After having left Addleshaw Goddard in 2010 to join high-end disputes boutique Enyo Law, partner Annabel Thomas (pictured) is returning to a full service LB100 firm and joining Mishcon de Reya’s disputes practice.
Thomas was part of the 11-strong team that departed Addleshaws in 2010, alongside founders Simon Twigden, Pietro Marino and Michael Green, at Enyo Law‘s launch. She specialises in commercial disputes, in particular civil fraud, and has worked on cross-border litigation, arbitration and mediation.
The Herbert Smith-trained lawyer’s major case work has included the high profile court battle between Russian oligarchs Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich, a $6.5bn English contract law case. She has further acted in a London arbitration concerning a shareholders dispute in a Kazakhstan law firm, as well as acting for a company in relation to an ex parte worldwide freezing order, including successfully applying for the order to be discharged and for indemnity costs.
Commenting on the appointment, Kathryn Garbett, head of Mishcon de Reya’s fraud defence team, said: ‘Annabel is an experienced litigator with a strong background in civil fraud, competition law, partnership disputes and financial regulatory litigation.
‘Her experience – and her connections to the industry both in London and abroad – complements our growing Fraud Defence practice and we’re very much looking forward to welcoming her to the team.’
Her move to Mishcon is indicative of the firm’s strategy to boost its disputes offering. Last summer the firm recruited heavyweight former director of public prosecutions (DPP) Sir Keir Starmer QC as a part-time consultant in its business crime unit. Qualified as both barrister and solicitor, Starmer joined his former colleague Alison Levitt QC, the principal legal adviser to the DPP, who moved to Mishcon in April 2014 to head its business crime group.
Earlier this year, the firm’s managing partner Kevin Gold revealed to Legal Business the firm had kick-started its strategy review and would continue its focus on private client and litigation work as part of that.
Just weeks ago, the firm also made an effort to broaden its M&A and private equity capability with the hire of corporate partner Michael Nouril from Proskauer Rose.
tom.moore@legalease.co.uk, sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
