Fried Frank beefs up London partnership with Olswang hire

Alasdair Balfour, who takes up his position on 1 May, will be based in the firm’s London office.

His practice focuses on EC and UK antitrust and regulatory investigations across a range of industry sectors, with a particular emphasis on merger control and cartel work. Before joining Olswang in 2007 he spent 10 years at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Balfour’s appointment comes after Barry Nigro returned to the firm from Willkie Farr & Gallagher in September 2009 to head its antitrust practice (14 September 2009). Nigro said Balfour’s arrival was a “key part of our commitment to developing a premier antitrust practice”.

He is the first lateral hire made by Fried Frank in London since the arrival of Mark Wesseldine in November (11 November 2009). Wesseldine joined the firm from Allen & Overy.