US firms Squire Patton Boggs (SPB) and McDermott Will & Emery are both expanding in London with additions to their corporate and transactions practice groups respectively.

SPB has hired capital markets partner Ben Morgan, who most recently was at Goodwin Procter, while McDermott has hired M&A partner Sebastien Bonneau from Eversheds Surtherland, continuing a recent trend of US firms bolstering their UK footprints.

Morgan is an equity capital markets specialist, bringing with him expertise across all aspects of the UK ECM market, including IPOs, secondary transactions, block trades and M&A deals, advising both issuers and underwriters. Standout transactions include The Hut Group’s £1.9bn IPO in 2020 – one of the largest stock market debuts in the UK – and PensionBee’s £60m IPO in 2021.

Jane Haxby, managing partner of SPB’s London office, said: “Ben joins a strong, cohesive ECM practice. There is strategic growth in this area for us and we are looking to expand both main market and AIM capabilities. Ben will work with the team to provide expert guidance for a growing list of ECM clients. We are also focused on supporting our many PE clients who look to the capital markets for exits for their portfolio companies and for investment opportunities.”

Morgan spent just under two years as counsel at Goodwin before leaving in April, having previously spent more than 11 years as an associate at Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance.

Hannah Kendrick, corporate and ECM partner at SPB, said: “Ben has excellent technical skills and the right proactive and commercial approach to find solutions for our clients in ECM. His experience is extensive, and over the past decade Ben has earned a reputation as a leading ECM practitioner, building strong relationships on both issuer and bank side. With recent regulatory change in the UK and the prospect of increased market activity, our strengthened team is well positioned to advise on the full range of public corporate transactions.”

Bonneau, meantime, brings more than two decades of experience to McDermott’s transactions group, with a particular focus on global M&A, private equity and joint venture deals in areas such as energy and real estate.

Harris Siskind, global head of McDermott’s transactions practice, said: “Sebastien’s practice is a unique blend of M&A, private equity, real estate and energy. Given the synergies between our clients and his, he is a great fit for the firm and the transactions practice.”

Bonneau arrives after just over two and a half years at Eversheds, having previously founded legal and management consultancy All You Need for Growth. Prior to that he was a senior corporate associate at Winston & Strawn in Paris after stints at French firms LMT and Reinhart Marville Torre. Bonneau started his legal career as a tax associate at CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats working in Paris and Casablanca.

Aymen Mahmoud, co-head of McDermott’s London transactions practice and London office managing partner, said: “This year we have recruited eight partners in London, which is only the start of our ambition. Sebastien’s addition continues this positive momentum and expands our cutting-edge capabilities to include data centres and digital infrastructure, dovetailing neatly with our wider transactional offering.”

Earlier in September, US firm Greenberg Traurig added a trio of arbitration partners in London from Pinsent Masons, while Latham & Watkins hired senior tax partner Simon Skinner from Travers Smith.