Big Four accountancy firm Deloitte has bulked up its UK legal bench by hiring Andrew Lilley, the former managing partner of Travers Smith, to spearhead its employment practice.
Lilley will now focus on building the firm’s employment presence in the UK, as Deloitte joins its Big Four counterparts in further expanding its domestic legal capability. Lilley joins alongside Squire Patton Boggs employment partner Liz Pierson.
Commenting on the hire, Deloitte Legal’s UK managing partner Michael Castle said: ‘Andrew and Liz both have fantastic track records in their respective fields. As we continue to build Deloitte Legal’s presence in the UK, we are determined to hire the very best talent in order to provide our clients with best-in-class service.’
Lilley joined Travers in 1995 and served as the firm’s head of employment before being appointed managing partner for a four-year term in 2010. Lilley resigned in 2015 to explore a career in teaching. Pierson, meanwhile, had been a partner at Squire Patton Boggs since 2017, having previously been a senior counsel at Clifford Chance for four years.
The hires come off the back of another significant play from Deloitte in May, when it announced a non-exclusive alliance with US law firm Epstein Becker Green to provide employment law to clients.
Deloitte will hope to make up ground with the double hire, having been the last of the Big Four to make a push into UK legal. In January 2018 Deloitte secured its alternative business licence, while a year later the firm announced the hire of Allen & Overy banking veteran Castle to head its UK legal business after a four-month hunt. Currently Deloitte Legal counts over 60 practicing lawyers in the UK with more than 125 other fee-earners engaged in legal activities.
‘Andrew and Liz’s knowledge of employment law and reward will add to a wealth of expertise across Deloitte, providing clients with technology-enabled, practical solutions to tackle the complexities they face,’ Castle added.
