Steptoe & Johnson has recruited the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO's) joint head of bribery and corruption as a partner for its London office.

Patrick Rappo, who joins the US firm's white-collar criminal defence practice today (15 April), practised as a barrister for 12 years prior to joining the SFO in 2007. At Steptoe he will work across regulation, compliance and litigation.

While at the SFO he was involved in a number of high-profile matters, including acting as case manager on the 2011 case against fraudster Edward 'Fast Eddie' Davenport. Other multi-jurisdictional cases he has worked on have involved the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Rappo has also been a supporter of efforts to introduce deferred prosecution agreements – a common feature of US white collar crime litigation – to the UK, and led a Deferred Prosecution Working Group while at the SFO.

Steptoe chair Roger Warin said: "Patrick's experience with the SFO, particularly in the fraud and corruption area, as well as his prior experience as a barrister handling criminal cases, makes him an excellent fit for Steptoe. Fraud and corruption cases have become increasingly multi-jurisdictional in character in recent years, and the UK is an important jurisdiction for such actions."

Steptoe's white collar practice comprises lawyers in Washington DC, London, Beijing, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The news follows a series of senior departures from the SFO to US law firms in London, with many firms currently moving to bolster their white collar crime practices in Europe in response to the tougher current stance on corporate wrongdoing.

Last year, Kirkland & Ellis' City arm recruited the SFO's head of bribery and corruption Satnam Tumani, while the former head of the anti-corruption team, Robert Amaee, left for an of counsel position at Covington & Burling, with former head of policy Charlie Monteith taking a similar position at White & Case.

Other departures to US firms have included Glyn Powell, who left the SFO's fraud business area for Jones Day, and general counsel Vivian Robinson QC, who joined McGuireWoods in April last year.