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Dechert Grows California Team With Former Federal Prosecutor Hire

By  |  August 29, 2021

Dechert continues its strategic expansion in California with the additions of distinguished former federal prosecutor Hartley Westand leading corporate governance litigator Rick Horvath to the firm’s global litigation practice in San Francisco. In addition, Dechert litigation partner Joshua Hess and corporate partner Jonathan Stott have relocated to San Francisco from the firm’s Washington, DC, and Philadelphia offices, respectively.

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    The announcements are the latest in Dechert’s ongoing commitment to growth and expansion in California, which has included welcoming an acclaimed product liability trial team led by partners Kimberly Branscome and Jay Bhimani to the Los Angeles office in 2020, and experienced IP litigator Jennifer Swan to the Silicon Valley office earlier this year.

    Andrew Levander, Chair of Dechert’s Policy Committee, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Hartley and Rick to the firm. California continues to lead innovations across the globe and remains a strategic growth area for our firm. The additions of our new partners, along with the moves of our existing partners, will bolster our corporate and litigation capabilities in California, and deepen our bench of top talent on the West Coast.”

    Mark Perlow, Managing Partner of Dechert’s San Francisco office, said, “We are excited to be joined by our new colleagues, Hartley and Rick, and our existing colleagues, Joshua and Jonathan, as we continue to execute on our plans to expand our presence and further build on our strengths in California.”

    Ms. West is an accomplished first-chair litigator and trial lawyer with extensive experience advising on high-stakes government enforcement defense and asset forfeitures. She regularly advises clients facing investigations into alleged violations of antitrust, fraud, corruption, trade secret, and money laundering laws. She served as an Assistant US Attorney for the Northern District of California, including as Deputy Chief of its Economic Crimes and Securities Fraud Section. She also clerked for the Honorable John T. Noonan Jr. of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She received a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    Mr. Horvath focuses his practice on securities litigation, and has considerable experience advising on a wide range of transactional and corporate governance matters. He regularly represents boards of directors, significant investors, and public companies, and his wide-ranging practice includes strategic advice to boards and investors, shareholder litigation in Delaware and nationally, and matters before the SEC and FINRA. He received a J.D. from University of Pennsylvania School of Law, and an M.S. and B.A. from Lehigh University.

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