Jones Day has added a senior employment and privacy lawyer in London from US rival Morgan Lewis & Bockius. 

Pulina Whitaker has joined Jones Day as a partner in its labour and employment practice after eight years at Morgan Lewis, where she was co-head of the global privacy and cybersecurity practice. 

Whitaker brings 25 years of experience advising clients on employment and data privacy issues and has particular experience managing employment matters in sales and acquisitions, commercial outsourcing and business restructurings. She regularly advises on international employee misconduct investigations and defence strategies in response to a range of employment and data privacy allegations and claims – including bullying, harassment, unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing, breach of data processing and employment contract claims; she also supports cross-border data breach investigations.

“Pulina is accomplished at helping clients navigate complex employment law matters in the UK and across other European jurisdictions,” said Elizabeth McRee, co-leader of Jones Day’s labour and employment practice. “Her practice spans internationally and includes some of the world’s largest companies in the technology, financial services and life sciences industries. Her background is an excellent complement to our global practice and I am pleased to welcome her to Jones Day.”

At Jones Day, Whitaker has joined a labour and employment team that includes more than 130 lawyers worldwide. She will work alongside the firm’s senior employment lawyers to advise clients facing employment discrimination, harassment, wage-hour and restrictive covenant cases in federal and state courts.

“Pulina is a highly respected member of the London legal community and is well-known for advising clients in high-stakes employment matters in the UK and throughout Europe,” said John Phillips, partner-in-charge of Jones Day’s London office. “In addition to her work with corporate clients, Pulina has been appointed as a compliance monitor for the United Nations, completed a three-year monitor engagement of a UK charity for USAID, and is a trustee of Hostage International. Her legal experience and global perspective will be a valuable asset to our clients in London and worldwide.”

Whitaker is ranked by Legal 500 as a leading practitioner and is described as being “a key name” for issues covering employment and data privacy work.