Jones Day Gouldens has taken on SJ Berwin insolvency partner Adam Plainer as UK head of restructuring in its second City lateral since the merger .

Plainer, who was in talks to join the London office of Gouldens when the merger discussions with Jones Day were going on, brings with him a strong relationship with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

This is a coup for the Gouldens side of the merged firm, which has made several attempts at breaking into the lucrative restructuring market in recent years.

London insolvency partner Richard Curtin, who joined Gouldens from Finers Stephens Innocent, recently left to become head of insolvency at southeast firm DMH.