Clifford Chance (CC) is bulking up its regulatory enforcement and white collar crime practice in London with the hire of Norton Rose litigation partner Dorian Drew.

Drew, who joined Norton Rose in 2000, recently led a Norton Rose team advising former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond in relation to the Libor rate-fixing scandal. He is expected to join CC this summer.

He focuses on financial services regulatory enforcement matters and litigation, and has advised clients on investigations and actions brought by organisations including the Financial Services Authority, the Department of Trade and Industry and the London Stock Exchange.

CC global head of litigation Jeremy Sandelson said: "Businesses are increasingly facing challenges from regulators, often coordinating across borders, and related fines are hitting record highs. As a result they need sophisticated and practical cross border advice and support. Given our existing strong reputation in this field it makes sense for us to continue to invest in high quality talent."

Drew added: "The firm is a natural choice for me, providing an unrivalled international network and client base, and strong teams for both contentious and advisory regulatory issues."

CC's global regulatory and financial crime team is led by Roger Best and Carlos Conceicao and comprises 44 partners across the firm's US, Europe and Asia-Pacific offices.

News of Drew's departure comes after Norton Rose saw financial disputes partner Charles Evans quit for Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy last October, shortly after international head of arbitration Joseph Tirado left for Winston & Strawn and fellow London disputes partner Steve Abraham left for Baker & McKenzie.

Norton Rose is set to combine with US firm Fulbright & Jaworski as Norton Rose Fulbright in June this year.

Norton Rose global litigation and dispute resolution head Deirdre Walker said: "We can confirm Dorian has retired from the practice and we wish him all the best for his future career.

"His departure comes at a time when we are expanding our disputes business. We currently have more than 500 litigation and dispute resolution specialists which will increase to more than 1,000 specialist litigation lawyers worldwide when we combine with Fulbright.

"This week, we welcome Christian Dargham, who will be joining us as a litigation and dispute resolution partner from CC in Paris".

Dargham, who was previously a counsel at CC, specialises in advising on product liability and white collar crime, as well as compliance issues.

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