Two hires kick-start Mourant's international expansion

Mourant du Feu & Jeune has kicked off a recruitment campaign with partner hires from Allen & Overy (A&O) and Maples and Calder.

It marks the start of a growth spurt for the Jersey-headquartered firm, which until two weeks ago was in merger talks with Cayman Islands-headquartered Walkers (The Lawyer, 11 February).

Richard De Basto joins the firm's Cayman offices from A&O, where he was a partner working on construction and project finance work. He specialises in advising clients on major and complex finance transaction work.

Matthew Feargrieve joins as a partner from Maples, where he was a senior associate. He will work out of the London office, where he will help build the firm's Cayman funds practice.

Mourant chief executive Stephen Ball said the firm would accelerate its international expansion through a series of lateral hires and organic growth in the coming months.

The firm is also considering opening an office in Asia.