US rival takes second fraud solicitor from Denton Hall

FRAUD specialist John Wood, a former director of the Serious Fraud Office, is to leave Denton Hall to join US rivals Morgan Lewis & Bockius.

Wood is the second high-profile member of the firm's specialist fraud unit to join Morgan Lewis recently, and will take up the part-time post of senior counsel.

He will join former colleague Robert Goldspink, the ex-Denton Hall head of litigation, at the firm at the start of May and has already left Denton Hall, although nobody at the firm was available to comment.

A source at Morgan Lewis said: "We are delighted. He is a high-profile figure and it is quite a coup to get him."

Before joining Denton Hall in 1995, Wood held a series of important public posts and was the first head of the SFO.

Goldspink will join Morgan Lewis this week. The firm currently has 18 fee earners and partner Steven Loble said it aimed to have 100 lawyers in London in five years.