On Monday, Latham & Watkins announced the hire of Frankfurt-based banking and capital markets head Alexandra Hagelüken from rival Clifford Chance.

Hagelüken’s move, which follows two other recent Latham hires from the same Clifford Chance office in February, marks the latest escalation in a battle for top corporate talent between elite U.S. firms and their Magic Circle rivals in Germany—a battle that U.S. firms appear to be winning with their more flexible compensation systems.