Hogan Lovells has made a series of hires in its London office as it seeks to strengthen its corporate and litigation practices in the UK.

M&A lawyer Patrick Sarch joins from White & Case, where he was co-lead of its London corporate practice and the firm’s financial institutions industry group. He will co-head Hogan Lovells’ London M&A practice alongside Ben Higson.

The firm also hired a team of two commercial litigation partners and two counsel from Debevoise & Plimpton – all of whom are joining as partners – to bolster its London disputes practice. The quartet features the highly rated former Herbert Smith board member Kevin Lloyd as well as fellow Debevoise partner Richard Lawton alongside international counsel Akima Paul Lambert and Ardil Salem.

Miguel Zaldivar, Hogan Lovells’ CEO, said: “These appointments demonstrate our ambition and commitment to grow into an unrivalled global powerhouse that puts clients at the centre of everything we do, drives revenue and enhances profitability.”

Zaldivar added that the firm will continue to invest in what it says are the three engines of the firm – London, Washington and Germany.

Sarch brings with him 25 years of experience advising clients on corporate finance, M&A transactions and restructurings, working on high-profile deals such as Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury’s and Sainsbury’s acquisition of the Home Retail Group. He joins after four years at White & Case, having previously been a partner at Clifford Chance.

Lloyd, meantime, already had a raft of leadership experience before joining Debevoise, having been head of contentious restructuring and insolvency at Herbert Smith, as well as serving on its board. His was one of a number of high-profile departures from Herbert Smith around the time of its merger with Australia’s Freehills to create Herbert Smith Freehills in October 2012.

Lawton and Salem both followed Lloyd to Debevoise from Herbert Smith, where they started their careers. Lambert returns to Hogan Lovells, where she started her career before departing for Debevoise.

The new recruits are the latest in a string of lateral hires to join the firm, following the arrival of a seven-strong private equity team from Baker McKenzie in Paris earlier this month. That builds on a number of other additions last year including the return of private equity partners Ed Harris, Leanne Moezi and Adam Brown, who all rejoined the firm in June less than a year after exiting for Paul Hastings.

Hogan Lovells also announced this week that Paris-based IP lawyer Marie-Aimée de Dampierre will become its next chair, taking over from Leopold von Gerlach at the start of May.