Financial Institutions Litigation - The Second Annual Conference 2024

As General Counsel to the FCA, Stephen Braviner Roman sits on the Executive Committee and is legal advisor to the Board. Prior to this, Stephen was previously Director General of Litigation, Justice and Security at the Government Legal Department (GLD). In this role, he oversaw legal advice given to the Home Office, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice and Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He was also previously responsible for the GLD's advice on the UK's departure from the European Union. Stephen was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 2022 for services to law. He is also a Bencher of Gray’s In

Charlie leads the firm's Regulatory and Financial Services Disputes practice. He joined Doyle Clayton to set up the team having worked as legal counsel in the Enforcement and Litigation Division at the Bank of England. Prior to that, he was a senior solicitor in the Contentious Regulatory and Litigation Teams at Santander UK plc and in the litigation team of a leading national law firm, where he also undertook a secondment in the Barclays Litigation team.

He advises regulated organisations and individuals on compliance with their regulatory obligations with particular focus on supporting those who are the subject of regulatory investigations and disciplinary proceedings throughout the process. This sees him work closely with senior executives, General Counsel, in-house legal teams and HR directors as well as compliance and press teams across various professional services firms. Charlie also advises on a broad range of financial services disputes. Previously this has included disputes relating to interest rate hedging product mis-selling, tailored business loans and authorised push payment fraud.

Aziz Rahman is founder and managing partner at Rahman Ravelli, a market-leading commercial litigation, financial crime and cross-border investigations practice.

He advises corporates and senior business and world figures on heavyweight cross-border commercial disputes, high-value asset recovery proceedings, and top-level international arbitration cases involving corporate wrongdoing.

Aziz has gained a reputation as a solicitor who identifies emerging international issues as soon as they arise; playing a significant role in many cases relating to matters such as Ponzi fraud, Libor, Forex, Cum-Ex, sanctions and cryptocurrency.

Known for his expertise in serious and corporate fraud, complex crime, sanctions, bribery and corruption and compliance and regulatory matters,  his workload includes the most notable global corruption investigations, high-value cross-border frauds and major sanctions proceedings.

As a pioneer in civil recovery cases brought under Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act, his experience has helped shape the law. He was the first to take such a case to the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights to protect clients’ assets.

National and international legal guides consistently rank Aziz among the elite in his field. The Legal 500 has called him a “real genius”, “a Rolls-Royce performer’’ and “a powerhouse figure’’. The Chambers UK Guide has said he is “a brilliant lawyer…phenomenally committed to his clients”.

Aziz hosts Rahman Ravelli’s annual corporate crime conference and provides expert analysis chapters for legal guide books on business crime, corporate investigations and sanctions.

Mike's primary area of expertise is in banking and Financial services disputes arising from lending, hedging and regulated sales, with a particular focus on derivatives litigation (including acting for the successful party in Lehman v National Power Corporation, which was the first reported decision on the construction of the Close-out provisions in the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement).

Becca is Partner at Signature Litigation and has a wide range of experience in commercial disputes, focusing on banking and financial services. She specialises in high value complex matters, including High Court litigation, arbitration and advising on regulatory matters including investigations involving the FCA.

Becca’s recent experience includes acting for a large institutional and retail claimant group in FSMA s.90 claims against the Royal Bank of Scotland and its former directors, and acting for the former management of a Thai renewable energy company in a $2bn dispute defending allegations of fraud and conspiracy.

Becca is recognised as a ‘Rising Star’ by The Legal 500 UK 2022 for banking litigation and is described as “stellar” and “calm and strategic”. She has also been praised for her “good instincts” and “commercial approach”. She is recognised as “exceptional” and “totally on top of the detail, with good instincts and a commercial approach”.

Partner at Clarke Willmott specialising in high-value and complex commercial disputes. I have experience across a broad range of domestic and international matters, including in the areas of banking / financial services, fraud, insolvency, professional negligence and tax.

Elena Rey is a partner in the Firm’s Finance Practice Group and a senior member of the Real Estate Special Situations and Litigation Funding Practice Groups.

Elena represents private equity funds, funders and family offices on complex cross border investment transactions.

Elena is a founder of an industry funding working group, which was created with the aim of preparing model documentation for the litigation funding market. Elena is also an advisor to the Loan Market Association on the terms of their real estate finance documentation.

Elena holds a law degree from Harvard University and is fluent in French and Russian.

Oliver is an experienced commercial barrister who specialises in insolvency, civil fraud and asset recovery, and cases relating to companies, joint ventures and trusts. He is recommended for Insolvency in The Legal 500.

Oliver has particular expertise in cases involving allegations of wrongdoing and dishonesty by directors, trustees and other fiduciaries as well as high value, international shareholder disputes.

Oliver is a formidable advocate who appears regularly in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, both on his own account and as part of large legal teams. He has recently appeared as a junior in two complex commercial appeals in the Court of Appeal: LA Micro [2023] EWCA Civ 214 and Floreat [2023] EWCA Civ 440. He prides himself on providing clear, practical and commercial advice.

Oliver was appointed as a member of the Insolvency Rules Committee in October 2022 and has recently been involved in reviewing new special administration rules for the nuclear sector.

Clara is an experienced arbitration and litigation specialist with approximately 10 years’ experience practicing in Singapore and London.  Her clients include the largest international corporates in the technology sector, as well as in energy, healthcare, and financial services.  

In her international arbitration practice, Clara has acted for clients under most sets of major international rules including the SIAC, LCIA, HKIAC and UNCITRAL Rules. Clara also has considerable experience as an advocate, having appeared before all levels of the Singapore courts, including as amicus curiae before the Supreme Court of Singapore on a matter concerning remittance of funds in breach of UN sanctions.

With a background in intellectual property, Clara’s practice also covers protection of trade secrets and confidential information, data breaches, takedown operations, cyber attacks, and related investigations.  As a part of the Linklaters’ global cross-practice technology sector group, Clara works closely with colleagues from the TMT and IP practices to advise clients and develop innovative and robust solutions whether through arbitration, litigation, mediation or negotiation.   

Simon Farrell KC’s work is largely international.  He is a specialist in bribery, corruption, civil and criminal commercial fraud, money laundering, sanctions and the proceeds of crime.  He is one of the UK’s leading KC’s in these areas.  Simon is an excellent advocate, skilled case strategist and inspirational team leader.  He has recently worked in Gibraltar, Italy, Malawi, Dubai and the Sultanate of Brunei on the island of Borneo.

Simon deals with commercial and criminal litigation and frequently advises banks, financial institutions and  corporates during investigations. He has considerable experience of civil and criminal tax cases before the FTT, UTT and the Crown Court.

Simon sits as a Recorder at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) and as a Deputy Deemster in the Isle of Man.

He is the co-author of several legal text books concerning the Fraud Act 2006, money laundering and the proceeds of crime published by Oxford University Press and Butterworths.

Eleanore is a managing associate in our Disputes & Investigations team based in London. She is also a qualified Solicitor Advocate (Higher Courts Civil Proceedings). She specialises in litigation and arbitration arising out of commercial contracts and complex transactions involving multiple jurisdictions. Eleanore has a particular focus on contentious competition matters.

She has previously been seconded to the litigation divisions of a major bank and a large telecommunications company.

Kuldip is a member of Serle Court Chambers, and has a broad domestic and international commercial and chancery commercial practice, including the areas of commercial litigation, arbitration, company law, shareholder disputes, civil fraud, financial services, banking, regulatory, trusts, and professional negligence.

Anna Brownrigg has a broad commercial disputes practice and assists clients resolve complex commercial and regulatory disputes through litigation, arbitration and mediation. 

Anna advises UK and foreign corporations, state-owned entities and individuals, often with a cross-border dimension. Anna speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese and she regularly acts for foreign clients in different jurisdictions.

Anna has particular expertise in the financial sector and in oil, gas, mining and infrastructure disputes. Early in her career Anna worked in-house at Petrobras, Brazil handling disputes, investigations and ESG related risks, and she has since acted for and against international energy and mining companies in cases around the globe involving environmental damage, breach of contract and warranty claims, fraud and corruption and ESG disputes. 

Ben is a solicitor-advocate with Higher Rights of Audience in Civil Proceedings. His practice focusses on complex commercial litigation and arbitration, particularly cases involving allegations of civil fraud.

Ben joined Baker McKenzie as a Trainee Solicitor in March 2010 and qualified into the Dispute Resolution department in March 2012. From December 2019 to February 2021, Ben was based in Baker McKenzie’s Hong Kong office.

Ben has extensive experience of complex commercial litigation, including heavy trials in the High Court; appeals to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court; applications for injunctive relief; enforcement of judgments and arbitral awards; and settlement of disputes pursuant to various forms of ADR.

He also has wide experience of commercial arbitration under various institutional rules, including the ICC, LCIA, HKIAC, and SCC Rules, as well as ad hoc arbitrations.  
During his training contract, Ben spent eight months at the Court of Appeal as the Judicial Assistant to Sir John Thomas, then the President of the Queen's Bench Division and later the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.

Between August 2013 - March 2014, Ben was seconded to the global litigation team of an international oil major, during which time he gained wide experience of upstream and downstream energy disputes.

Michael is a partner in Penningtons Manches Cooper's commercial dispute resolution division focussing on the financial services sector.

In his near 30 year career, Michael has worked in-house for financial institutions and in private practice where he has conducted group litigation for investors, acted in international arbitrations and litigation in a number of high profile cases arising out of financial and economic crises. He has also represented businesses and individuals in anti-money laundering and civil fraud cases.

The extent of a banker’s duty of care has featured in two of his more recent appeal cases: Playboy Club London Ltd v Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA [2018] UKSC 43, where he acted for the successful defendant bank before the Supreme Court and in Philipp v Barclays Bank UK Plc [2022] EWCA Civ 318, where he acted for The Consumers’ Association Ltd as an intervening party in the successful appeal.

Suzanne obtained higher rights of audience whilst in private practice as a solicitor for 15 years prior to joining the bar. She has held positions at magic circle and leading international antitrust practices. Most recently she was an antitrust partner with a leading US firm in London

Suzanne has wide experience of competition law, EU law and regulatory matters combining cartel regulation, commercial practices, IP exploitation, merger control, public procurement and State aid/subsidy control.

Suzanne’s practice has a particular focus on the interface between competition law and economic regulation. She advises governments, regulators and businesses across the regulated sectors including in the communications, energy, financial services, healthcare/ pharmaceuticals, TMT and water sectors.

Suzanne has significant experience of advising on the development, implementation and application of new competition laws and regulatory regimes in line with international best practices, including in emerging markets. She is a member of the UK Regulators Network (UKRN) Expert Advisory Panel. 

In private practice as a solicitor for 15 years prior to joining the bar, she has held positions at magic circle and leading international antitrust practices. Most recently she was an antitrust partner with a leading US practice. She has also held the role of director at PricewaterhouseCoopers working within its strategy, economics and forensics teams.

Suzanne speaks French and has worked in a bilingual office while practising as a solicitor.

Suzanne is the author of “Indian Competition Law, an International Perspective” (first published by Wolters Kluwer, May 2012; with a supplement of cartel regulation published in January 2013). The book is the first-of-its-kind international comparative analysis of the Competition Act 2002 published contemporaneously with the coming into force of Indian competition law and merger control.

Suzanne is also co-author of "Media Ownership and Control: Law, Economics and Policy in an Indian and International Context" (Hart Studies in Competition Law, 2014) and "Hong Kong Competition Law" (Hart/Bloomsbury, 2016). Suzanne is a contributor to "Cross-Border Copyright Licensing, Law and Practice" (Elgar Intellectual Property Law and Practice series, 2018) and "Artificial Intelligence Law and Regulation" (Edward Elgar, 2022)

Suzanne Rab was recognised by The Lawyer as one of the “Hot 100” lawyers for 2022, most notably for her work for public bodies including in relation to net zero, competition law and subsidy control.

Jill is a partner in Kingsley Napley’s Financial Services Group and has an extensive track record in advising firms and individuals facing regulatory and criminal investigations by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Having had the benefit of a 12 month secondment at the Criminal Prosecutions Team at the FCA, Jill has particular insight into the organisation’s approach to the investigation and prosecution of serious financial offences.

Boris Bronfentrinker heads Willkie’s Antitrust & Competition Litigation practice in London. He is a solicitor advocate practicing in complex commercial litigation, with particular experience in competition litigation. He has represented clients, both as claimants and defendants, in leading and high profile cases in both the High Court of England & Wales and the Competition Appeal Tribunal, as well as coordinating competition litigation proceedings in other jurisdictions globally. Regularly acting for both claimants and defendants gives Boris a unique perspective and insight into the conduct of competition disputes from both sides. Boris is experienced in not only litigating cases to judgment but also resolving claims through alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation. Boris is recognised and highly ranked by Who’s Who Legal, Chambers UK, Chambers Europe, Chambers Global and The Legal 500, placing him among the best globally in the area of competition litigation.

Tracey is an experienced solicitor whose practice focuses on regulatory and internal investigations, white collar defence, regulatory compliance and complex banking and commercial litigation. As a leading practitioner, she has successfully represented corporate clients including major financial institutions in some of the most significant investigations brought by the FCA, PRA and global authorities. She has been on the front-line handling disputes arising out of the 2008 financial crisis, in addition to leading investigations relating to financial crime, market abuse, cyber and data, tax and whistleblowing.

Tracey has an impressive record of successfully representing senior executives in high-profile investigations and in board and shareholder disputes and is adept at guiding financial institutions and corporates through the challenges arising out of complex litigation and investigations, including navigating sensitive reputational issues and all areas of crisis management. Tracey has  led and favourably concluded significant value and high-profile litigation disputes through dismissals, mediation, settlement and, where necessary, through trial.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given her previous roles as Head of Litigation Investigations & Enforcement for UK and EME for Barclays, and similar roles prior at GE Capital, she is described by clients as “calm under pressure but forceful with her advice, which is always well balanced and underpinned by commercial as well as legal strategy”. She is  noted to be “a robust defender of her clients’ interests” and “capable of dealing with any number of issues which might arise during a dispute, both purely legal, but also issues to do with reputation, media strategies, forensics and investigations in general. Her sophistication in leveraging these different components serves clients extremely well.” (Legal 500 2023). Similarly, she is described as “an industry leader” who has “a deep and nuanced understanding of the cases she handles” (GIR 100 2021), expertly finding solutions to complex situations. Tracey was  recently featured in GIR Women in Investigations 2021.

Further accolades recognising her achievements in promoting inclusion and diversity within the legal community include ‘Solicitor of the Year’ at the Inspirational Women in Law Awards 2020, being named in the HERoes 100 Women Executives Role Model List 2021 and honoured in the ‘Class of 2021’ at the Women, Influence and Power in Law Awards.  Tracey    has also been  shortlisted  for her collaborative leadership style in the 2023 Women, Influence and Power in Law Awards for the second consecutive year, shortlisted for ‘Regulatory Lawyer of the Year’ in the Women in Business Law Awards 2023 and named in Best Lawyers UK 2024.

For the fourth year, Tracey is co-Chair of the European Forum on Banking Enforcement, for specialists working on regulatory enforcement matters for financial institutions. As an accomplished speaker, she regularly moderates and presents at Legal and Compliance conferences on investigations, disputes, innovation and diversity and she is an active member and advocate of multiple organisations that bring together thought leaders and innovators in the field of inclusion and diversity.

Chris Ross is a litigator specialising in commercial, banking and finance and competition-related disputes, often with a multi-jurisdictional element.

He has acted in a variety of matters involving complex derivatives, structured products and other lending and finance arrangements. His clients include hedge funds, asset managers and sophisticated institutional investors.

Chris is a member of the firm's cross-practice Competition Litigation team. He has advised clients in both bringing and defending follow-on damages claims, in relation to competition law infringements at both domestic and EU level.

Prior to joining RPC, Chris lived and worked in Singapore and has experience of dispute resolution mechanisms across South East Asia.

He is a Solicitor Advocate with Higher Rights of Audience.

Chris has been recognised as Next Generation Partner for Banking Litigation by The Legal 500 UK (2021). 

Anthea is counsel in our dispute resolution practice and a member of the financial institutions disputes group. 

She advises on a wide range of complex commercial and financial disputes, and on contentious regulatory matters.  Her clients include leading financial institutions and multinationals. 

She has expertise in sustainable finance, including in relation to ESG-related regulation and disputes, and has recently spent time on secondment in the Litigation and Regulatory team at Goldman Sachs. 

Sean McGuiness is an Investment Manager based in Omni Bridgeway’s London office where he is responsible for originating cases, due diligence, the management of funded cases in EMEA and advancing the company’s judgment enforcement initiatives.

Prior to joining Omni Bridgeway in 2023, Sean was Head of Commercial Litigation and Arbitration at a leading London-based funder. Sean has funded claims and portfolios arising from large scale insolvencies, offshore litigation and recovery portfolios, general commercial litigation and shareholder claims under the FSMA regime. 
Before joining the funding industry, Sean worked in the London office of DLA Piper for ten years, with a broad practice advising on complex cross-border litigation, international arbitration, fraud, shareholder disputes and enforcement. Sean has particular expertise in the financial services, energy and infrastructure and natural resources sectors, and broad expertise across the globe with particular experience in offshore jurisdictions, Europe and Africa. 

Sean is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales (2013) and an Attorney at Law in Texas (2019). Sean holds an LLB in Law from the London School of Economics.

Oliver joined the team at Balance Legal Capital in October 2015 to work on deal origination and due diligence, deal execution, investment monitoring and fundraising.

Prior to working at Balance, Oliver spent over 6 years as an associate in the dispute resolution team at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, specializing in commercial litigation, investigations and contentious regulatory matters in the financial services sector.

Oliver’s experience includes: defending global investment banks in High Court proceedings brought in relation to complex financial products and transactions; acting for an international consulting firm in High Court proceedings brought by the trustees of a pension scheme; acting for a UK financial services provider in relation to a major loss of customer data; acting for an insurer in arbitration proceedings relating to an insurance coverage dispute; acting for a global custody bank on an investigation in relation to client overcharging on asset portfolio transitions; and acting for a UK financial services group in relation to legal and regulatory issues arising from a major misstatement in its published accounts.

Oliver worked in the London and Paris offices of Freshfields and in 2014/2015 went on secondment to the EMEA litigation team of Credit Suisse where he managed a portfolio of disputes and contentious regulatory matters.

Oliver is admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales. He has a law degree from BPP and a BA in Modern History from Oxford University.

Anna advises on all aspects of financial crime and sanctions compliance, assisting with investigations into suspected breaches and related reporting obligations and representing individuals and corporates in contentious proceedings.

She is recommended as a Global Leader on International Sanctions in Who’s Who Legal (Trade & Customs 2019), describing Anna as a ‘prominent’ figure in the market, recognised for her ‘encyclopaedic’ knowledge at legal and policy level as well as her ‘diligent and thoughtful approach to sanctions matters’. She is experienced in challenging UN and EU sanctions designations, having worked on the first UK judicial review of the implementation of EU sanctions as well as a number of annulment applications brought in the EU General Court.

Johanna Walsh is head of Mishcon de Reya’s White-Collar Crime and Investigations Group. She has experience in domestic and international serious fraud, corruption and money laundering cases, acting for senior individuals in investigations and prosecutions brought by the Serious Fraud Office, Financial Conduct Authority, National Crime Agency (NCA), Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Crown Prosecution Service. Johanna has also acted for a range of corporates, from small and medium-sized businesses to FTSE 100 companies in relation to allegations of fraud and corruption, conducting internal investigations, advising on remediation and representing them in external investigations and prosecutions. She has experience in negotiating deferred prosecution agreements and civil recovery orders.

Johanna is experienced in advising in connection with proceeds of crime investigations, particularly those brought by the National Crime Agency. She represented the respondents to three unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) obtained by the NCA in what was the first successful challenge to UWOs since their introduction in 2018.

Sue is an experienced and well-respected litigator whose expertise is recognised in the leading directories. Her practice is  broad, encompassing finance litigation, sanctions, civil fraud and corporate and commercial disputes. Clients value her responsiveness and her commitment to finding solutions to complex problems. She leads the firm's sanctions practice and co-heads the firm's "technically strong" finance litigation team.

Alison Pople KC is widely recognised as a leading silk with particular specialisms in financial crime and regulation, corporate crime, global investigations, crime and professional discipline. Extremely highly regarded, she is routinely instructed as an advisor in high profile, serious and complex investigations and as a leading advocate in proceedings brought against both individual and corporate clients. 

Alison is skilled in addressing the complex, multi-faceted and sensitive issues faced by high-profile persons, experienced professionals, politically exposed persons, or otherwise exposed individual clients. Her corporate clients have included large multinational corporations, private equity funds and highly niche SMEs.

Neeta Chityal, made up in 2023, is a highly skilled Partner specialising in global investigations with extensive experience advising financial institutions and corporate clients on complex, cross-border corporate crime and regulatory investigations. Recognised in Legal 500's 2023 Regulatory Investigations and Corporate Crime (Advice To Corporates) category, clients describe her as highly knowledgeable and a delight to work with. Neeta's notable cases include advising the former CEO of Carillion plc, conducting an anti-bribery and corruption investigation for a global healthcare company and helping to negotiate the first deferred prosecution agreement with the CPS. Her exceptional skills and accolades make her a trusted advisor in the field.

Konstantina is a Partner at Geradin Partners. Before joining the firm, Konstantina was Senior Legal Counsel at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

While at the EBU, Konstantina acquired significant experience in a wide range of matters that concern audiovisual markets and the platform economy. She led two expert groups that focus on online platform regulation, the reform of competition rules to make them fit for digital markets, and the funding and remit of public service media.

Konstantina has worked extensively on antitrust issues arising from the acquisition of premium content, unilateral platform practices, State aid control in the broadcasting sector, and regulatory matters concerning the distribution of media content. She has guided the EBU’s work on the platform-to-business Regulation and the Digital Markets Act proposal, regularly engaging with EU policymakers in those areas.

Konstantina is also a lecturer at the University of Sheffield and an extramural fellow at the Tilburg Law and Economics Centre. In 2020, she was appointed to a scientific council to advise the Greek government on data policy issues.

Konstantina holds a PhD from the European University Institute (EUI). Her dissertation, which explores the role of media pluralism in the enforcement of EU competition law, received the 2016 Concurrences PhD thesis award (an annual Europe-wide competition aimed at selecting the most innovative thesis in the field of law and economics). She publishes regularly in her areas of expertise and she has received prizes and fellowships from numerous institutions, including the Academic Society for Competition Law, the Fulbright Commission, the Competition Law Scholars Forum, and the Institute for European Studies. She has been a guest lecturer at various leading institutions, such as the EUI, Queen Mary University, the University of Lausanne, and Bocconi University.

Konstantina is a native Greek and speaks English, Italian, Spanish and French. She is qualified in Greece.