Covington & Burling Expands UK Antitrust Team with Senior ICO Counsel

Covington & Burling has made a move to strengthen its antitrust and competition practice in London with the hire of Claudia Berg, the current general counsel of the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Berg will join the firm as a partner in January, bringing with her experience in competition law and tech regulation.

Berg has been at the helm of the ICO’s legal department since 2021. The ICO, an independent U.K. authority, is responsible for enforcing information rights and promoting data privacy across sectors. Prior to her tenure at the ICO, Berg held several prominent positions, including senior legal director at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), where she oversaw the organization’s entire competition law enforcement portfolio. Berg also spent eight years practicing as a competition lawyer at Linklaters, per CDR News.

Johan Ysewyn, co-chair of Covington’s global Antitrust Practice, highlighted the strategic importance of Berg’s appointment. “Claudia’s arrival will further strengthen the team’s expertise relating to the interplay between antitrust, tech regulation and privacy that is increasingly on our clients’ minds as they seek to navigate complex global regulatory regimes,” he said, according to CDR News.

The hiring of Berg is part of a broader expansion effort by Covington’s London office. Just two weeks ago, the firm launched a new insurance policyholder disputes practice, following the recruitment of Mishcon de Reya’s former head of insurance disputes. Additionally, in July, the firm bolstered its private equity practice with the high-profile additions of Lyndsey Laverack and Jade Williams-Adedeji, both of whom joined from Sidley Austin, further enhancing the firm’s disputes and transactional offerings.

Source: CDR News