Corporate Disputes 2023 - 3rd Annual Forum

Stephanie Lee is a partner in the Dispute Resolution Department at Travers Smith LLP. She is a commercial litigator, acting for domestic and international clients across a broad range of contentious matters, often involving high-profile and complex claims of significant value. She has wide-ranging experience covering both litigation and contentious regulatory investigations, with particular expertise in ESG-related litigation and matters involving allegations of fraud.

Stephanie has recently acted for Hewlett Packard group companies in relation to accounting fraud claims arising out of the US$11 billion acquisition of Autonomy Corporation plc in 2011. The trial – billed as the "tech trial of the century" – was one of The Lawyer's top cases of 2019 and ran for 10 months.  Earlier this year, the Court found that the Hewlett Packard companies had "substantially succeeded" in their fraud claims against Mike Lynch and Sushovan Hussain, the former CEO and CFO of Autonomy respectively.

Daniel specialises in complex, high value commercial disputes, acting for both claimants and defendants.  He has handled, and continues to handle, some of the largest and highest profile cases in the London litigation market, with his cases often involving multiple jurisdictions.  He is ranked in Chambers and the Legal 500, with commentators recognising him for being “an exceptionally skilled lawyer with an eye for detail and a strategic focus” and “an outstanding litigator”. 

Daniel’s current caseload includes acting for a large group of investors in the first major opt-in group claim in the Isle of Man.  Daniel also acts for the class representative, Commission Recovery Limited, in opt-out proceedings to recover alleged secret commissions on behalf of current and former clients of Marks & Clerk.  The Court’s judgment in that case is widely recognised as one of the most significant decisions on the scope of the English representative action regime.

James Worsnip is an experienced testifying expert witness who combines his sector experience in the financial services industry with his interest in technical valuation issues.

His clients are generally addressing complex issues arising from a transaction or a restructuring process where that process gives rise to a dispute between the company (often a bank) and its regulators, shareholders, company directors, auditors or other advisers. His work is often conducted in high-profile situations in which expert evidence is required to support the quantification of damages arising from historic losses or diminution in value.

James has provided expert services in relation to disputes including: the rights issues of RBS and Cattles plc; the resolution of the Cypriot banks and Banco Popular (Esp). He has acted under parliamentary statute in respect of the failure of Bradford & Bingley and for the FSCS in respect of Dunfermline. He has given evidence in ICC and ICSID arbitrations as well as the High Court.

He is a Fellow of the ICAEW and is a founding member of the valuation special interest group. He is also a member of the Bank of England’s panel of valuation experts and part of the restructuring advisory group that is available to the Bank if it were to use its resolution powers.

Prior to joining AlixPartners, James was at a Big 4 accounting firm, where he worked extensively on the regulatory reform of the banking sector following the global financial crisis. He has also held interim roles with banks and other financial firms including as Group CFO of LCH.Clearnet.

Sir Robin Knowles CBE commenced practice at the Bar in 1984, and was appointed a QC in 1999. His practice was in commercial, financial, company and insolvency law. He became the Chairman of the Commercial Bar Association of England & Wales and of Advocate (the Bar Pro Bono Unit) and the National Pro Bono Centre.

In 1998 he was appointed an Assistant Recorder, a Recorder in 2000 and a Deputy High Court Judge in 2007, sitting in the Crown Court, the Chancery Division and the Commercial Court. He is a qualified mediator and has sat as an arbitrator. He became a High Court Judge in 2014.Sir Robin is the Judge with day-to-day responsibility for the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts, and is a board member of the Financial Markets Law Committee. He has served as Chairman of the International Committee of the Judicial College and as a member of the Civil Justice Council. Through the pandemic he chaired the cross-sector MR’s Working Group on possession proceedings. Within the HMCTS Reform Programme he chairs the Litigants in Person Engagement Group (LIPEG).

Judy is a barrister at 3 Verulam Buildings in London. She has extensive experience in international arbitration, having acted in disputes in a wide range of sectors conducted under the major sets of arbitration rules (including LCIA, ICC, SCC, ICSID, HKIAC, and SIAC Rules, and ad hoc arbitration under UNCITRAL Rules). She also has a broad litigation practice in the English Courts, including in commercial, civil fraud, banking, and ESG litigation. Judy sits as an arbitrator and has experience both as sole arbitrator and as part of a panel.

Judy’s matters often have an international element. In addition to England and Wales, she is called to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean (British Virgin Islands). Judy is a native of Hong Kong, has worked extensively in Asia, and is fluent in Chinese.

Before joining 3VB, Judy practiced as a Solicitor-Advocate at Skadden Arps in London. Alongside practice, Judy is the Consulting Editor of the Arbitration title in Halsbury’s Laws of England. She is a YIAG Regional Representative for Europe for the LCIA.

Tim is a leading commercial disputes lawyer with experience acting in the most complex and consequential cases before the English courts, major arbitral institutions and local courts around the world. Tim regularly leads large multi-jurisdictional teams and is adept at managing the practical and PR issues that arise in the most challenging cases. Tim is recognised by Legal 500 as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ in both Commercial Litigation: Premium and International Arbitration. He is also recognised by Who’s Who Legal as a leading global fraud and asset recovery lawyer.

Tim is a hands-on litigator who emphasises issue selection and thorough analysis in his case preparation. Whilst his experience is broad and he is comfortable litigating cases in any industry, he has particular experience in the energy (both upstream and downstream) and financial services industries (where he acts for banks, advisors, brokers and investors). Recently, his practice has included an increasing number of ESG related instructions (including compliance work) and cryptocurrency matters.  

Matthew Scully is a commercial and antitrust litigator with broad experience of a wide range of disputes, including warranty and indemnity claims, completion accounts disputes, shareholder disputes, competition damages claims and banking disputes. Matthew has 20 years of experience in international commercial litigation, acting for clients in a range of sectors including tech, pharma, financial services, industrials and professional services. He has acted for clients involved in cross-border disputes, both those that involve overseas proceedings and those involving facts and evidence relating to multiple jurisdictions.

Matthew is a member of Clifford Chance's global Corporate Culture team and is the lead partner in the firm's Global Mediation Group. Some of his recent corporate disputes experience includes representing: 1) A multinational electronics business in a dispute with the seller of a business it had acquired, involving allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation in the preparation of accounts. 2) An exchange business in warranty disputes relating to the disposal of part of its business. 3) A family-owned investment vehicle in a dispute with other shareholders in a complex holding structure that ultimately controlled an insurance business. 4) A developing economy telecoms business caught in the middle of a dispute between its shareholders.

Lois advises financial institutions, corporates and entrepreneurs on a broad range of complex, cross-border commercial matters in High Court and international arbitration, with particular experience in corporate and shareholder disputes, contract disputes, banking litigation and financial crime.

Lois has broad experience in acting for corporates, or individuals with corporate interests, across a range of sectors, including private equity, financial services, aviation, energy, retail, beverages and commodities.

Lois' High Court and arbitration experience includes complex post-deal warranty and indemnity disputes, claims for fraudulent misrepresentation, valuation issues, shareholder rights and unfair prejudice claims, banking disputes concerning complex financial products and breach of commercial agreement claims. She also advises on directors' duties and employment issues with respect to senior officers, team moves and breaches of confidence. As well as advising on the resolution of disputes, Lois advises on the prevention of and investigation into financial crime, including bribery and fraud.

Tatiana is a partner in the litigation and arbitration team at Withersworldwide and focuses on disputes involving the CIS.

She is an experienced commercial litigator, working on both court cases and arbitrations, with market-leading experience in complex cross-border disputes. She has worked on a range of high profile cases for both corporates and high net worth individuals. Some recent individual instructions include representing a Lichtenstein foundation in discharge of Receivership Order application (in both High Court and Court of Appeal proceedings), representing a state-owned company in a multi-jurisdictional construction dispute in the ICC arbitration claim, acting for a company in arbitration claim challenging $72 million LCIA Award and representing a shareholder in an LCIA dispute and a related application for injunction in the High Court.

Tatiana qualified as a Solicitor – Advocate with Higher Rights of Audience, Civil Proceedings (England and Wales). She is also qualified as a Russian Advocate and was called to the Moscow City Bar in 2002.

Zulfi has in-depth expertise when it comes to all aspects of corporate crime investigations.

He represents corporates, board members, senior business figures and high net worth individuals. His clients rely on the extensive experience he has gained as both a defence lawyer and a financial crime prosecutor.

Zulfi spent five years as a criminal defence practitioner before then working for six years as a senior investigative lawyer at the UK’s Serious Fraud Office. At the SFO, he worked on some of the most notable and highly-publicised investigations and prosecutions; many of which involved some of the world’s best-known corporates and financial institutions. The cases ranged from banks seeking international financing and alleged multinational corruption by companies, through to fraud and money laundering on a global scale and the collapse of financial investment funds.

Zulfi is known for his ability to manage major cases where Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) arrangements are relied on to secure information from another country. His SFO work on cases involving search warrants, production orders, section 2 notices and letters of request, and his first-hand knowledge of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement procedure make him an asset for clients in the most involved investigations.

As a member of Rahman Ravelli’s corporate crime practice group, Zulfi is recognised as an exceptional white-collar crime lawyer and an obvious person to defend clients in multi-jurisdictional, high-profile and complex investigations. He is someone who can manage each and every aspect of such cases, as he has a thorough understanding of complex economic crime investigations, serious regulatory matters and a wide range of industrial and professional sectors.

His management of civil and regulatory proceedings that can run alongside a criminal investigation has shown his ability to devise and coordinate the most appropriate strategy for any situation a client may face. The ease with which he deals with agencies such as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the National Crime Agency (NCA), the City of London Police, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and international organisations means he can tackle each and every issue that may arise in an investigation.

He is known for his intelligent management of complex commercial litigation relating to corporate misconduct, having had significant involvement in such cases.

Zulfi is also a member of Rahman Ravelli’s sanctions team. He uses his in-depth knowledge of the UK regime on some of the most notable sanctions cases.

Nick is the former Head of Special Crime and Head of Extradition at the Crown Prosecution Service, Nick has unique expertise and insight into complex, international, high-profile and sensitive criminal matters.

In Chambers and Partners 2021, Nick is described as "a brilliant lawyer who is fantastic at guiding a client through a case", and in Legal 500 2021, one client said "Nick is highly intelligent, has great charisma, is a superb strategist and has ceaseless stamina. A top lawyer for private prosecutions work

Since January 2020, Nick has represented the Post Office in the largest series of criminal appeals in UK legal history and, since August 2022, he has been advising Boris Johnson in respect of the Privileges Committee inquiry into whether the former Prime Minister misled Parliament over ‘partygate'.

Peter is recognised as a Global Elite Thought Leader by Who’s Who Legal for Business Crime Defence – Individuals and Business Crime Defence – Corporates 2022, and is highlighted as “a phenomenal lawyer” whom peers consider “the best” when it comes to highly complex and high-profile regulatory and fraud-related litigation.

Chambers and Partners UK 2023 describes Peter as “an incredible force to have on a case. He is an extremely good negotiator and he has top-notch instincts.”

Peter is ranked as a key individual in the fields of ‘Financial Crime Individuals’, ‘Crime Extradition’ and ‘POCA Work & Asset Forfeiture’ by Chambers and Partners UK 2023, and in the Hall of Fame for ‘Fraud: White-Collar Crime’ in the Legal 500 UK 2023. He is also ranked as a leading individual in the field of ‘Financial Crime: High Net Worth Individuals’ by Chambers HNW 2022.

Peter has been named Best Lawyers’ Lawyer of the Year 2023 for ‘Fraud in London’ and is highlighted in The Best Lawyers in the UK for his work in criminal practice and fraud. Areas of expertise:

Peter is a highly respected criminal defence lawyer who specialises in fraud and regulation litigation, much of it international. He has over 35 years’ experience in investigations and prosecutions relating to fraud, regulatory breaches, corruption, cartels, export control, sanctions and tax evasion.

xHis past cases include investigations and prosecutions by all major bodies relating to international fraud, corruption, money laundering, all forms of tax and duty evasion, including civil fraud investigations conducted by HM Revenue & Customs. His wide experience incudes extradition and mutual legal assistance together with regulatory investigations and inquiries in financial services and other areas such as government inquiries, major oil infrastructure and air disasters.

Adam Rizzo is a lawyer in the Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution group. He focuses on internal investigations, contentious regulatory matters and commercial disputes.

Adam is a disputes lawyer with a focus on high-stakes litigation and regulatory enforcement. He represents clients in investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by various regulators including the Financial Reporting Council, Financial Conduct Authority, Serious Fraud Office and the Insolvency Service. Adam also conducts internal investigations for companies and boards of directors and advises clients in the technology, energy and finance sectors on the UK financial sanctions regime. As part of his wider commercial disputes practice, Adam acts on disputes for professional services firms, financial institutions and technology companies. 

Recognised by Legal 500 as a recommended individual, Adam is described as “efficient and highly personable... excellent at running cases on a day-to-day basis”.

Rutger is an Associate and Solicitor Advocate in the international arbitration practice.

He specialises in international commercial and investment treaty arbitration and has acted in arbitrations under the LCIA, ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, WIPO and SIAC rules.

Rutger is an Associate Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, where he teaches the module Strategic Decision Making for Lawyers in the LLM and Law & Finance programmes. He is also a member of our Decision Analysis team and has experience building decision analysis models to help clients quantify, visualise and better understand the legal risks they are facing.

A commercial litigator with broad international experience, Charlotte advises clients on high-value, complex multi-jurisdictional disputes. Having spent two years living and working in Dubai, she brings in-depth knowledge of disputes in the GCC and wider Middle East. Charlotte is recognised in Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner (Commercial Litigation). 

Charlotte advises High Net worth and Corporate clients on a range of issues including shareholder and join venture disputes with a particular focus on CIS and the Middle East.    

Andrew has been at the forefront of developing securities litigation in the UK since 2014, identifying potential recovery opportunities for shareholders in UK public companies.

Andrew drove the launch of the UK’s first such claim, the high-profile case against Tesco PLC for a large group of institutional investors, following Tesco’s admission of a profit overstatement in late 2014 (at his previous firm, Stewarts).  That case received widespread press coverage until it settled successfully in 2020, after he joined Fox Williams, where he then launched a second securities litigation claim against Tesco arising out of the same facts, for a larger group of institutional investors, which settled successfully in September 2021.

Andrew is currently leading Fox Williams’ second (his third) major securities litigation case against Glencore PLC, for more than 200 institutional investors, arising out of the coordinated global settlement by Glencore in 2022 of an array of investigations brought against it and its group companies by the US DoJ, the UK SFO and other agencies, which has so far seen t pay more than £1billion in penalties, for admitted bribery and corruption on a global scale.

Together with new Fox Williams’ partner, Matthew Reach, Andrew spearheaded the building and launch of the firm’s third (his fourth) securities litigation claim against Petrofac Limited, for more than 70 institutional investors, in May 2023.  This latest case arises out of the guilty pleas entered by Petrofac to seven counts of breach of the UK’s Bribery Act in October 2021, for Petrofac’s bribery and corruption over a sustained period of many years from October 2011. 

Andrew is dual-qualified in the UK and Australia, having worked at global law firm Baker McKenzie in Sydney before relocating to London in 2012.

Jessica Lee is a partner in the Firm’s Litigation & Arbitration Practice Group.

Jess acts for both corporate and individual claimants and defendants in complex and high value commercial litigation with particular experience in civil fraud and asset recovery actions, company and shareholder disputes, and crypto and blockchain matters. Jess was named a Rising Star for civil fraud in The Legal 500 2023 having acted on a number of significant civil fraud matters, many of which have also involved advising on freezing, proprietary, and disclosure injunctions. Jess is also part of Brown Rudnick’s Supervising Solicitors team and having acted  on obtaining and executing multiple search, delivery up and imaging orders. Jess has also advised on significant investigations and compliance matters including investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Serious Fraud Office. 

In The Legal 500 2023, Jess is described as having "a keen eye for detail, superb litigation knowledge and experience, and always the brightest attitude and mode of communication." She is also a recommended lawyer in The Legal 500 2023 in the categories of Commercial Litigation and Banking Litigation: Investment & Retail. Jess was also named as a future leader in commercial litigation by Who’s Who Legal in 2022.

Jess has a particular interest in digital asset disputes and is regularly invited to speak and write on issues including crypto fraud and blockchain disputes and regulation. 

Jess is a keen advocate for diversity and social mobility; she is part of the leadership team for the Firm’s Women’s Initiative and has mentored younger lawyers and law students, including on the IntoUniversity programme.

Prior to joining Brown Rudnick, Jess was an associate at Baker & McKenzie where she also trained. Jess has undertaken a number of client secondments including a major international telecoms provider and a leading global financial institution.

Amit specialises in assignments involving valuation and the quantification of damages. He is a testifying expert witness and has been appointed as expert in both litigation and arbitration cases. He is recognised in Who’s Who Legal with commentators noting he is an expert who is “highly skilled in producing excellent, thorough and clear written expert reports on complex accounting and financial matters”.

Amit spent the initial part of his career in a corporate finance valuations team focussed on commercial valuations for M&A, restructuring and other corporate purposes. He was involved in high profile valuations involving the Icelandic banks and the Dubai World portfolio.

Since then he has focussed on cases arising from class actions, contractual, shareholder and post-acquisition disputes. Examples of recent cases include an unfair prejudice claim relating to an early stage business and a $1bn claim relating to an Asian wind farm portfolio.

Fiona advises clients in commercial dispute resolution matters including breach of contract, partnership disputes and shareholder/director disputes. Fiona regularly advises on jurisdiction matters where a party is domiciled outside England and Wales and/or where the subject matter of a claim involves other jurisdictions. She has been listed as a Thought Leader in Asset Recovery in the Who's Who Legal Global Investigations Review 2020.

Camilla is Head of Corporate Crime and co-Head of our Global Investigations cross border team based in London. She brings a unique perspective as a former barrister and SFO senior prosecutor, and has extensive experience of global corporate enforcement, previously leading on behalf of the SFO, and now for corporate clients. As an investigations specialist with high quality prosecutorial experience and strong commercial insight, Camilla provides practical legal advice on criminal and wider business risks, partnering with international corporate clients, particularly in the Oil and Gas, Industrial, Telecoms, Media, Technology, and Lifesciences sectors.

Camilla advises on all aspects of financial crime, sanctions, cybercrime and ESG risks that Boards and businesses face in the UK and internationally. This includes managing regulatory and criminal law risk from the start of a process, for example a whistle blower account to the endpoint of an enforcement process and potential satellite shareholder actions. Camilla is instructed to conduct internal investigations, compliance and remediation reviews, and to assess potential investment opportunities for financial crime risks. Her work includes advising corporates and individuals in relation to alleged financial misstatements, modern slavery and supply chain issues, money laundering, facilitation of tax evasion, bribery and corruption, and sanctions breaches and, how to judge and control the dynamic and engagement with domestic and international enforcement agencies.

Zach has significant experience acting on a wide range of complex and high value commercial disputes. In recent years, Zach has participated in several trials in the Business and Property Courts, as well as hearings in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, on a variety of different legal issues. Zach is regularly involved in multi-party cases (including group litigation), often with cross-border element.

Shona is a Partner in the Private Commercial Litigation team.

Shona is an experienced commercial litigator, with a background in corporate disputes and civil fraud. She is skilled in pursuing and defending complex, high value and multi-jurisdictional claims, which frequently involve alleged breaches of fiduciary duty. Her work often involves seeking or resisting injunctions.

Shona has particular expertise in corporate disputes, acting for companies and individual directors and shareholders in relation to M&A disputes (arising both pre- and post-acquisition), unfair prejudice of shareholders’ interests, breaches of directors’ duties, and breaches of shareholders’ agreements and joint venture agreements. Shona works closely with the corporate team advising on deal risk issues and disputes arising out of transactions. 

Focusing on litigation and broader disputes strategies, Fiona’s portfolio encompasses high-profile finance litigation, including securities litigation claims, restructuring and insolvency-related litigation, commercial litigation and sovereign debt disputes. She frequently litigates both before the English Courts and other fora, in complex, multi-jurisdictional and novel situations. Fiona also has a strong advisory practice working with clients to understand litigation risk and develop litigation strategies ahead of time.

Fiona’s sharp litigation skills combined with commercial nous has resulted in a strong track record in her cases. She has successfully represented numerous bondholder and lender groups in English litigation, as well as in contentious restructurings. Fiona also has a prolific record in commercial litigations before the English High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Fiona is ranked as a ‘Leading Individual’ for Banking Litigation in Chambers and Legal 500 2023, and a ‘Next Generation Partner’ for Commercial Litigation in Legal 500 2023. Fiona also won Securities Litigator of the Year at the Women in Business Law Awards 2023 and was included in The Lawyer’s “Hot 100” list 2023.

Jago Russell has a Masters Degree in Law (LLM) from King’s College London and a degree in English Literature from Jesus College, Oxford. Before moving into criminal justice and human rights, he trained and qualified as a solicitor at Slaughter and May, specialising in tax. Jago deals with criminal and regulatory matters, including business crime, extradition, corruption, mutual legal assistance, sanctions and financial crime.

Criminal justice and human rights expertise

Between 2008 and 2021, Jago was the Chief Executive of Fair Trials, where he led the transformation of the charity into a specialist advocacy organisation working globally to advance the right to a fair trial in criminal cases. Under his leadership, Fair Trials secured legal and policy reforms, including new EU-wide protections for defence right rights (including police station access to a lawyer) and reforms to INTERPOL (including new safeguards to protect refugees from INTERPOL Red Notices).

Jago has been interviewed or quoted frequently in mainstream media outlets worldwide, including the BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Times, ABC and Le Monde. He has also appeared on podcasts, including the Lawfare Blog, and lectured at numerous high-profile events. Jago has given evidence on a range of criminal justice topics to the UK Parliament’s Home Affairs, Justice and Human Rights Select Committees and gave expert evidence to the UK Government’s Extradition Review. Jago has also presented to the European Parliament, United Nations’ Committee Against Torture and Council of Europe’s, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. He worked closely with INTERPOL’s General Secretariat and the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s files on the development of improved oversight and redress mechanisms.

Jago has an extensive global network of criminal justice and human rights experts. He led the development of the EU-wide network of defence lawyers, NGOs and academics - LEAP (the Legal Experts Advisory Panel). For over a decade, Jago has been consulted on complex cross-border criminal matters, helping to identify trusted lawyers in countries across the globe and to develop strategies that address not only the legal but also the diplomatic, political and media implications of political and high-profile cases.

An international lawyer who denounced the corruption of Russian courts in 2005 and was deported from Russia.

Charlotte is an experienced commercial litigator and has been awarded six ‘rising stars’ from The Legal 500 in the past three years. She is recognised as being ‘tenacious’, ‘a real force of nature’ and an ‘opponent-whisperer’, and is said to be ‘brilliant at case management and marshalling evidence’ with ‘a particular talent for sniffing out the best pieces of evidence in a case’.

She advises on a broad range of complex, high-value cross-border disputes across a number of commercial and business sectors, including financial services (having previously been on secondment at a large institutional bank), company disputes, corporate insolvency and civil fraud / asset tracing. She has specialist expertise in digital assets where she advises clients about cryptocurrencies and blockchain disputes, and she acted in one of the very few contested cryptocurrency disputes which resulted in a successful outcome for her client.

Charlotte sits on the Law Society Council on behalf of civil litigators (non-personal injury) and is a committee member of the London Solicitor Litigation Association, having formerly spent two years as the elected President of the Junior LSLA. She is also a committee member of the Cyber Insurance Association and a steering committee member of the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations

Louise Boswell advises on disputes and dispute risk areas in a range of sectors.  She regularly acts on complex commercial contractual disputes including post-acquisition and on termination, and disputes arising from allegations of fraud, conspiracy, abuse of process, negligence and misrepresentation. She has particular experience on matters that are expedited or require interim injunctive relief. Louise is also a Solicitor Advocate.

Sandra is a Valuations Partner in EY’s London office (Valuations, Modelling and Economics team) and leads the Contentious Valuations team.  She has provided expert witness work in valuation and damages claims for large international complex disputes for Litigation/High Court and International Arbitration globally across many sectors. She also provides Expert Determinations and acts in a Shadow Expert capacity and has substantial experience in commercial valuations for transactions/M&A and fundraising, restructuring, financial reporting, restructuring, and private equity. She is founder and author of the UK’s first and only M&A Yearbook “BVB Insights” a leading authoritative source for transaction multiples used by valuers in and out of Court, professional libraries and tax authorities. She is the UK Senior Vice President of American Society of Appraisers (European Chapter), and a regular speaker on Business Valuation topics. Sandra also sits on the Standards Review Board of the International Valuations Standards Council and is President of the UK’s first dedicated business valuation VPO (Valuation Professional Organisation) BVIUK.  

Tom McDonnell is an associate in the Firm's Litigation & Arbitration Practice Group in the London office. Tom's practice is focused on resolving commercial and regulatory disputes through litigation, arbitration, and all forms of alternative dispute resolution. He has broad final hearing experience, having represented individuals and institutional clients in the English courts, the Dubai International Financial Centre court, and the Qatar International Court, as well as in both domestic and international arbitration. Tom has experience of arbitrations subject to the ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, and DIAC arbitration rules.

Tom was recently involved in a six-week trial acting for the claimants in Commercial Court quantum proceedings relating to the scope of an account for profits. Tom is also acting for three former directors facing allegations regarding the sale of a subsidiary to a connected party and for the respondents to an unfair prejudice petition. Both cases allege various breaches of the directors’ duties under the Companies Act 2006.

Tom has unique experience of private-sector redress schemes arising from alleged mass torts, having acted for Manchester City Football Club on the design and implementation of its Survivors’ Scheme responding to allegations of historic sexual abuse. Following that instruction, Tom was part of a team that delivered evidence to the ongoing Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in support of a national dispute resolution scheme to resolve historic sexual abuse claims.

Tom has a keen interest in the professional development of junior lawyers and access to the legal profession, and has supported a Legal Apprentice scheme which provided an alternative pathway into the legal profession.

Greg Huitson-Little is a Director, Chartered Accountant and testifying expert witness at AlixPartners.  He works with clients and legal advisers on the financial aspects of disputes, from advice at an early stage as to likely losses, advising on information and evidence requirements, through to assessment of losses and the preparation of independent expert evidence for use in court or arbitration.

Greg has a particular interest in transaction-related disputes, providing advice to clients engaged in completion accounts processes, the preparation of submissions for determinations, and assessing diminution in value following breach of warranties.

Greg has recently acted in (1) the Euronet vs Visa matter before the CAT, where he considered losses arising from the implementation of alleged anti-competitive scheme rules; (2) an arbitration concerning losses in hospitality sector arising from an alleged failure to properly promote a franchisor’s brand, and (3) an arbitration concerning indemnified losses following the disposal of an Eastern European banking group.

Sinem is a partner at Boden Law. Her practice is focused on emerging technology companies as well as corporations implementing new technology initiatives. She also brings broad experience in international contracts and dispute settlement.

Toby Starr is a partner and solicitor-advocate at Humphries Kerstetter with 25 years’ experience in complex commercial disputes, noted in Legal 500 as “knowledgeable, experienced and incisive”. Toby was a solicitor at Linklaters and Debevoise & Plimpton and founded Starr Legal in the City of London before joining Humphries Kerstetter in 2018. 

Toby’s work includes financial markets and finance litigation and competition, consumer and financial services class actions. He has extensive experience in particular in cases involving complex damages issues and procedural matters including interim measures and enforcement. Toby has appeared throughout his career in domestic and international arbitral and other tribunals and the English High Court. 

Tim is one of the contributors to Joffe on Minority Shareholders: Law, Practice and Procedure (seventh edition forthcoming). He co-authors the chapter on Unfair Prejudice and is sole author of the chapters on Remedies and Valuation and on Rights under the Companies Act. He has been described as “a guru” on shareholder disputes (C&P, 2018). He has a broad commercial chancery practice, with particular emphasis on litigation concerning issues in respect of commercial agreements and company, insolvency and international trusts matters. He has extensive experience of claims concerning breaches of duty, in particular in respect of directors or trustees and frequently involving allegations of fraud, and of shareholder disputes.

Prior to commencing practice in this jurisdiction, Tim was called to the bar in the Cayman Islands and practised as an attorney-at-law. He continues to undertake work in a number of offshore jurisdictions. He is called to the BVI Bar

Dipti has over 20 years’ experience of commercial litigation, international arbitration and civil fraud. Most recently, Dipti helped lead the Commercial Disputes Team at PwC for 4 years. She advised PwC’s clients on a wide range of disputes spanning commercial / contractual, banking, civil fraud and trusts, corporate / shareholder and contentious investments. Her clients included multi-national companies, private family businesses as well as high net worth individuals. Her cases have included advising on a range of disputes including heated investment disputes, managing complex cross border asset tracing projects, settling complex procurement disputes and advising on contentious trusts litigation in various offshore jurisdictions. Her cases often have complexities arising from allegations of fraud. Dipti regularly advises clients in High Court proceedings in the Business & Property Courts, as well as in the Commercial Court. She has also worked on tax related disputes in the Upper Tribunal and advises on Judicial Review matters. Dipti has an interest in ADR, mediation and arbitration and in finding ways to help clients leverage early settlement.

Ned Beale specialises in complex commercial litigation and international arbitration. Many of his cases are in the public eye and involve novel questions of law.  Most have an international dimension – including Ukraine and Russia. Ned was named UK's Litigator of the Year by Legal Week at their 2019 Litigation & Arbitration Awards, when his "innovation and creativity” were praised by the panel chaired by LCIA Director-General Jacomijn van Haersolte-van Hof.

Ned has extensive experience dealing with contractual claims, including claims arising out of Covid, Brexit and Russia related disruption, shareholder disputes, warranty, earn-out and other post-M&A claims and disputes in the media, manufacturing, and energy sectors.

He has specific expertise in aviation disputes, including both lease finance and manufacturing claims.  Recent instructions include advising Qatar Airways in its multi-billion-dollar dispute with Airbus concerning its A350 and A321 Neo fleets, one of The Lawyer’s ‘Top 20 Cases’ of 2023. 

Ned’s long track-record of acting in banking matters includes structured finance and retail banking disputes. He has acted for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking in two cases before the UK Supreme Court and, most recently, successfully obtaining permission to review the FCA's decision not to extend the IRHP redress scheme (reported at [2023] EWHC 1616).

Matthew is a commercial and insurance litigator and is experienced in a wide variety of commercial dispute resolution areas including: shareholder disputes; banking; financial markets (including ISDA transactions); fraud; contractual disputes; international sale of goods and commodities disputes; regulatory and investigatory work. Matthew also handles reputation, privacy and defamation issues for a range of high profile clients.

Matthew has advised on and conducted arbitrations under the arbitral rules of several institutions including UNCITRAL, LCIA, ICC, LMAA, LME and OHADA.

He acts for underwriters, brokers and insureds on the Lloyd’s, London and international markets. Matthew has acted as coverage and defence counsel in respect of, inter alia, D&O and fidelity policies. He also has substantial experience of bringing and defending solicitors’, accountants’, tax advisers', architects’ and insurance brokers’ negligence claims.

Matthew’s work often has an international element and he has advised clients across numerous territories in Europe, former Soviet Union, North America, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

'VR and AR marketing expert' and 'metaverse expert' - The Drum

Tom Ffiske writes about immersive technologies at the Immersive Wire, a newsletter and website dedicated to all things VR, AR, and the metaverse. His goal is to bring a curated digest of the analysis that matters, helping professionals interested in immersive to reach new heights.

Tom has written about the industry since 2016, covering the latest trends and investments while keeping a pulse on the latest innovations. He has spoken in several events, published a bestselling book on the sector, and help connect professionals to help each other soar.

Alongside the Immersive Wire, Tom works as a full-time Account Director within the Technology team at 3 Monkeys Zeno, a leading global communications agency

Adam Baradon KC is ranked as a leading silk for Commercial Litigation, International Arbitration (Counsel), and Civil Fraud. He has extensive experience of both making and resisting urgent applications for multi-party freezing and/or search and related relief, and orders in support of arbitration. He acts for claimants and respondents, and has recently acted on applications in respect of cryptocurrency and of cyber-attacks/hacking. He regularly trains law firms in these areas. He also has significant experience in disputes resulting from the sale of specialist machinery and technology.

Adam’s cases are frequently multi-jurisdictional. He is equally comfortable litigating in the courts or in arbitration.

"He is a very forensic and strong cross-examiner and a great guy to have on one’s side." (Legal 500, 2023)

Nino is a partner with Nater Dallafior in Zurich. He represents clients in complex commercial disputes before arbitral tribunals (ICC, Swiss Rules, DIS, ad hoc) and Swiss courts, particularly in the fields of contracts, post M&A, crypto/blockchain, technology, commodities, construction and banking. He also serves as arbitrator in international arbitration proceedings (previous appointments as Sole, Party-nominated and Emergency Arbitrator under Swiss, LCIA und ICC Rules, governed by Swiss, German, English and Ukrainian law). While he is based in Zurich, he is also qualified to practice in Germany as well as England & Wales. He currently serves as the co-chair of the Swiss Arbitration Association’s below 40 group.

Kate Allass is a partner in the Farrer & Co Disputes Team with more than 20 years of commercial litigation experience, advising a broad range of clients on complex, sensitive and high value disputes.   She is ranked in both Chambers & Partners and in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame.

She has particular expertise in corporate and shareholder disputes including those relating to shareholder, investor and joint venture agreements; claims by minority shareholders for unfair prejudice; boardroom and partnership disputes; claims for breaches of directors’ duties and misfeasance; insolvency claims; and disputes arising out of corporate acquisitions including breach of warranty, indemnification and earn-out issues.   

Her clients include private businesses, HNW and UHNW investors and shareholders, financiers, private equity firms and senior executives.

David E. Grant KC TEP is a chancery and commercial practitioner with specialist expertise in pensions, trusts, will and estates, professional negligence, fraud and asset recovery, financial services, insolvency and employment.

He has extensive advocacy experience in courts and tribunals up to the European Court of Justice. He has been instructed as an English law expert in proceedings in the US and Canada.  He has also attended numerous mediations and round table meetings in a wide variety of cases. David is happy as sole advocate or leading a counsel team and enjoys the process of working with his instructing solicitors, lay clients, experts and other interested parties.

His clients have included many leading international businesses including the Atos Group, British Airways, BT, ITV, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Bank, Aegon and Transport for London. He has also acted for the Pensions Protection Fund, the Pensions Regulator and the Pensions Ombudsman as well as leading professional advisers including Aon, Mercer and Barnett Waddingham as well as various high net worth individuals.

David has been recommended in a total of 4 areas in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 since 2007 and is currently described as “a go to practitioner in this area” and “analytical and creative at finding solutions to difficult problems”, “he will do his utmost to find the answer to support the client’s position”.

Justina Stewart’s practice encompasses the full range of commercial litigation, with a particular focus on banking and financial services, civil fraud, fintech and digital assets, insolvency and international arbitration.

She is ranked in the key legal directories in numerous practice areas:  commercial litigation/commercial dispute resolution; banking and finance; cryptoassets; financial services regulation and insolvency. She is ranked in Chambers UK Bar, Chambers Global, Legal 500 and Legal 500 Middle East.

Comments in legal directories have included “phenomenally bright”, “an absolute delight to work with”, “a hard-hitting litigator.  She is able to parachute into a dispute and turn it 180 degrees in favour of her clients” “brilliant for banking litigation”, “no matter how stressful the situation, Justina has a way of calming matters so that the focus is always on the issues at hand”, “impressive”, “strong, dynamic and commercial”, “great to use on difficult insolvency claims”, “a highly intelligent and tenacious litigator, she is also far more financially literate than most barristers”, “incredibly impressive and a force to be reckoned with” and “a fantastic communicator”, “a phenomenal addition to any team when you have claims against banks” with “outstanding legal acumen”.

Justina’s cases frequently involve multi-jurisdictional elements and matters which are notable for their complexity and novelty.

Before coming to the Bar, Justina was an international investment banker, working with top-ranked corporate finance teams on complex transactions.  This, together with her economics degrees, gives her a level of financial acumen and familiarity with financial products that is rare at the Bar.

She has been appointed to the Attorney General’s Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown for many years, and is registered with both the DIFC (Part II registration) and ADGM Courts.