Richard Garcia > Stephenson Harwood > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Stephenson Harwood‘s practice acts for state entities and state-owned companies, and houses experts in financial sanctions. Practice head Kamal Shah also leads the Africa and India groups; Ben Sigler is ‘an insightful lawyer‘; and Sue Millar, Richard Garcia and of counsel Stephen Ashley have ‘great knowledge of PIL issues‘.

Stephenson Harwood‘s banking disputes practice spans the full spectrum of matters in this space, with experience handling complex litigation involving group claims as well as disputes involving allegations of fraud, bribery and misselling. The group further stands out for the geographic breadth of its workload in this area, which includes representing clients in cross-border disputes relating to East Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the US. Sue Millar and Edward Davis jointly lead the practice; Davis is regularly called in to work on litigation stemming from loan facilities and securitised debt, while Millar is a ‘dynamic and creative lawyer’ who is widely recognised for her expertise in sanctions. Genevieve Quierin focuses on group actions. Richard Garcia counts a number of international banks among his clients and is ‘commercially-minded and modern in his approach’, while Donna Newman ‘manages litigation with great skill and effectiveness’. John Fordham has deep experience in this sector and continues to represent clients before the High Court.

The ‘exceptionally smart lawyers‘ at Stephenson Harwood represent a diverse client roster (spanning major brands, private equity funds, governments and high-net-worth-individuals) across a full range of high value litigation matters, often with parallel proceedings in several jurisdictions. Edward Davis and Paul Thwaite jointly lead the team. At partner level, ‘force of nature‘ Sue Millar, ‘razor sharp‘ Richard Garcia, Genevieve Quierin (who specialises in competition private enforcement actions) and Guy Harper (whose focus is on the oil and gas, financial services, and fine arts sectors) are singled out. In terms of senior associates, Chris Pettett is the name to note.