Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has hired former Serious Fraud Office (SFO) prosecutor Matthew Cowie as counsel for its London corporate investigations practice.

Cowie joined the firm yesterday (29 June) after 11 years with the SFO where he was part of the senior management team of the anti-corruption domain.

At Skadden, Cowie will focus on corporate internal investigations and defence of government enforcement matters, with an emphasis on anti-corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations.

During his eleven years as a prosecutor Cowie was seconded from the SFO to the UN's Procurement Task Force to investigate fraud and corruption by corporates and UN staff members within the UN system.

Skadden's global head of litigation/controversy David Zornow said: "With the addition of Matthew Cowie as counsel in London, Skadden underscores its belief that corporate criminal investigations will be conducted increasingly across international borders."

Head of Skadden's corporate investigations practice in London Gary DiBianco added: "Matthew brings a wealth of direct experience in UK and multi-jurisdictional investigations, and further enhances our ability to advise clients on regulatory investigations and state-of-the-art compliance programs."

Cowie has successfully headed up the first two overseas corruption prosecutions of UK corporates – Mabey & Johnson and Innospec. He was also the lead prosecutor in the SFO's investigations into bribery payments made by the global defence, security and aerospace company BAE Systems.