Litigator Joins Winston's London Office

LONDON, May 30, 2012 -- Winston & Strawn LLP announced today that Justin McClelland MBE is joining the firm as a partner in its leading global commercial litigation practice and will be based in London. The arrival of McClelland is the latest in a string of high profile appointments for Winston both in London and globally.

McClelland who joins Winston & Strawn from Milbank LLP, has a strong track record of advising on complex and high-value disputes on behalf of blue chip companies and financial institutions. He has extensive experience in the area of financial regulatory investigations involving bodies including the Financial Services Authority, the Office of Fair Trading, the Serious Fraud Office, the European Commission and the US Department of Justice. 

Prior to commencing his commercial legal career with Slaughter and May, Justin served in the Army Legal Services in which he reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel advising at the highest level of government, in several operational environments. In 1998, Justin was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), in recognition of his work advising on sensitive military operations.   

McClelland is the first of a number of new hires who will be joining the London office of Winston's acclaimed global commercial disputes team led by Michael Madden, the former managing partner of Ashurst’s dispute resolution department, who joined Winston and Strawn in January 2012.

Madden said: “I am delighted that a lawyer with the calibre and experience of Justin will be joining the London team. His background in financial disputes and regulatory issues coupled with his broader litigation knowledge and experience will add to the firm’s growing dispute resolution capabilities as well as supporting our mission to work for clients on a wide range of litigation needs.”

This is the latest in a string of high profile appointments for Winston in London and globally, most recent being the hire of 22 litigation partners from Dewey & LeBoeuf, led by influential trial attorney and global litigation head Jeffrey Kessler, without doubt one of the most high profile and respected litigation practitioners. The Dewey hires also include Peter Crowther who will become a partner in the London office of Winston & Strawn.  Crowther has significant experience in defending companies in a wide range of national and international enforcement proceedings.  Other notable hires over the past few months include:  Robb Adkins, the former head of the President’s national Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, based in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Alfred Fabricant based in New York who joined from Dickstein Shapiro, Lawrence Drucker in New York, and Michael J. Scheer, in New York and Los Angeles to name just a few.

Commenting on the new appointment Tom Benz, Managing Partner of the London office said: “We expect to continue growing the firm in those practices and geographic locations where there is the greatest client demand for our services. The addition of these prominent lawyers will further strengthen the firms litigation practice but on a global basis.”

Winston & Strawn LLP is an international commercial law firm with 15 offices in North America, Asia and Europe.  More information about the firm is available at www.winston.com.