Herbert Smith could add up to $15m (£9.3m) in annual fee income as a result of the hire of the six-partner Chadbourne & Parke team for its New York launch, with the group also handing the firm a new client relationship with tobacco giant RJ Reynolds.

The team, which includes five partners in New York and one partner in London, joined Herbert Smith last week from the US firm, where they have collectively billed an average of $15m a year in recent times.