By Justin Wise
Hogan Lovells has made a big investment in its financial services and tech regulatory offerings in its Washington office, adding two lawyers, one of whom most recently served in the US Department of Justice’s Bank Integrity Unit and National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, and a former senior consulting engineer at Nokia.
Ex-DOJ official Elizabeth Boison and former DLA Piper intellectual property litigator Damon Lewis joined the firm as partners in the global regulatory and IP, media and technology group, Hogan Lovells said Monday. David Fritz, who worked at the telecommunications giant Nokia for more than a decade, is now a senior director in the firm’s communications, internet and media practice.
“The additions reflect the growth we are seeing in emerging technologies, particularly in the IP, litigation and regulatory arenas,” Hogan Lovells Washington managing partner Michel Farquhar told Law360 Pulse. “With our strong presence in our nation’s capital, it’s important for the firm to continue building upon our diverse technological expertise to reflect the needs of our clients, who look to us to navigate the federal government’s complex regulatory landscape and the increasing convergence of many technology sectors.”
Boison’s arrival comes as firms in New York and Washington push to stake out stronger positions in the financial services and fintech spaces in anticipation of greater regulatory enforcement coming down the pike in the coming years. Former government officials heading back to private practice in this environment include Leo Tsao, who served as principal deputy chief of the DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and joined Paul Hastings LLP in March.
Boison joins Hogan Lovells following about a decade in federal government, with stints at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the DOJ.
She served on the DOJ’s Bank Integrity Unit since 2017, according to her LinkedIn profile. In 2021, she helped the department reach a deferred prosecution agreement with Deutsche Bank AG in which the financial institution agreed to pay more than US$79.5 million for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations involving bribes to foreign consultants.
“Liz brings significant experience in the anti-money laundering, digital asset, and financial services regulatory space,” said head of Hogan Lovells’ global regulatory and IPMT practice group, Janice Hogan in a statement. “Her deep understanding of US and international regulations with regard to cryptocurrency and her knowledge of the current administration’s regulatory and law enforcement priorities in this space will be valuable to a broad range of our clients.”
Boison will also be a member of the firm’s international trade and investment practice.
Lewis and Fritz bring strong technical backgrounds to the firm. Lewis is an ex-counsel at DLA Piper, where his practice focused on patent and copyright matters in sectors such as telecommunications and e-commerce. He’s also a former software engineer and has a master’s degree in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Fritz, who is not a lawyer, has spent much of his career as a technical consultant and consulting engineer — experience that firm practice leader Ari Fitzgerald said should help “clients take full advantage of next generation telecom networks.”
–Additional reporting by Reenat Sin
ay. Editing by Andrew Cohen.
