The Legal 500

London: Crime, fraud and licensing

Fraud: civil

Fraud: civil - ranked: tier 1

PCB Litigation LLP

‘Leading firm’ PCB Litigation LLP offers ‘unrivalled boutique expertise in the field of fraud’. It is adept at handling fraud and asset recovery work and implementing multi-jurisdictional asset recovery strategies. It also deals with search orders, disclosure orders, appointments of interim receivers, orders for cross-examination and committal for contempt. Recent work includes acting for Bank of Moscow against a Russian judgment debtor and his wife in a case worth £200m. Other clients include BMW, TPG Capital, VTB and KMG international. Steven Philippsohn heads the team, he is ‘a lateral thinker extraordinaire’ and ‘can see brilliant points outside the box’. Anthony Riem has ‘a marvellous rapport with clients’, Trevor Mascarenhas ‘stands out as a leading partner in this field’ and ‘knows all the ins and outs of civil fraud dispute resolution in commercial litigation and in arbitration’. Jon Felce was promoted to partner and is ‘a calm and collected presence and the breadth of his legal writing demonstrates that he has a genuine enthusiasm for the law’.

Leading individuals

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London: Dispute resolution

Banking litigation: investment and retail

Banking litigation: investment and retail - ranked: tier 5

PCB Litigation LLP

PCB Litigation LLP acts both for and against banks in substantial litigation, including high-profile work for Russian and CIS banks. The team acted for two of eight defendants, who had proceedings commenced against them by Commerzbank and two others seeking declaratory relief in connection with claims surrounding a structured investment instrument issued by Commerzbank, which involved fixed rate bonds, an unsecured loan note and a swaps agreement; the defendants’ counterclaim is based on claims for unlawful conspiracy, deceit, dishonest assistance, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. Anthony Riem is 'very experienced'; Trevor Mascarenhas is' assured and extremely bright'; Steven Philippsohn is 'a lateral thinker extraordinaire, who can see brilliant points outside the box'; and Nick Ractliff and recently promoted partner Jon Felce are 'dedicated and thorough'.

Next generation lawyers

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Commercial litigation

Commercial litigation - ranked: tier 5

PCB Litigation LLP

PCB Litigation LLP is 'a solid niche player for commercial litigation as well as its best-known area of civil fraud'. It acted for TPG Capital in a case about whether the taking of funds out of a company (Hellas II) can subsequently be challenged; the matter also recently involved the team leading on a successful application for security for costs against litigation funders. Anthony Riem 'inspires confidence through his down-to-earth interaction with clients, extensive commercial law knowledge, experience of court procedures and clarity of advice'; Trevor Mascarenhas is 'a first-class lawyer and tactician'; and Steven Philippsohn is 'a vastly experienced litigator'.

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