Latham & Watkins hires John Pierce in New York

Latham & Watkins hires John Pierce in New York

Latham's international arbitration practice will be co-chaired by John Pierce along with Fernando Mantilla-Serrano

Several lawyers in the international arbitration practice of Latham & Watkins have been recruited to co-chair it with Wilmer Hale, a cross-border dispute specialist.

The firm's litigation and trial department welcomes Pierce as a partner in New York. Clients he represents in international arbitration in civil law and common law jurisdictions deal with high-stakes matters. other than dealing with disputes related to joint ventures and shareholders, he has experience in matters related to sustainable intellectual property, financial services and chemical supply contracts.

As a global thought leader in the field and widely recognized as a first-rate advocate, arbitrator, and mentor, Franco Mantilla-Serrano, the Paris-based co-chair of Pierce, noted: "John has over 20 years of experience handling complex, international disputes, both through arbitration and litigation."

Formerly, Mantilla-Serrano was co-chair with New York-based Claudia Salomon, who left Latham to work as an independent arbitrator and last summer became chairman of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Previously, Pierce served as head of international arbitration at Wilmer Hale for more than two decades. He was a law clerk to Judge Margaret McKeown before joining Wilmer Hale in the beginning of this century and was an associate in Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's litigation department before joining Wilmer Hale.

A partner in the firm's international arbitration practice, Sophie Lamb QC said: "John possesses a team-focused perspective that complements our collegial and collaborative approach." "An internationally acclaimed creative, thoughtful and strategic advisor, John also brings a creative, thoughtful and strategic perspective."

Following Santiago Bejarano's arrival in New York last February, Pierce is Wilmer Hale's second international arbitration recruit in the past 18 months. With a dual qualifications in New York and Colombia, Bejarano joins Latham's Los Angeles disputes bench and adds multiple years of experience in Latin America arbitration.

It is a strategic goal for the firm to continue developing its international arbitration practice, according to Marc Jaffe, managing partner of Latham's New York office. Latham's long-term and near-term vision is shaped by New York's role as a global hub for international arbitration."

It was ranked by Global Arbitration Review (GAR) among the top 15 international arbitrators in its annual GAR 30 report earlier this year. It has also been reported that nine of the practice's lawyers, including Mantilla-Serrano, Lamb and Bejarano, made it into the Who's Who Legal arbitration report at the end of last year.