Hogan Lovells has seen its first partner departure in Europe since the confirmation of the trans-Atlantic merger deal, with Moscow corporate partner Ilya Rybalkin set to join U.S. firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

Rybalkin, a partner at Hogan & Hartson, will join Akin Gump’s Moscow office in July, bringing with him a broad corporate practice, including international and domestic tax, M&A and corporate restructurings.