A group of five Linklaters attorneys have joined Pepper Hamilton’s white-collar litigation and investigations group in New York. Philadelphia-based Pepper Hamilton said Larry Byrne and Ruth Harlow are now partners and former Linklaters associates Martin Bloor and Linda Regis-Hallinan will join as of counsel in Pepper’s white-collar practice. The new group from Linklaters also includes an associate. The firm’s New York office now numbers about 40 lawyers.

Byrne also will become a managing director of the Freeh Group International Solutions, a risk management firm founded by former FBI Director Louis Freeh and acquired last year by Pepper Hamilton. A former federal prosecutor, Byrne served as head of Linklaters’ U.S. litigation practice from 2006 to 2011 and co-managing partner of the New York office from 2007 to 2011. He represents clients involved in government and internal investigations, as well as related trial and appellate matters. Harlow focuses on regulatory investigations and complex commercial litigation.