Paul J. Taubman, a former Morgan Stanley executive widely considered one of the most formidable investment bankers on Wall Street, has poached two ex-colleagues there as he gears up to start a new firm, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Taubman, who officially departed the Wall Street firm last year, has enlisted Morgan Stanley bankers Robert Friedsam and James Murray to join a new deal advisory shop that he is planning to start, said the person familiar with the matter.