Reed Smith has boosted its UK white-collar crime capabilities with the hire of a King’s Counsel from the US disputes boutique Cohen & Gresser’s London arm.
Richard Kovalevsky KC joins the top 40 US firm after four years at Cohen & Gresser, having previously led the financial crime practice at UK disputes specialists Stewarts, which he joined in 2018 after a long career at the Bar.
Kovalevsky brings with him three decades of experience representing high-net-worth individuals, directors and corporations in investigatory and litigious environments.
He will join Reed Smith’s white collar criminal defence and investigations practice, which boasts more than 50 lawyers, according to the firm’s website, and is rated by the legal directories across several locations.
Charles Hewetson, co-chair of the global commercial disputes group, described the hire as “a rare opportunity to bring a King’s Counsel of Richard’s standing to the firm”.
He added: “He is highly talented and hugely experienced, and he has a commercial outlook that will prove a real asset to our clients, many of whom are already very familiar with him.”
Kovalevsky’s expertise spans corporate crime, mainstream criminal defence for individuals and associated regulatory enforcement action.
Career highlights include a notable Supreme Court win in 2021, when he and Lord Pannick KC represented US contractor KBR in a case against the SFO. They were joined by barristers from Matrix Chambers, instructed by Barry Vitou, now head of HFW’s white collar crime team.
The case held that the SFO could not compel a foreign business to hand over information held overseas under Section 2(3) of the Criminal Justice Act 1987.
Brigid North, London office managing partner, described him as “the type of lawyer we want to bring on board as we grow our London office and deepen our client relationships, advising them on their most complex matters”.
Explaining his decision to leave the top criminal set 2 Bedford Row to establish a white collar crime practice at Stewarts, he told Legal Business magazine in 2018: “At the Bar, I was involved in many large cases working as part of a large legal team. Over time, I realised that I enjoyed running these teams and empowering the other professionals I worked with. Strategic decision-making for clients facing the risk of prosecutorial action had become a regular exercise. These skills fit well with a law firm.”
Top white collar crime specialists are in high demand in London. Other recent hires include Clyde & Co’s appointment in March of RPC’s global head of white-collar crime and compliance, Sam Tate, as global head of regulatory and investigations.
In February 2024, Paul Hastings bolstered its London investigations and litigation bench by hiring partners Stuart Alford KC and Oliver Browne from Latham & Watkins.
And in January, the former Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk KC, joined Jones Day as a partner in its global disputes practice, a few months after his defeat in the general election.
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