McDermott Will & Schulte has added former Brown Rudnick partner Jessica Lee to its growing disputes team.
Lee advises corporates and individuals on high-value, complex commercial disputes, spanning civil fraud, asset recovery, shareholder litigation and regulatory matters.
She leaves her former firm after nine years, of which more than three were spent as a partner. She previously worked at Baker McKenzie as a senior associate, where she trained and qualified, with secondments to British American Tobacco, Barclays Bank and Dutch telecoms operator Vimpel.
She is well known for handling complex cross-border disputes and investigations, including those involving the US Department of Justice and the UK Serious Fraud Office.
One facet of Lee’s practice is her experience in crypto and blockchain disputes, spanning crypto-asset fraud and recovery actions, major exchange insolvencies and complex decentralised finance matters.
Lee is a co-editor of the second edition of the Global Legal Post’s Law Over Borders Cryptoassets guide, which launched earlier this month.
Joshua Simon, global head of McDermott’s litigation group, said: “Jessica is a highly regarded litigator known for handling complex, high-stakes disputes. Her expertise across civil fraud, asset recovery and crypto matters is a natural fit with our strategic direction and the increasingly sophisticated demands of our clients.”
Aymen Mahmoud, the firm’s London managing partner, added: “Bringing Jessica on board is another stride forward in the evolution of our London office.
“We are building depth across key areas and investing in talent that reflects both our ambition and the pace of our growth. Her strength in crypto disputes sits neatly within our existing business and drives forward what is a key growth area in cutting-edge legal services.”
The appointment follows the recent additions of partners Hilton Mervis and Milo Molfa, as McDermott deepened its litigation bench in London.
Separately, McDermott hired former A&O Shearman corporate partner Lisa Göransson as a senior consultant in its London office. Göransson brings nearly 30 years of experience advising on complex corporate finance and M&A transactions, with a strong focus on Nordic markets and globally.
A dual-qualified English and Swedish lawyer, she has also held general counsel roles, including at a Swedish NASDAQ-listed multinational company and has served as an acting appellate judge.
In other litigation moves, King & Spalding saw two exits: Peter Hood joined Fieldfisher’s regulatory practice as a partner in London, while multilingual partner Egishe Dzhazoyan – who speaks Armenian, Russian, German, French and English – joined litigation boutique Gresham Law, departing King & Spalding after 13 years.
Stewarts, meanwhile, hired construction litigator Alexandra Lyons as a partner in its policyholder disputes practice, having previously been a legal director at DLA Piper.
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