LONDON (24 May, 2005) – Dorsey & Whitney continues the expansion of its litigation practice in London with two key lateral hires. Nick Burkill, who has headed Taylor Wessing’s commercial dispute group since 1999, and Liesl Fichardt, a leading tax litigation specialist, will join Dorsey in June.
With the hire of Nick Burkill, Dorsey adds a fourth London litigation partner to expand its mainstream commercial litigation practice in London. Nick’s broad experience, which includes recovering the proceeds of fraud, pursuing and defending professional negligence claims, and acting in shareholder disputes, is recognized in the Legal 500 and Chambers UK directories. Nick is a member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, the Committee headed by the Master of the Rolls and responsible for making rules of court subject to the Lord Chancellor.
Liesl Fichardt, a former judge and leading tax barrister in South Africa, joins Dorsey to enhance its existing reputation in tax litigation where it is acting as lead solicitors in some five group litigation orders proceeding through the courts, most of which are now the subject of references to the European Court.
Dorsey entered the London litigation market in a prominent way in 2003 by adding to its existing patent litigation specialists, a 10 person tax litigation team from Landwell headed by Simon Whitehead and asmaller team headed by Leslie Allen from Ernst & Young’s VAT litigation practice. Both teams were affected by the Sarbanes Oxley changes in early 2003 which prevented them from continuing to provide legal services for the SEC registered audit clients of either PwC or Ernst & Young.
With continued growth through 2004, the litigation unit now numbers 25. It represents over 300 major multinational company groups including Marks & Spencer in its European challenge to the UK’s group relief rules. That challenge was the subject of a favorable Advocate General’s opinion on April 7.
The head of Dorsey’s London office, John Byrne, said "We are delighted to welcome Nick and Liesl to the firm. It is a testament to the success of the litigation team that we can attract such first rate performers to such a young practice."
About Dorsey & Whitney
Clients have relied on Dorsey since 1912 as a valued, cutting-edge business partner. With over 700 lawyers in 20 locations in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, the firm has provided an integrated, proactive approach to its clients’ legal and business needs. Dorsey represents a number of the world's most successful Fortune 500 companies from a variety of disciplines including leaders in the financial services, investment banking, life sciences, securities, technology and energy sectors, as well as nonprofit and government entities. Its Trial Group handles disputes all over the world, with lawyers and staff located in offices throughout the U.S. and overseas.