U.S. Department of Justice building, Washington, D.C. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Allen & Overy is adding two federal enforcement partners from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe in Washington, D.C., as the Magic Circle firm continues to pursue growth in the U.S. after ceasing merger discussions with O'Melveny & Myers.

U.S. senior partner Tim House said the hires of Billy Jacobson and Jonathan Lopez, both veterans of the fraud section of the U.S. Department of Justice, reflect a reorientation in the locus of enforcement work.

"Federal criminal enforcement, for our clients, both banks and corporates, continues to shift from a New York base to D.C.," said House, who is based in New York. "The message that was coming through is, to be able to put together a team that has former [assistant U.S. attorneys] in New York is great, but it's also useful, as it is with antitrust enforcement, to have a team that's lived and worked within Main Justice, to tap into their knowledge and background."

Three of the firm's current U.S. partners worked as prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, including September 2019 hire Julian Moore.

Jacobson and Lopez both have particular experience in handling Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters. That skill set fits neatly with Allen & Overy's "sweet spot" on the litigation side of handling complex, cross-border regulatory enforcement, regulatory defense and white-collar matters, House added.

Jacobson joined Orrick in 2014, following five years at oil and gas services multinational Weatherford International, where he served as senior vice president, co-general counsel, and chief compliance officer. He also has been a partner with Kirkland & Ellis and Fulbright & Jaworski, and in his last stint at the DOJ, he had responsibility for half of all FCPA investigations as assistant chief for FCPA enforcement.

Lopez also joined Orrick in 2014, after 11 years at the DOJ, where his roles included serving as inaugural deputy chief of the department's Bank Integrity Unit. There he served as the front-line supervisor on groundbreaking anti-money laundering cases involving HSBC and MoneyGram.

A representative for Orrick did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the two partners' departures.

House said that he doesn't expect the ongoing coronavirus crisis and its startling economic impacts to have a long-term impact on any of Allen & Overy's strategic priorities for the U.S.

On the litigation side, these also include building up capabilities for intellectual property work supporting the life sciences and tech industries, connected to the firm's existing investments in London, the Netherlands, France and Germany as well as Asia, and also growing the firm's international arbitration footprint.

For transactions, the firm is prioritizing mergers and acquisitions, private equity, project finance and infrastructure, structured and leveraged finance, and restructuring.

But House is realistic about the short term.

"On litigation and restructuring, the level of demand is going to remain steady and possibly increase," he said, adding that when it comes to the rest of the firm's transactional practices, it would continue to take stock of the market. 

"We're more in preparatory mode rather than executing immediately on that plan," House continued. "It will really be September or October before the transactional side gets back into focus."

The firm also made another recent move in D.C., naming projects, energy and infrastructure partner Jean Lee as its new managing partner for the office to replace Barbara Stettner.

"We are definitely in growth mode in D.C. as we are more generally in U.S.," Lee said. The addition of Jacobson and Lopez brings the office's partner count to 13. 

But most immediately, she's been tasked with overseeing a transition to remote working. 

"It's been a couple of years since our iFlex plan has been on place across the network. We do have people already that are fully accustomed to working remotely," she said. "We had to ensure that our support staff, including PAs, had the necessary equipment to work at home."

But Lee, a veteran of the firm's Seoul office, added that some elements of the transition have been heartening, particularly the switch from phone calls to video conferencing for connecting with colleagues around the globe.

"It's actually quite comforting to see your colleagues face to face," she said.

Read More

Allen & Overy Grows in New York, Confirming Its US Ambitions

Litigation Boutique Reichman Jorgensen Snags Founder of Allen & Overy's US Litigation Group

A&O, O'Melveny Pull Plug on Merger Talks