An innovative U.K. law firm best known for combining legal and nonlegal business services is set to launch an antitrust practice with the hire of Shearman & Sterling counsel Collette Rawnsley.

Rawnsley, a barrister who previously held a senior role at the U.K. Competition Appeal Tribunal, a specialist judicial body, will join London-based Wiggin on Tuesday.Rawnsley's practice covers contentious and noncontentious EU and U.K. competition law issues. She represented Microsoft in the European Commission's Android investigation and has also acted for Nokia and Qualcomm in high-profile actions.

Wiggin Brussels office head Ted Shapiro said that the hire would allow the specialist media, technology and brands firm “to respond to our clients' [intellectual property] and competition needs.” Shapiro pointed to the European Commission's inquiry into the e-commerce sector and its investigation into pay-TV as evidence of the increasing overlap between these two practice areas.