Stewarts will launch a new financial crime practice following the hire of 2 Bedford Row white-collar silk Richard Kovalevsky QC as a partner into its London office next month.

Kovalevsky has been practising for 35 years after being called to the Bar in 1983, taking silk two decades later. He will bring the firm’s partner count up to 62 across its two offices in London and Leeds.

Stewarts managing partner John Cahill said: “We plan to establish a leading financial crime team. Stewarts provides an excellent platform for such a practice. Civil fraud, regulatory obligations and criminal investigations increasingly overlap. Our expertise in civil fraud, asset recovery and tax litigation will enable us to assist our clients with a broader range of issues. We are delighted that Richard has agreed to join.”

During his career, Kovalevsky has worked on a number of prominent investigations by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), including a joint SFO/Department of Justice investigation into allegations of South Korean corruption and the SFO’s current investigation into the Eurasian Natural Resources Company (ENRC).

The hearing over privileged documents – one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2018 – is set to be heard next month amid a backdrop of other claims including the professional negligence counterclaim filed by the ENRC against Dechert and Neil Gerrard.

Kovalevsky will join a partnership whose profit per equity partner (PEP) outstripped that of the magic circle during the 2016/17 financial year. Last year, the firm posted a 30.3 per cent increase from £1.5m to £2m.

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