For just the second time in three years, Willkie Farr & Gallagher has added a lateral equity partner in Chicago, announcing Monday the addition of Debra Bogo-Ernst as chair of the firm’s class-action litigation practice.

Bogo-Ernst, a former managing partner of Mayer Brown’s Chicago office and co-leader of its consumer and class-action practice, had been with Mayer Brown since 2000, representing financial institutions, insurance companies, and large companies with complex business problems in general.