Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is bulking up its Paris office with the hire of former Sanofi-Synthelabo general counsel Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, less than a year after he quit Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamiton for the pharmaceuticals giant.

Cohen-Tanugi, a corporate expert, joins Skadden as its fourth Paris partner after overseeing the landmark E53.5bn (£35.52bn) merger between Sanofi and Aventis earlier this year.