Gayathri has extensive experience of handling complex domestic and cross-border investigations and litigation. She has more than a decade of leading edge experience from senior in-house roles at banks as Head of Group Litigation and Enforcement at Danske Bank in Copenhagen and UK Head of Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement for Deutsche Bank, and spent nine years at another leading law firm advising corporates and financial institutions across a broad spectrum of contentious regulatory, litigation and arbitration matters.
Highlights since joining the firm in April 2021 include advising:
- Danske Bank in relation to investigations by US and Danish criminal and regulatory authorities regarding issues arising out of its former Estonian branch. This resulted in a US$2 billion global resolution with the US Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Danish criminal authorities in December 2022;
- Credit Suisse in its defence to claims brought in the English High Court by the Republic of Mozambique arising out of the US$2 billion financing of state tuna fishery and maritime security projects in the Republic of Mozambique between 2013 and 2016. In addition, Credit Suisse is counterclaiming in relation to defaulted loans;
- A global financial institution on an internal investigation into IT related issues;
- A global financial institution on potential misselling claims in relation to investments in high profile funds;
- Deutsche Bank in the first general LIBOR claim against multiple banks (as opposed to individual LIBOR mis-selling claims) in England; and
- UK Asset Resolution Limited, Northern Rock Limited and other group companies on a number of actual and threatened public and private law claims.
Gayathri is recognised as a Next Generation Partner in Legal 500 2023, Banking Litigation: Investment and Retail and Financial Services: Contentious Regulatory. She is also noted as a key lawyer by Legal 500 2023 for Regulatory Investigations and Corporate Crime.
Gayathri is also listed in the Global Investigation Review Top 100 Women in Investigations 2021 and was nominated for Rising Star In-House Counsel of the year (2018) in the Legal 500 Legal Business Awards.
Clients describe Gayathri as having “an incisive mind, broad and relevant knowledge of the complexities of financial institutions and delivers prompt, succinct and actionable advice...In the middle of a crisis or when we as a client are making some of our most difficult decisions, Gayathri is the person you want in the room.” Legal 500 2023, Banking Litigation: Investment and Retail.
Gayathri “is the person you want in the room and in all the work that goes on after the room has adjourned.” Legal 500 2023, Financial Services: Contentious
Clients endorse Gayathri as “an exceptional investigations lawyer” who “truly understands financial products and services and the complexities of modern financial institutions and leverages those to provide precise and proactive advice to her clients”. Gayathri is also praised for her “exceptional interpersonal skills enabling her to operate across diverse stakeholders”. Legal 500 2022, Regulatory Investigations and Corporate Crime.
Gayathri also plays a lead role in the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion initiatives and was named an EMpower 100 Executives Role Model in May 2022.