in 2018.

In late October, corporate partner James Wood left the firm to join Sidley Austin's London base. His exit was followed by the news earlier this week that White & Case has hired fellow London corporate partner Dominic Ross. His arrival date at the US firm is yet to be confirmed.

Giaretta joined Ashurst in 1999 and was promoted to partner in 2009. That year, he also relocated to Singapore to launch a disputes practice. While in Singapore, he headed up the Asia international arbitration practice until he moved back to London in 2016.

Mishcon head of dispute resolution Kasra Nouroozi said: "We are really excited that Ben is joining our growing international arbitration practice. His focus on commercial arbitration is the perfect complement to our existing strength in investor state work, as developed by Karel Daele over the past few years. Ben brings an exceptional depth of experience, and we look forward to welcoming him to the team."

He is the first lateral partner hire in London for Mishcon since June this year, when Withers private client partner Filippo Noseda joined the firm.

Previously, in May, the firm also recruited two BLP partners – restructuring and insolvency partner David Leibowitz and property litigator Joanna Lampert.

Other exits from Ashurst include its seven-partner New York CLO team, following a restructuring of the firm's finance practice. Six partners joined US firm Chapman & Cutler while one joined Allen & Overy.

An Ashurst press spokesperson said: "Ben helped build our international arbitration practice in Asia during his seven years in Singapore and, following his return to London last year, supported the growth of our global practice from there."

The spokesperson added that the international arbitration practice is a key priority for the firm going forward. "We have a very strong bench of arbitration talent in all regions at all levels and under the leadership of [global international arbitration head] Matthew Saunders, we are confident that the team will continue to achieve great results."

The firm has made several global hires this year, including German banking partner Martin Kaiser from Baker Mckenzie in September and banking senior associate Tamer Bahgat from Allen & Overy in March.