As the US Department of Justice (DoJ) sees further exits as the Trump administration moves in, Linklaters has hired former principal associate deputy attorney general Matt Axelrod as a partner in its Washington DC office.
Axelrod (pictured) was a senior member of the DoJ’s leadership team, advising former attorney general Sally Yates prior to her sacking by President Donald Trump. Trump fired Yates on 30 January after she told DoJ lawyers not to defend the executive order banning US entry for people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
From 2009 and 2013 Axelrod worked with the DoJ, including as senior counsel to the criminal division. He spent just over a year from 2014-15 as a partner at Washington firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll bewfore returning to the DoJ.
Axelrod joins Linklaters growing Washington disputes practice, strengthening the firm’s government risk team and increasing its bench strength in foreign corrupt practices, securities fraud and white collar crime.
Last year, Linklaters added to its Washington team with the hire of Adam Lurie as head of litigation and government investigations from Cadwalader in 2016, as well as hiring antitrust partner Douglas Tween from Baker McKenzie in 2015.
Linklaters global head of dispute resolution Michael Bennett said: ‘We are delighted to have Matt join our dispute resolution practice as, in addition to his impressive litigation credentials, he further enhances our US regulatory, white collar crime and [foreign corrupt practices] capabilities for our clients in the US and globally.’
Bennett has been growing out Linklaters’ disputes team, increasing its offering beyond the firm’s traditional bench strength in corporate and finance. Earlier this year, Linklaters also hired Susana Cao Miranda into its London litigation practice from Goldman Sachs.
matthew.field@legalease.co.uk
Read more on Linklaters in: ‘Rain men – goodbye Harvard Kool-Aid, hello plain speaking at Linklaters’ c-suite‘
