Linklaters Hong Kong corporate partner Samantha Thompson has become one of the latest partners to leave the magic circle firm’s Asia base, as she takes on an in-house role at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in London.

Thompson has been appointed as a director and board secretary of PwC based in London, working with the professional services firm’s UK executive board, supervisory board and public interest body.

Her return to London comes after a decade-long stint in Hong Kong. She started her legal career as a trainee and later an associate with Slaughter and May in London before moving to Hong Kong in 2005 with local firm Deacons. She joined Linklaters as a managing associate in 2006 and was made up in 2009. Prior to moving to PwC, she was a corporate partner and sector leader for TMT in Asia at the magic circle firm.

She is experienced in corporate finance transactions, including cross-border public and private M&A and advising international investment and commercial banks and corporates.

Thompson’s move coincided with a recent string of partner departures from Linklaters’ Hong Kong office. Most recently, debt finance partner David Irvine left the firm to join Kirkland & Ellis.

Other partners to have left this year include capital markets partner Jon Gray who moved to Davis Polk & Wardwell’s Tokyo office, Asia US securities head David Ludwick who jumped ship to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and private equity partner Peggy Wang who is now White & Case’s Asia head of private equity.

Linklaters also lost two partners from Beijing, with projects partner James Douglass joining King & Wood Mallesons’ London office and banking finance partner Thomas Ng leaving for Freshfields’ Hong Kong office.

In addition, a number of managing associates and counsel in Hong Kong also moved to rival firms. Counsel Kyungseok Kim and managing associate Jini Lee, for example, have been made partner at White & Case and Ashurst respectively.

Linklaters’ Asia managing partner Marc Harvey said: ‘While these departures have happened over a relatively short space of time, they don’t unduly affect any single practice, team or office. There is no link between them. The reasons for each departure are different. They afford an opportunity for new talent to emerge and for some exciting transfers which will bolster our market leading Asia offering.”