Davis Polk & Wardwell has hired two partners from Mayer Brown as the New York firm gears up to launch in Brazil.

Banking and finance partners James Vickers and Stephen Hood, the head of Mayer Brown’s Sao Paulo base, are set to join Davis Polk in the coming months to help the firm launch in Sao Paulo, with the departures leaving Mayer Brown with just one partner in Brazil – securities lawyer Ricardo Gonzalez.