Wilmer hires Kingsley Napley heavyweight to launch UK white collar crime practice
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr is set to launch a City investigations and criminal litigation practice with the hire of Kingsley Napley heavyweight Stephen Pollard. Pollard is to join the top 20 US law firm's London arm in the New Year to found and head the practice along with a team of two associates. The move is the latest in a string of similar appointments by corporate law firms moving to build white collar crime practices in Europe.
November 16, 2011 at 08:25 AM
3 minute read
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr is set to launch a City investigations and criminal litigation practice with the hire of Kingsley Napley heavyweight Stephen Pollard.
Pollard is to join the top 20 US law firm's London arm in the New Year to found and head the practice along with a team of two associates. The move is the latest in a string of similar appointments by corporate law firms moving to build white collar crime practices in Europe.
Pollard specialises in cases involving allegations of insider trading, market manipulation and market abuse and has acted on a number of high profile cases including advising Barings rogue trader Nick Leeson in 1995, whose actions led to the famous bank's collapse.
Pollard joined Kingsley Napley in 1989 from the Crown Prosecution Service and has been a partner at the firm since 1990, in which time he has built up a reputation as one of the most high profile corporate crime practitioners in the UK.
Pollard said: "After 22 fantastic years at Kingsley Napley I felt it was time for a new challenge. WilmerHale has a really strong white collar crime and securities practice in the US, but they did not have anyone dedicated to this full time in London, so I saw it as a great opportunity to build a practice for them.
"One of the things that particularly attracted me to the firm is that they understood the importance of representing the individual as well as corporations and that they already have a strong US foundation to support the London arm going forwards."
Other firms to make senior hires in the City include Wall Street leader Sullivan & Cromwell, which hired Simmons & Simmons partner Louise Delahunty earlier this year. Meanwhile, McGuireWoods boosted its London practice with the hire of Serious Fraud Office (SFO) general counsel Vivian Robinson QC in April 2011.
The drive from commercial law firms to break into corporate investigations and criminal defence work comes in response to a more robust enforcement stance from US and European regulators and the implementation this year of the UK's Bribery Act.
Corporate crime work in the UK had until recently been dominated by a handful of specialist law firms including Kingsley Napley and Peters & Peters – a contrast to the US where it is a lucrative practice area for many leading law firms.
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