Clifford Chance (CC) has bolstered its international capabilities with two senior hires for its Paris and London offices.

The magic circle firm has strengthened its Paris arm with the addition of a former French government official.

Laurent Vallee, formerly a judge at the French government's Conseil d' Etat, is set to join as head of the magic circle firm's French contentious tax practice in Paris, bringing the total number of lawyers in the department to 18, including four partners.

During his role at the Conseil d'Etat, Vallee was also a governmental commissioner, where he took charge of all tax, finance and economic litigation.

Commenting on his arrival, CC Paris chief Yves Wehrli said: "Laurent is a recognised expert in the field of taxation and we believe he will bring significant insights to our clients."

Vallee's appointment marks the second recent lateral hire to the firm's Paris office after White & Case's Reinhard Dammann joined the City giant's Paris arm as an insolvency partner in June.

Dammann will head the office's French-German desk, which targets cross-border work between the two countries.

Meanwhile, corporate lawyer Amy Mahon is set to return to the London office as a partner from Macquarie, where she was a division director.

Mahon left CC for Macquarie three years ago. During her time at the financial services group she advised on infrastructure investment and equity capital-raising matters.