Davis Polk & Wardwell has scooped the co-head of M&A from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Paris arm as the elite Wall Street firm dramatically ends its 156-year old policy of only practising US law.

The New York powerhouse has hired Arnaud Peres, a Freshfields partner since 1999 who was only installed as the UK firm’s local M&A co-head last month, to become the third partner in its Paris office from 1 August.