Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has recruited Addleshaw Goddard partner and fraud specialist Mark Hastings, constituting a major blow to the latter firm’s disputes practice.
Trained at Herbert Smith Freehills, Hastings was appointed as head of Addleshaws’ civil fraud practice in 2014. He specialises in fraud and trust litigations, contractual and warranty disputes and shareholder disputes, as well as advising on pre-action third party disclosure orders, freezing injunctions and search orders.
High-profile mandates includes serving as lead partner for Boris Berezovsky in several cases, including in defending a claim brought by his former partner Helena Gorbunova, a $6bn commercial court claim against Roman Abramovich, and in Berezovsky’s related $3bn Chancery Division claims against the estate of the Georgian billionaire Arkady Patarkatsishvili and others.
He also acted for His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan in a High Court action concerning allegations of breach of trust, which settled on confidential terms, and represented one of the largest property development companies in the Middle East and a Bahraini investment bank in a $1bn claim.
It is understood Hastings will not be taking any ongoing cases from Addleshaws with him to Quinn.
Quinn has made several strategic hires to its London office this year, most recently with Allen & Overy’s global co-head of arbitration Michael Young, alongside the Paris hire of Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) Paris disputes chief Isabelle Michou.
Earlier this year the firm strengthened its competition disputes bench capabilities with DLA Piper’s UK competition head Kate Vernon. Other significant laterals included Herbert Smith Freehills’ James Bremen as its chair of the construction practice and Clyde & Co litigator Paul Friedman as part of a bid to expand its Israel practice.
London office co-managing partner Richard East said: ‘Mark is exactly the sort of young and hungry litigator we need to help us take this practice in London to the next level.’
Quinn also announced the promotion of 13 partners today across its international offices, with just one associate made up in commercial litigator Khaled Khatoun.
Yesterday (6 December) Legal Business revealed that Addleshaws made a play for three King & Wood Mallesons partners and one associate, taking on the firm’s former managing partner William Boss, as well as property partner Simon Tager and commercial real estate partner Michael Scott. Addleshaws has also hired commercial real estate managing associate Luke Harvey who joins as a partner.
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
For more on Hastings’ career, see ‘Perspectives’ from the 2016 Disputes Yearbook
