Dentons announced it had hired contentious competition lawyer Laura Whyatt as a Partner in London. Whyatt joins from Willkie Farr & Gallagher, having previously worked at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Sherman & Sterling, both in London and Brussels.
Whyatt has almost a decade of contentious competition law experience and regularly acts in high-value competition litigation matters before the UK courts. She also has significant experience in cartel and abuse of dominance proceedings before the European Commission and EU courts. She has represented clients in a wide range of industries, including aviation, automotive, and technology.
Dentons also announced that Chris Graf, a partner in its London Competition and Foreign Investment group, will lead the firm’s competition practice in the UK from 1 May, taking over from Adrian. Chris has nearly 20 years of experience advising clients on the full range of competition law issues.
Laura’s appointment follows recent news that Glasgow-based competition lawyer Carolyn Burns was promoted to partner, bringing Dentons’ competition partner headcount in the UK to six.
KEY QUOTES:
“Laura’s expertise adds to the extensive experience we have in the contentious competition space, where the team has a track record of advising clients on high value and high-profile litigation, including defending collective claims. Her arrival accelerates our strategic ambition to advise multinational companies everywhere in the world they need to do business.”
– Paul Jarvis, CEO of Dentons’ UK, Ireland and Middle East (UKIME) region
“We are delighted to welcome Laura to our busy and expanding competition team. Competition litigation has grown exponentially since 2015 and our clients and colleagues will benefit considerably from Laura’s experience and insights in this rapidly developing area.”
– Adrian Magnus, Head of Competition at Dentons UKIME
“I am honoured to lead our growing competition practice and pay tribute to the exceptional work that Adrian has done in developing and growing the team since joining Dentons as practice head in 2015. More and more, regulatory issues are creating headwinds for our clients, and they look to us for legal advice that considers the global view while providing a local perspective – Adrian has been at the forefront of driving that work, and I look forward to continuing it.”
– Chris Graf
