Taylor Wessing adds Travers competition head in latest pre-merger hire

Taylor Wessing has hired Travers Smith’s competition head Stephen Whitfield as a partner in its London office.

Whitfield advises on UK and EU merger control, cartel investigations and competition litigation. He joined Travers in 2011 and later became a partner before becoming head of the firm’s competition practice. He also worked as an associate at Taylor Wessing earlier in his career.

UK managing partner Shane Gleghorn described Whitfield as “a leading competition law expert with an outstanding track record across transactional, contentious and advisory matters”. He added that the hire supports the firm’s “ambitious growth plans”.

Hiring ahead of merger

The move is the latest addition to Taylor Wessing’s London bench as the firm continues to recruit senior partners ahead of its planned merger with US firm Winston & Strawn in May.

In February, the firm brought on board intellectual property partner Jeremy Drew from RPC. IP is being pitched as a central pillar of the combined firm’s transatlantic strategy.

Travers hit hard

Whitfield’s move also adds to a series of senior departures from Travers Smith over the past year, with several department heads leaving the firm.

Those exits include tax head Russell Warren to King & Spalding, pensions head Susie Daykin to Pinsent Masons and leveraged finance head Matthew Ayre to Goodwin.