Stephenson Harwood

Commercial Litigation

Alan Ward is a partner at Stephenson Harwood specialising in regulatory litigation and investigations. He advises financial institutions and corporates in navigating high-profile investigations commenced by agencies such as the Serious Fraud Office ("SFO") and Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"), along with internal, non-public investigations into allegations of financial and non-financial misconduct and irregularity.

His client base includes major banks, asset managers, and trading houses, corporates across sectors and high-profile public bodies, who value his ability to handle their most sensitive and business critical matters.

Alan has represented firms, directors, senior managers and traders in many of the most high-profile and significant investigations of the past two decades. He has represented individuals in two of the largest insider dealing prosecutions commenced by the FCA and acted for senior traders and manager in relation to the global LIBOR and foreign exchange investigations, including successfully representing clients at trial. In 2025 he represented a trader and a corporate, in two separate regulatory actions concerning allegations of market manipulation.

Clients value Alan's collaborative and practical approach, which combines deep technical knowledge with a focus on identifying and managing risk in a proactive and proportionate manner. His experience in complex cases underscores his reputation as a trusted advisor in regulatory and corporate crime matters.