Weil Gotshal & Manges has hired antitrust partner Jenine Hulsmann from Clifford Chance in London – its second senior lateral hire from a UK Magic Circle firm within a matter of months.

Hulsmann’s appointment follows that of longstanding corporate partner Murray Cox from Slaughter and May in February. Although she is a replacement for the long-serving London competition head, Doug Nave, who retired this year, the firm signalled its ambition to take advantage of her arrival to build up its antitrust capability in Europe, which does not have the same profile as its New York practice.

Weil executive partner Barry Wolf said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Jenine, who is widely regarded as a top practitioner, and will be leading the growth of our antitrust/competition practice in Europe, working closely with our market-leading practice in the US. ”

A key role for Hulsmann will be to support the firm’s M&A and private equity practice at a time when Covid-19 is driving regulatory authorities to increase their scrutiny of cross-border deals.

Hulsmann brings with her extensive experience in competition law and regulation, with a focus on the TMT, pharmaceutical, energy and infrastructure sectors. She advises clients on matters relating to merger and foreign investment proceedings, competition law investigations and appeals, representing both corporations and investors before national competition authorities, regulators and appeal courts.

London managing partner Mike Francies added: “Jenine’s extensive track record of advising major corporates and large private equity funds on competition and regulatory matters fits perfectly into our European platform.”

Hulsmann had been at Clifford Chance for a quarter of a century. High-profile matters she has worked on include Telefonica’s merger with O2 and Virgin Media’s merger with Liberty Global, including the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) Phase 2 investigation. She has also advised on a number of CMA investigations into unfair pricing and anti-competitive agreements in the pharma sector.

In March, Slaughters lost competition lawyer Jackie Holland to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton as the US firm looked to bolster its European antitrust team in the wake of Brexit. And in December Wall Street firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett took on Allen & Overy’s (A&O’s) former global antitrust co-head Antonio Bavasso ahead of plans to open a Brussels office this summer.