U.K. firm Berwin Leighton Paisner has recruited former DLA Piper Asia Pacific managing director Bob Charlton to be its head of Asia and Hong Kong managing partner.

Charlton, a longtime finance lawyer who had previous stints at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance, starts at BLP next month. Initially, he’ll work from the London office before relocating to Hong Kong in January.