Outgoing Novartis general counsel Thomas Werlen is set to join litigation leader Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in the New Year.

Werlen (pictured) is to join the West Coast firm in Europe as a litigation partner in early 2012. He is expected to be based in one of the firm's existing European offices, which include London and Mannheim, with a launch in Moscow imminent.

Werlen has been group GC at Novartis since 2006 when he joined the pharmaceutical giant from the City partnership of Allen & Overy (A&O), having previously practiced at Cravath Swaine & Moore and Davis Polk & Wardwell. His practice focuses on intellectual property and structured finance litigation.

It was announced earlier this year that he was leaving the firm with Felix Ehrat, former senior partner of Swiss law firm Baer & Karrer, set to replace him. Ehrat formally took over from Werlen earlier this month, with Werlen staying on for a handover period until the new year.

Werlen said: "It is an incredibly exciting time to be returning to private practice at the world's leading business litigation firm given the unprecedented surge in lawsuits arising from the ongoing global economic crisis.

"I look forward to leveraging the knowledge I have gained from the global pharmaceutical industry and global capital markets to help Quinn Emanuel's existing clients, drive international expansion and build the business."

During his time at Novartis Werlen grew the in-house legal department from 170 to 250 lawyers.

News of Werlen's hire comes after Quinn Emanuel announced earlier this month that it is set to launch in Moscow, with the hire of two senior litigation partners from Dechert.

Ivan Marisin and Vasily Kuznetsov, who are expected to join the firm later this year, both joined Dechert's Moscow office from Clifford Chance in 2011.