McDermott Will & Emery has hired arbitration lawyer Milo Molfa in London from boutique firm Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle.

Molfa, who is dual-qualified in England and Wales and as an Italian lawyer, joins as a partner. His practice focuses on high-profile international commercial arbitrations and investor-state disputes, representing corporations and sovereign entities across various industries, such as aviation, automotive, real estate and construction, energy, media and mining, all of which are sectors which McDermott has targeted in previous lateral hires.

Over the past 15 years, Molfa has acted as lead counsel in more than 60 international investment treaties and commercial arbitrations while contributing to the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) UK arbitration and ADR committee.

Steven Scholes, global head of McDermott’s litigation practice group, said: “Milo’s stellar track record in international arbitration and his talent for untangling complex disputes will provide great value to our clients.”

Molfa arrives after almost five years as a partner at Curtis, having worked previously as a counsel at Cleary Gottlieb for 13 years in Milan, Rome and London. He trained and qualified at Herbert Smith Freehills.

London managing partner Aymen Mahmoud said that Molfa’s “enthusiasm and dedication to excellence are a perfect fit for our team”, while London litigation practice head Andrew Savage noted Molfa’s “acumen in handling intricate international arbitration cases”.

Molfa will work alongside arbitration partner Michael Darowski, who joined in 2021, and counsel Romilly Holland, both of whom have solid arbitration backgrounds. Molfa’s hire signals a desire to expand its contentious offering alongside previous heavy investment in transactional and regulatory partners.

Molfa is the 11th lateral partner hire to arrive at McDermott over the past year, reinforcing the firm’s disputes capabilities alongside a wave of transactional hires in private equity, corporate, finance, tax, and restructuring, among other areas. The firm added a seven-lawyer litigation team from Orrick in March 2024, specialising in US corporate crime and investigations.

McDermott previously hired litigation partner Jack Thorne in 2022 and counts Wilberforce Chambers Marcia Shekerdemian KC as a retained senior consultant.

McDermott has also seen a number of London exits, including corporate partner Michal Berkner, the wife of shadow Lord Chancellor Robert Jenrick, who left last year.

Private client partners Nick Holland and Simon Gibb also left to join Maples & Calder and Trowers & Hamlins respectively, as the firm shifted its focus to London transactional work with the arrival of veteran dealmaker Graham White.