Will crime pay for US firms in Europe?

Readers of this site have become accustomed to stories of major US law firms striving to get their bankruptcy practices in order. One recent example: last week we saw Michael Sage, the co-head of restructuring at O'Melveny & Myers, moving to Dechert, the latest in a line of lateral moves that have reflected the economic climate.

The white-collar crime Bar has not been quite as active - except, it seems, at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. In December the US giant added three partners to its New York practice from Clifford Chance, including the magic circle firm's former white-collar head, John Carroll. That was followed this week by an announcement that the firm had moved Gary DiBianco from Washington DC to London to lead a European corporate investigations practice.

A partner for three years, DiBianco has of late seen his practice take on a more multinational dimension.

"Over the last few years many of the investigations have taken on an international aspect, either because the company is outside of the US or because it's an American company with international operations," he says. "There is also a growing amount of co-operation between countries' regulatory bodies."

In recent years, for instance, Skadden's practice has picked up work for the likes of French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale - the latter following the huge trading losses run up by Jerome Kerviel.

"We have a growing number of lawyers working on European investigations and now we are launching a focused practice group to co-ordinate what we already have and to leverage off our US practice," says DiBianco, whose role will be to co-ordinate and perhaps grow the firm's existing resource. He declined, however, to offer a precise figure for the number of lawyers involved.

Nothing exemplifies the growing international nature of white-collar cases better than the investigation into a bribery scandal of Siemens. Last December the German company was hit with a $1.34bn (£890m) fine by US and German authorities following a two-year investigation led by Debevoise & Plimpton.

The Debevoise team, headed by New York partner Bruce Yannett, pocketed some $270m (£180m) in fees. Yannett insists that the firm is ahead of the curve in its European white-collar practice; given the Siemens case, it is hard to argue with him. By moving DiBianco to London, Skadden clearly hopes a few similar-sized instructions will now come its way.