Two UK Partners at Dorsey and McDermott Face Insider Trading Charges
A current and a former partner at the London offices of two U.S.-based law firms—Dorsey & Whitney and McDermott Will & Emery—face charges of insider trading by the U.K. Financial Services Authority.
Legal Week and Bloomberg report that the two lawyers are Dorsey & Whitney partner Andrew Rimmington and former McDermott Will & Emery partner Michael McFall. The accusations relate to the 2006 takeover of Neutec Pharma by Novartis. McFall had worked at Dorsey before he joined McDermott.
Court documents reveal that the lawyers, both corporate partners, will be charged next month with insider trading and disclosing nonpublic information, Bloomberg reports. Neutec’s former financial director, Peter King, will also be charged with insider trading, the story says. All three men have been ordered to appear in court to face the charges.
A lawyer for Rimmington confirmed the investigation and did not offer further comment. McFall also declined to comment. “I don’t know what to say,” he told Bloomberg. The article says he left McDermott to start up a private-equity advisory firm. McDermott spokeswoman Julie Stott said neither the firm nor McFall worked on the Neutec takeover. A Dorsey spokesperson also said the firm did not work on the matter, according to Legal Week.
Bloomberg says the FSA has become more aggressive in pursuing prosecutions. Criminal defense lawyer David Corker told Bloomberg the case will be a high-profile one. “Bearing in mind the damage it will do to the lawyers and their firms, I hope that the FSA are convinced of the strength of their case and not just doing it to send out a deterrent.”
