Arnold & Porter captures in-houser for corporate, IP push

Arnold & Porter has snared the former general counsel of Body Shop and Gap to bolster its London corporate team.

Paula Levitan joins from retail investment fund Manzanita Capital, where she has served as general counsel since 2003.

Arnold & Porter London managing partner Tim Frazer said: "Paula is part of our drive for growth in London. The firm's model for growth in London is focused on mirroring strengths in the States. Corporate and IP are success stories for us in Washington [DC] and New York, so it makes sense to drive growth in these areas in London."

Levitan was the group associate general counsel at Gap Group from 1991 to 2000. Until 2003 she held the Body Shop general counsel position.

"Having been in-house for some time, I'm a generalist," said Levitan. "However, my experience in the retail sector and with Manzanita Capital has given me good global corporate experience."

At present Arnold & Porter has three partners and five associates based in its London corporate team.

Frazer said: "We want to recruit in corporate particularly because it spans the other practice areas we want to be strong in, such as IP and finance."