Lawyer Monthly - April 2022

LAWYER MOVES PGMBM has announced the arrival of Alicia Alinia as partner and its new Chief Operating Officer for the UK and Europe. An already accomplished law firm leader, she is slated to provide strategic leadership for PGMBM across Europe, working closely with the firm’s founding partners and C-Suite leadership team. Alinia joins from Slater and Gordon, where she served as the firm’s Chief People Officer and Managing Director of Consumer Legal Services. In this role, she led the business’s overall strategic direction and operational management. PGMBMGlobal Managing Partner TomGoodhead welcomed Alinia’s arrival. “Alicia’s experience as a legal leader speaks for itself, and her appointment comes at an exciting time for the firm,” he said in a statement. “In under four years, we have grown PGMBM into what I believe to be the world’s most incredible law firm. I am so proud of the groundbreaking work we are undertaking every day, and I am thrilled to welcome Alicia as we continue that journey.” Alinia also spoke on her enthusiasm to be joining the firm: “I am delighted to be joining PGMBM during an exciting time as we continue to grow and provide access to justice through the delivery of collective redress globally. The importance of equality before the law is the reason I joined the legal profession. “Having seen the incredible work by the firm from representing indigenous communities to pursuing large scale environmental class actions to protecting consumer rights in the digital space, it is clear that PGMBM is the world leading firm in the collective redress sphere. PGMBM have constantly found innovative ways for clients to have their voices heard and to ensure that globally important causes are championed in courts across the UK, Europe and the USA.” PGMBMPoaches COO from Slater and Gordon Dechert has announced the hire of Judith Seddon, one of the UK’s leading white-collar practitioners, as a partner in its London office. Seddon graduated from King’s College, London, with First-Class Honours and went on to receive an LLM from Yale and a Bachelor of Civil Law from New College, Oxford. She has a history of representing individuals, financial institutions and corporate clients in complex and high-stakes SFO and FCA investigations in the UK. She is also the only partner to be ranked in tier one by Chambers UK in both Financial Crime: Corporates and Financial Crime: Individuals. “Judith is well known as an exceptionally talented lawyer,” commented Dechert chair Andy Levander. “Dechert has one of the world’s elite whitecollar and investigations capabilities; a partner of Judith’s stature is a superb addition to our team.” Seddon stated: ““Dechert is a disputes powerhouse on both sides of the Atlantic and I am excited by the opportunity to build on this foundation and further strengthen Dechert’s special place in the market. I was drawn to Dechert by its long-standing commitment to global white-collar and investigations work and look forward to joining my new colleagues.” Seddon’s appointment marks the fourth high-profile female whitecollar partner to arrive at Dechert’s global offices in recent years. Her hire follows Maria Sit in Hong Kong, Clare Putnam Pozos in Philadelphia and Hartley West in San Francisco. Jennifer Bennett has joined Jones Day’s intellectual property practice in its San Francisco office, the law firm announced this month. Bennett brings extensive experience in advising global technology and life sciences companies in complex high-stakes patent and trade secret litigation. This work includes jury trial and litigation experience in patent disputes concerning biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, optical networking technologies, machine learning and plants. Jurisdictions in which she has experience include US district courts in California, Texas, Delaware, Washington and the International Trade Commission. Bennett is also versed in international arbitration relating to intellectual property in healthcare claim adjudication. Outside of patent litigation, she has also advised on transactions involving complex technologies, particularly related to the aforementioned technological areas. A graduate of the Santa Clara University School of Law, she has written widely on patent issues and patent issues and spoken often at IP summits. Aaron Agenbroad, partner-in-charge at Jones Day’s San Francisco office, welcomed Bennett’s arrival. "Jennifer is well-connected in Silicon Valley, and as IP matters continue to become more complex, her background makes her a terrific asset for our clients,” he said. “We are thrilled to have her as a member of our Northern California team." Dechert Appoints LeadingWhite-Collar Partner to London Office Jones Day Adds New Partner to San Francisco IP Practice 10 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | APR 2022

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