Hogan Lovells litigation partners Graham Huntley and Helen Brannigan are leaving the firm to set up a commercial litigation practice in London.

The new firm, which will be called 'Signature Litigation', will be led by Huntley – Hogan Lovells' former investment banking and funds dispute resolution chief – and Brannigan as principals, with several associates from Hogan Lovells also joining the new venture.

Huntley (pictured), who made partner at legacy Lovells in 1993, is one of the most highly regarded litigators in the City, and his practice focuses on disputes involving banks, financial institutions and large corporates active in the financial markets.

He is well-known for his involvement in the Berezovsky trial, in which he is acting for the interests of the family and estate of Georgian oligarch Badri Patarkatsishvili. He will continue his role in this case at his new firm, in conjunction with a team at Hogan Lovells.

The motivation for the move is to create a dedicated commercial litigation practice, without the conflict issues associated with full-service law firms.

Huntley commented: "With the largest litigation practices increasingly part of global full-service firms with heavy overheads and far-reaching conflict problems, the market also needs smaller, leaner specialist firms without those conflicts and costs.

"Signature Litigation has been created as a firm focused solely on commercial and financial market litigation that into the future will be better able to meet demand."

Hogan Lovells co-chief executive David Harris said: "We are sorry to see Graham leave – he has a great track record and has given the firm tremendous service over the years. However, we understand his desire to take on a different challenge and opportunity and we wish him well. We have no doubt his new practice will have a positive impact."

He added: "In the short term Hogan Lovells and Signature Litigation will be collaborating on existing projects including the Berezovsky litigation. We certainly see potential for us to work together in the future."

The new practice will launch formally at the beginning of next month (1 April).

Huntley was also among a line-up of 17 lawyers appoined to a working group put together by the Civil Justice Council last August to look at the implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's reforms of civil litigation.