Top 20 UK firm Taylor Wessing has bolstered its international disputes and investigations offering in London with a duo from Collyer Bristow that includes partner and commercial disputes practice head Richard Viegas.

Viegas makes the move along with associate Lucy Waddicor. He joined Collyer as a partner in 2016 from IP and litigation specialist Bristows and earlier spent eight years as an associate at Hogan Lovells.

An international disputes lawyer, Viegas brings experience in high-profile litigation and a focus on litigation funding to his new role, regularly acting for the funders themselves and on funded litigation across a number of sectors.

His financial disputes experience includes acting for investment and retail banks, hedge funds, asset managers and accountancy firms, as well as family offices and private equity, while his commercial disputes experience covers data protection and the pharmaceutical, technology, media, commodities, real estate and energy sectors.

Taylor Wessing’s international head of disputes and investigations, Andrew Howell, said Viegas brings “first-class international expertise in dealing with the most complex commercial and insolvency disputes. His commercial approach complements our own, providing clients with market knowledge and specialist advice across sectors and jurisdictions.”

Taylor Wessing’s UK managing partner, Shane Gleghorn, said the firm is seeing an increasing flow of opportunities and demand from clients looking for advisors with a high degree of expertise in relation to complex cross-border disputes.

“We continue, therefore, to invest in disputes lawyers who have strong reputations resolving that type of litigation, especially as it pertains to our areas of sector focus. Richard's appointment is a perfect example of this. He has an excellent reputation in relation to complex litigation and investigations, and brings with him a wealth of experience that will assist our clients," he added.

The hire of Viegas and Waddicor is the second expansion of Taylor Wessing’s disputes group in the UK in recent months, following September’s announcement that Mishcon de Reya’s head of international arbitration Karel Daele was joining the firm along with managing associate Elizabeth Montpetit. Their departures were one of a number from Mishcon ahead of its planned listing on the London Stock Exchange, including all the partners in its highly-regarded fraud defence and business disputes group.

Taylor Wessing has also been expanding internationally this year, announcing in June that it was launching a specialist intellectual property and trademark business in China and hiring a partner apiece from offshore firm Maples Group and regional firm ReganWall to spearhead its launch in Dublin.