A number of global firms boosted their white-collar defence practices last month with a spate of hires from US and UK government agencies. The hires come as regulators on both sides of the pond continue to tighten their grip on domestic and international businesses.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer hired Matthew Friedrich, former acting head of the criminal division at the US Department of Justice (DoJ), to bolster its white-collar practice based in Washington DC.
He joined from US litigation leader Boies, Schiller & Flexner, where he had been a partner since 2009. Prior to this, he spent 13 years at the DoJ in various leadership roles, including assistant attorney general (AG) for the criminal department, where he managed a team of 740 individuals.
Friedrich will be based in Washington DC focusing on white-collar investigations and litigation, alongside dispute resolution partner Tim Coleman and the firm’s New York-based white-collar team.
‘Regulators are reining in on corporates and financial institutions.’
Matthew Friedrich, Freshfields
‘Regulators are reining in on corporates and financial institutions, and a lot of these are based in Washington, so an expanded presence is needed here,’ said Friedrich. ‘From an international perspective, the New York team, Tim and I will use Freshfields’ existing white-collar bench and global footprint to advise clients across multiple jurisdictions very quickly.’
Friedrich is the firm’s sixth white-collar partner in the US, bringing its US litigation practice to 16 partners and 83 lawyers.
Similarly, Bingham McCutchen has expanded its antitrust and white-collar practice in Washington with two key hires. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) senior competition adviser Darren Tucker and former DoJ prosecutor Michael Whitlock joined last month as litigation partners.
Leiv Blad, co-chair of Bingham’s antitrust group, said: ‘Darren and Michael strengthen our already-strong government agency capabilities. Darren’s background in FTC merger and conduct investigations, particularly in the healthcare and technology sectors, and Michael’s experience in some of the largest and most significant criminal antitrust investigations in the D0J’s history ensure that we will continue to deliver the agency knowledge and experience our clients expect and deserve.’
Separately Lanny Breuer, the former assistant AG for the criminal division at the DoJ, rejoined Covington & Burling as vice-chair after four years at the DoJ. He first joined the firm in 1989 and then left to join the White House Counsel’s office as special counsel to former president Bill Clinton.
At the DoJ, he oversaw the Libor investigation, launched the department’s Money Laundering and Bank Integrity Unit and secured approximately $3.1bn in criminal forfeitures from major financial institutions.
In his new role, Breuer will focus on global and strategic business, litigation and compliance issues – including civil and criminal litigation matters, as well as governmental and internal investigations.
Breuer’s hire is in line with Covington’s previous drive to expand its white-collar capability. He will work alongside Robert Amaee – former head of anti-corruption and proceeds of crime at the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) who joined the firm as a partner in London in 2011 – and former secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, who joined in 2009 as senior of counsel in Washington.
Meanwhile in London, Steptoe & Johnson hired the SFO’s joint head of bribery and corruption, Patrick Rappo, as a partner in its white-collar defence practice in April. Rappo was a barrister for 12 years before joining the SFO in 2007.
Aside from white-collar crime, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher recruited Ali Nikpay, senior director at the Office of Fair Trading, into its antitrust and competition group in London.
‘Competition enforcement is getting increasingly complex as more and more authorities take a serious interest in cartels and mergers, so there is a greater need than ever to help companies understand and manage these complexities in a strategic way,’ said Nikpay.