Latham swoops for Herbert Smith star

Latham & Watkins has secured a coup with the hire of Herbert Smith’s head of public international law, Robert Volterra.

Volterra is regarded as the UK’s market leader in public international law and was responsible for spearheading Herbert Smith’s practice, which has become widely recognised as preeminent in the UK.

While at Herbert Smith, Volterra carved a niche advising on a range of contentious and non-contentious international law issues including boundary disputes and treaty drafting.

The hire marks the US firm’s debut into public international law in the UK.

Latham & Watkins London head David Miles said the appointment underlined the firm’s ongoing push into arbitration in London and Paris. The US firm hopes to exploit synergies between Volterra’s public international law expertise and other practice areas such as project finance.

"He’s a formidable operator and has achieved a lot in a short period of time," said Miles.