Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has hired a competition partner from Covington & Burling into its London office, the City base's first partner hire of the year.

Elaine Whiteford joins Quinn after just over two years at Covington, having joined in 2017 as part of a team move from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM).

According to a statement by Quinn, Whiteford has more than 15 years' experience in contentious EU competition and regulatory work. She also has experience in commercial litigation with a competition law focus and deals regularly with the U.K. and European Courts, the European Commission and the Competition and Markets Authority.

Managing partner for Quinn, John Quinn, said in a statement: "Competition and antitrust is one of our fastest-growing practice areas, especially in London, and Elaine will help us keep up with and add to that growth."

Co-managing partner of Quinn's UK competition practice, Boris Bronfentrinker, said in a statement that he has "known Elaine for many years" and that she has worked on "some of the highest-profile competition cases that have gone through the courts".

Before Covington, Whiteford served as a partner at KWM between 2013 and 2016, and at legacy Berwin Leighton Paisner between 2011 and 2013. Earlier in her career, she spent 11 years at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Following Whiteford's hire and the promotion of Nicola Chesaites earlier this year, Quinn has now doubled the number of its partners in its City competition practice to four.

The firm also launched a patent litigation practice in January with a senior associate hire from Bird & Bird.

Quinn's London competition team is currently representing the claimants in the £14bn MasterCard class action, led by Bronfentrinker.