Boutique disputes outfit Signature Litigation has landed top commercial litigation and arbitration lawyer Simon Bushell from Latham & Watkins.
Bushell (pictured) joined the US giant in 2013 and has acted as chair of the firm’s London litigation department since 2014.
Prior to his move in 2013, Bushell spent more than 16 years as a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills, the firm he joined in 1987. Bushell is rated in the Legal 500 for his work on civil fraud, banking litigation, commercial litigation and international arbitration.
Signature founding partner Graham Huntley said: ‘Simon’s strong reputation, especially in civil fraud, speaks for itself. We have grown substantially and Signature is a strong platform for another senior litigator such as him. He is highly commercial, imaginative and a great tactician.’
Bushell’s hire brings Signature’s team to ten partners and 30 fee earners. The boutique recently saw its revenues increase by 36% for the 2015/16 financial year to £10.2m. The addition of Bushell continues the firm’s investment in lateral hiring after it recruited of Bryan Cave litigation partner Ioannis Alexopoulos in September last year.
Signature currently has a number of key cases on its books, including the ongoing £4bn shareholder group action against the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), a major dispute against Credit Suisse on behalf of the investment fund of Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili and his family for losses over mismanagement of his portfolio in Switzerland, which have led to criminal proceedings against the bank’s fund managers, and representing energy major ENRC in its high profile costs and privacy dispute with its former legal adviser Dechert.
matthew.field@legalease.co.uk