Dentons poaches top SFO lawyer in push to bolster investigations team
Dentons has poached one of the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO’s) top lawyers, as it pushes forwards with efforts to bolster its ranks with public sector hires.
SFO deputy general counsel Rebecca Dix will take on a new position at Dentons’ London office, switching from the public sector crime agency to the fourth largest law firm in the world.
Dentons, the world’s fourth largest law firm, hired Dix as it pushes looks to increase its cohort of ex-regulators and prosecutors in the face of “increased scrutiny” from agencies worldwide.
Dentons’ hiring of Dix comes after the law firm hired ex-Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lawyer Sarah Partridge-Smith in May last year.
Dix has previously worked on an array of high-profile fraud and corruption cases during her five-year tenure at the SFO, including the UK agency’s cases against Airbus, Axiom Legal Financing, and Global Forestry Investments.
Prior to joining the SFO in 2017, the high-flying lawyer forged her career as a barrister by working for more than a decade at London chambers 2 Bedford Row.
In a statement, Dentons’ head of regulatory and investigations Katharine Harle, said: “Dentons is recognised as a standout firm for its contentious financial services and trade and sanctions practice.”
“The addition of Rebecca is a clear demonstration of our commitment to further develop this offering globally, as well as our ambitious growth strategy for the UK, Ireland and Middle East.”
“In this era of increased scrutiny from regulators, the public and the media, regulatory defence, compliance and white-collar crime are areas of growing demand from our clients, and expertise in the areas of prosecution, defence, bribery and corruption investigations will complement our ability to support them at a time when they need it the most,” Harle said.