Top 10 US firm Latham & Watkins is on the verge of hiring Lovells’ head of international tax, Daniel Friel, and tax partner Sean Finn, and has scheduled a vote for Thursday (23 February) to finalise the decision.

If the move goes ahead, the two London-based partners will join Latham’s 120-lawyer City arm. Daniel Friel, who became a partner in 1996, was appointed head of Lovells’ international tax practice in November 2005, while Finn has been a partner at Lovells for two years.