She was poised to take over from one of the world’s best-known lawyers, veteran litigator David Boies. But Natasha Harrison was not too much in awe of her mentor to strike out alone.

Despite being named heir apparent at Boies’ powerhouse New York law firm Boies Schiller Flexner less than a year before, the Surrey-born litigator quit in November. Her mission: to set up a rival outfit in London, creating a modern law firm from scratch.

Harrison, 49, had been promoted to deputy chair of Boies Schiller in December 2020 by Boies, widely seen as one of the best trial lawyers of his generation. Boies, now 81, helped strike down the legal prohibition on gay marriage in California, as well as representing the justice department in its antitrust victory over Bill Gates and Microsoft in 2001.