Hausfeld has unveiled a new London managing partner following the decision of current incumbent Lianne Craig to step down early for personal reasons. 

Nicola Boyle, a distinguished competition litigator, will take over from Craig next month. The claimant-focused disputes firm has also announced that Lucy Pert and Ned Beale are taking over from John McElroy to co-head the firm’s London commercial disputes team.

Craig took up the new role of UK managing partner at the start of 2022 as part of a wider leadership shake up that saw the US firm’s founder, Michael Hausfeld, step down as chairman. 

Hausfeld said Craig had decided to step down following a serious illness in her family, which required her to shift her focus.

Global co-chair Anthony Maton said: “Lianne has played a key role in shaping Hausfeld in London and the entire firm supports her decision to focus time on her family.”

Boyle, a distinguished competition litigator, has been an integral part of Hausfeld London since its inception and is a member of its London management committee. Her leadership in large-scale, intricate litigation has driven the expansion of the firm’s collective redress and group action practice. 

She has successfully handled some of the most significant damages claims of the past decade, including the paraffin wax cartel and the interchange fee litigation. Currently, she is leading the collective action against Qualcomm on behalf of the consumer group Which? over alleged abuses of its dominance in the markets for smartphone chipsets and standard essential patents.

Boyle was instrumental in founding the Collective Redress Lawyers Association (CORLA), which has been actively lobbying for legislation to reverse last year’s Supreme Court PACCAR ruling, which rendered thousands of litigation funding agreements unenforceable.

Maton said: “I could not think of a better person to continue our work than Nicola, who deeply understands our business and critical practices and has played a key role in our management committee for years. She has helped navigate the firm’s path in the dynamic and continuously changing environment.”

McElroy, meanwhile, makes way for Pert and Beale after recently becoming vice chair of the London Solicitors Litigation Association.

Pert has a strong practice in commercial disputes, focusing on financial services in litigation and arbitration. She joined the firm from Harbour Litigation Funding in 2018, having previously practised at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

Beale continues to act in market-leading disputes in the High Court and international arbitration, focusing on aviation and post-M&A claims. He joined the firm in 2021 from Trowers & Hamlins, where he was head of international arbitration. 

Hausfeld recently celebrated two key antitrust partner hires: Joanna Christoforou joined from Morgan Lewis in London last month, while René Galle will move across from A&O Shearman’s Hamburg office later this year. In April, however, disputes partner Duran Ross rejoined Lewis Silkin.  

Meanwhile, antitrust partner Lucy Rigby, who was made up in 2021, is a candidate for the Labour Party in the crucial Conservative Party-held swing seat of Northampton North at the forthcoming general election. Former Attorney General Sir Michael Ellis KC vacated the seat in May.