Recent Dispute Resolution matters

• Banking / professional negligence: Acting for an offshore investment vehicle controlled by one of the largest banks in the Czech Republic in its professional negligence claim against a Belgian bank arising out of its management of a $1billion investment fund in the Cayman Islands. The case involved questions of director's duties and professional negligence, and gave rise to complex legal arguments about valuations.
• Banking / pensions / insurance / money laundering: Acting in a case worth several hundred million dollars, in which we have been providing UK legal advice in relation to a high profile Israeli case with parallel English banking and regulatory aspects, arising out of a complex international banking, insurance and pensions claim. Our involvement is ongoing.
• Equities / financial markets / risk management: Advising the directors of a London based hedge fund that had assets worth in excess of $500 million following its collapse in the volatile equity markets losing some $250 million in one month. As the collapse continued, we advised on a range of issues to assist the fund in its stabilisation and withdrawal from the market, whilst unwinding its positions, in particular dealing with investor relations and handling all threats of litigation.
• Defamation / academe / publishing: Advising a professor in three separate defamation claims against Blackwell Publishing Limited, the College Art Association and another significant American academic publishing house, following their publication of reviews of her book. The defamation (alleging plagiarism and inadequate scholastic scrupulousness) was published internationally, allowing proceedings to be threatened in the UK. We obtained negotiated apologies and payments to the professor and withdrawals of the offending material. The claims involved difficult national and personal political issues in addition to jurisdictional questions.
• Securitisation: Advising Greenwich Financial Services, a US bank, in connection with a series of disputes arising from its pioneering development of the multi billion dollar Russian securitisation market, backed by the US government. Greenwich has been valued at $1 billion and Asserson Law Offices has been instructed to deal with UK law based disputes arising out of Greenwich's groundbreaking transactions. The issues dealt with have included the duties of a solicitor to protect the interests of a former client and the restrictions on a lawyer using the confidential information and know-how of a former client for the benefit of new clients; theft of information and know how and the alleged procuring by would be competitors of breaches of contract by partners of Greenwich. We have also advised on fraud allegations arising out of the underlying transaction, involving regulatory complaints in the USA and the UK.
• Banking / professional negligence / financial markets / Madoff: Instructions received to issue proceedings against a leading merchant bank for breach of duty and professional negligence arising out of the bank's failure to carry out proper due diligence in respect of investments in the collapsed Madoff scheme.