NEW YORK (Reuters) -Jefferies has hired a veteran Lazard ( LAZ ) banker as global head of the firm's activism defense practice, people familiar with the situation said on Wednesday, as more corporations face pressure from activist investors.

The New York-headquartered bank is bringing on Richard Thomas, a managing director who has served as co-head of Lazard's ( LAZ ) Equity Advisory practice, the people said.

Thomas will replace Chris Young, who had been the head of activism at Jefferies and is leaving the bank, said the people who were not authorized to discuss personnel matters publicly.

Thomas will report to Chris Roop, who is head of mergers and acquisitions for the Americas.

Bloomberg first reported the news of Thomas' move. A Jefferies representative declined to comment. Thomas and Young did not respond to requests for comment.

The move comes as many banks are paying more attention to defending their clients from the overtures of investors flexing their muscle and demanding a host of changes from selling the company to switching out the chief executive officer.

While protecting companies against pushy investors was once a nice-to-have add-on service, it has become a lucrative business that major investment banks and many boutiques are scrambling to offer clients.

In April, JPMorgan ( JPM ) hired two managing directors to beef up its activism defense group and other banks are said to be looking to make new hires, bankers and lawyers said.

Jefferies ranked 10th in Bloomberg's tally of Global Financial Advisers last year, trailing Goldman Sachs ( GS ), JPMorgan ( JPM ) and Bank of America ( BAC ), which claimed the top three spots in defending companies against activists last year.

At the same time, Jefferies has been on a broader hiring spree, having most recently poached four senior tech bankers from Guggenheim Partners.