As Jenner & Block ramps up its City presence, the US litigation firm has hired White & Case partner Charlie Lightfoot to lead its charge on the London litigation market.
With US disputes powerhouses Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Boies, Schiller & Flexner having launched City offices in 2008 and 2013 respectively, Chicago outfit Jenner & Block joins a growing band of litigation firms expanding into London.
Entering the City with a lower profile launch than Quinn Emanuel and Boies, Lightfoot leaves White & Case after 16 years to head Jenner & Block’s litigation and arbitration practices in London. He will link up with a four-lawyer team that arrived from Dechert earlier this year to launch the office, with senior associate Christian Tuddenham making partner through the switch that also saw special counsel Kelly Hagedorn and associates Victoria Fitzpatrick and Tracey Lattimer move across in April.
Lightfoot, who became a partner in 2010 and acts for telecomms, defence, energy and financial services clients, said, ‘leading the disputes practice for a firm like Jenner & Block in its new London office is a wonderful opportunity’.
Fellow partner Tuddenham specialises in banking and financial services disputes, particularly those with links to Asia, and was joined in London recently by partners Peter Pope and Nancy Jacobson, who relocated from the US to push the firm’s white-collar play. Pope, who co-chairs the firm’s white-collar defence and investigations practice, is a former New York prosecutor.
Terrence Truax, Jenner & Block’s managing partner, said: ‘Bringing a high-calibre UK-based talent like Charlie into our new London office is a major step forward in the strategic buildup of our cross-border litigation and international arbitration practices. Charlie is an outstanding lawyer, a gifted natural leader and the right choice to lead our disputes practice in London. We are thrilled to have him with us.’
tom.moore@legalease.co.uk
