International law firm McDermott Will & Emery announced today that leading commercial litigator Richard K. Welsh has joined the Firm as a partner in its Los Angeles office. Mr. Welsh’s practice primarily focuses on complex commercial litigation in the energy sector.

Mr. Welsh joins McDermott from another international law firm, where his energy clients largely consisted of electric power providers and companies specializing in the production and distribution of renewable energy technologies. His experience, which also includes complex commercial litigation in the entertainment, finance, retail and real estate sectors, serves an important niche for the Firm’s California-based practice.

“We are thrilled to add Rick to our roster of outstanding litigators,” said Lazar Raynal, head of McDermott’s Trial Practice Group. “His experience adds to the growth of our Los Angeles office as we continue to build strength on our already-formidable West Coast Trial team.”

The addition of Mr. Welsh, who brings with him more than a decade of experience litigating in the energy sector, will allow McDermott to better serve a key, growing sector of the economy and help keep the Firm at the forefront of the energy industry.

Mr. Welsh earned his J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law, where he received the Boalt Hall Award for Excellence in Legal Writing and was on the National Mock Trial Team. Before attending college at the University of California at Los Angeles, Mr. Welsh served as a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army’s elite 1st Battalion 75th Airborne Ranger Regiment. He is a member of the California and Washington, D.C. bars and is admitted to practice in those states as well as: the U.S.C.A., 9th Circuit; U.S.D.C., Central District of California; U.S.D.C., Eastern District of California; U.S.D.C., Northern District of California; U.S.D.C., Southern District of California; California Supreme Court; and the District of Columbia Superior Court.

www.mwe.com