As the year-end approaches, US firms have dominated this week’s hiring round with additions across London’s transactional and disputes practices.
WilmerHale bolstered its London white-collar defence practice with the addition of Richard Burger. Burger – who is ranked as a leading individual by The Legal 500 and described as ‘a standout practitioner in the disciplinary/regulatory field’ – is a former enforcement lawyer and prosecutor with the Financial Services Authority and has experience defending clients in criminal and regulatory investigations.
Stephen Pollard, head of the firm’s UK white-collar defence and investigations practice, commented: ‘Richard is a first-rate lawyer, whose extensive regulatory and investigations experience complements our existing market-leading transatlantic capabilities.’
Meanwhile, White & Case strengthened its City corporate practice with the addition of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner’s (BCLP) EMEA private equity head Ian Ivory. Ivory joins after more than 24 years at BCLP and brings M&A experience in the technology sector.
John Reiss, head of White & Case’s global M&A practice, said: ‘Technology remains an active sector for M&A as companies and private equity sponsors continue to be attracted to innovation in spite of the economic headwinds and more challenging deal financing conditions. Ian’s experience advising leading companies in the technology sector on their cross-border transactions makes him a good fit for our M&A practice.’
BCLP also lost real estate partner Andrew Yates this week after more than 14 years at the firm. Yates, who led BCLP’s UK public sector and housing team, joined DLA Piper, bringing with him residential investment experience.
Elsewhere Ashurst hired competition litigator Anna Morfey from Hausfeld to strengthen its London team. Horfey, who previously worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance, handles a range of contentious competition work with a focus on the financial services and tech sectors.
Ashurst’s UK head of competition, Duncan Liddell, noted: ‘Post-Brexit, the Competition & Markets Authority has continued to expand its activities as a leading global antitrust regulator alongside the DoJ and EU. Anna’s appointment therefore comes at a critical and exciting time, and her strong background in competition investigations, which plays to our existing areas of strength, as well as her expertise in handling big-ticket competition damages claims, means we are well placed to accelerate growth in this area.’
Continuing the contentious theme, Boies Schiller Flexner (BSF) boosted its London practice with the return of banking and finance litigator Michael Jacobs. He re-joins as a partner having previously spent more than six years at BSF as an associate before joining Locke Lord as senior counsel in September 2021.
Jacobs becomes the fourth partner in the London office as the firm continues to rebuild following the departure of former managing partner Natasha Harrison and a team of partners in January. His arrival follows that of arbitration partner Timothy Foden from Lalive in April.
Elsewhere, Dorsey & Whitney hired disputes partner Aymen Khoury from Fieldfisher. A fluent Arabic speaker, Khoury has experience handling litigation and arbitration relating to the Middle East and the UK including post-M&A disputes, banking and finance disputes and misrepresentation claims.
Fabrizio Carpanini, co-head of Dorsey & Whitney’s London office said: ‘Over recent months there has been significant movement in the commercial litigation market, so we need to be agile and keep building our expertise to ensure we can offer our clients the advice they need to navigate the changing landscape and make the most of the opportunities presented.’
Also in London, HFW reinforced its insurance offering with the addition of partner Bob Haken from Norton Rose Fulbright. Haken focuses on corporate and regulatory insurance matters and becomes the firm’s 20th insurance partner globally, following the arrival of insurance litigator Amanda Kujda who joined in Houston in May 2021.
Across the Atlantic, Paul Hastings hired finance partner Morgan Bale from Weil, Gotshal & Manges. A source familiar with the move confirmed that he will join on 12 December after more than 24 years at the Wall Street firm. Bale, who is ranked as a leading lawyer for commercial lending by The Legal 500, brings experience acting for major investment banks including Citi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley on financings.
