David Esseks will join the City giant's Manhattan arm as a partner, where he will specialise in white-collar and securities litigation. From 2003 until June 2007, Esseks served as head of the US' premier white-collar prosecution unit, supervising a staff of 20 Assistant US Attorneys.
He was involved in accounting fraud prosecutions of executives at Refco, Collins & Aikman, Royal Ahold, WorldCom and Adelphia Communications. He also oversaw a number of options-backdating investigations and insider trading cases.
Prior to joining the securities fraud unit, Esseks had served as chief of the narcotics unit and also worked in the organised crime unit, where he received a Department of Justice award for his work prosecuting a mob-run penny-stock fraud scheme.
He joined the US Attorney's Office in 1994 from
Commenting on the appointment, A&O litigation chief Andrew Clark said: "His arrival will further enhance Allen & Overy's reputation and strength in
The magic circle law firm now has around 160 lawyers based in its New York office.
