Disputes
Our clients are global leaders in their fields. When their commercial and reputational interests are at stake, they turn to us. The practical experience, technical strength and strategic insight of our lawyers is unmatched. They help us deliver successful outcomes in some of the most complex and sensitive disputes and investigations in the market.
- We are a leading disputes practice, representing corporates, financial institutions and governments in complex commercial litigation in the Courts and Tribunals. We are recognised in particular for our expertise in major class actions and group litigation, banking disputes and competition damages actions.
- Our international arbitration practice advises on complex, high-value and strategically significant disputes, particularly those arising in a post-M&A context, for clients from every business sector, notably energy and infrastructure, financial services and healthcare.
- We are one of the world’s leading cross-border investigations practices. Over the past three decades, we have played significant roles in many of the most important regulatory and criminal investigations representing companies and individuals in financial regulatory and corporate crime investigations, prosecutions, enforcement actions and related civil litigation.
- The disputes and investigations we work on are global. We work with leading firms from around the world as an integrated team, giving our clients a first class service without borders.
key experience
Advised BHP Group PLC, the multinational mining, metals and petroleum company, and associated companies, on the defence of one of the largest class actions ever commenced in England. The claim raises highly topical issues of law and is of keen interest to UK-headquartered multinationals with exposure to litigation risks in third countries.
Advising BAT plc in the successful defence of the SFO’s investigation of suspicions of corruption in the conduct of business by BAT, its subsidiaries and associated persons in a number of jurisdictions. The SFO announced in 2021 that it will not be pursuing any charges against any BAT entities, and so closed its investigation.
Advising MAN SE, the leading truck manufacturer, in several high-profile, high-value damages actions following the European Commission’s truck cartel investigation. Two of the claims, in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, will test the UK collective proceedings regime, which has not yet seen any claims proceed past the certification stage. The scope and extent of the litigation makes it one of the most significant competition law-related disputes of recent years.
Advising Credit Suisse in High Court litigation relating to bribery and corruption allegations 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, known colloquially as the “tuna bond scandal”.
Advised Standard Life Aberdeen on an arbitration with Lloyds Banking Group relating to the termination of a long term investment management contract worth more than £100 billion. We advised on an expedited hearing of the arbitration and helped our client secure a favourable outcome.
Advising JP Morgan Chase Bank in relation to both the High Court litigation and the competing applications for Collective Proceedings Orders brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal arising out of the global forex investigations (which resulted in fines totalling over US$8.5 billion).
Advised Rolls-Royce plc in relation to the high profile parallel criminal investigations conducted by the UK Serious Fraud Office, the US Department of Justice and the Brazilian Ministerio Publico Federal arising from allegations of historic bribery and corruption in overseas jurisdictions which was resolved by way of a Deferred Prosecution Agreement.
Advised Zurich Insurance plc in the landmark financial markets test case brought by the Financial Conduct Authority on behalf of thousands of business interruption insurance policyholders as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a potential value of several hundreds of millions of pounds at stake and an impact on the wider insurance market far beyond the parties involved in the current case.
Advised The Board of TSB Bank plc to conduct an independent review of the facts and circumstances leading up to the issues that arose when TSB migrated to a new IT platform. The problems which followed the migration have been widely reported and have attracted the scrutiny of regulators and Parliament.
The experience, technical skill and commercial awareness of our lawyers allows us to provide our clients with a complete disputes and investigations service of the highest calibre.
An unparalleled ability to take technically difficult legal problems, set in a thick soup of complicated facts, and handle them in a way that is clear, pragmatic and gets the desired result - and all while making it look effortless. Legal 500