Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has hired the former head of litigation at an independent French firm in a boost to its white-collar offering in Europe.
Kami Haeri, a former partner at August Debouzy, has joined Quinn and brings with him two counsel – Benoit Javaux and Valérie Munozpons. Associates Helen Adler and Noémie Coutrot-Cieslinski are also joining the firm.
Haeri will chair Quinn’s commercial litigation and white collar practices in the firm’s Paris office, which launched in 2012 with the hire of Shearman & Sterling former arbitration hire Philippe Pinsolle.
Haeri specialises in international regulatory compliance in domestic and international investigations and has represented clients in an array of industries such as aeronautics, defence and space, tobacco, chemicals, information technology communications and entertainment.
Quinn managing partner John Quinn said: “In the regulatory and prosecution areas, the world is shrinking quickly, with multinational white collar governmental enforcement and regulatory actions becoming increasingly common. Kami’s white collar expertise in France and the EU will fit in well with our worldwide white collar practice.”
Haeri added: “I was placed on secondment to Quinn Emanuel for a little over a year back in 2001, and have closely followed the firm’s incredible development ever since. Its expertise and amazing international capabilities in white collar and investigations are truly impressive.”
Quinn is one of many firms keen to develop its offering in what is becoming an increasingly lucrative area of law.
In the UK, the increased activity of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has left many firms wanting to recruit in the space so as to advise clients on compliance.
Hogan Lovells and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer recruited internally from government regulators, with the former hiring the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Claire Lipworth and the latter Ben Morgan from the SFO.
Earlier this year, Linklaters partners Kiril Bougartchev and Emmanuel Moyne left the magic circle firm’s Paris office to launch a business crime boutique called Bourgartchev Moyne Associés. It advises financial services institutions and insurance companies and their senior staff on litigation and regulatory matters.
