Lucy Ward > Stewarts Law LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Stewarts Law LLP
5 NEW STREET SQUARE
LONDON
EC4A 3BF
England
Lucy Ward photo

Work Department

Commercial Litigation and Securities Litigation

Position

Lucy is a commercial disputes expert specialising in banking and financial services litigation and fraud. She has particular expertise advising institutional investors in complex securities litigation and high value disputes. Lucy is ranked in the Legal 500 as a ‘Next Generation Partner’. She was the lead partner in one of The Lawyer’s top 20 cases for 2020 and described as a “heavy hitter”.

Lucy co-heads the commercial litigation department. Lucy’s clients include institutional investors and financial institutions, corporates, high net worth individuals and sovereign wealth funds.

Her experience covers complicated multiparty cases (including group litigation) in relation to mis-selling of complex financial products, s90 FSMA, professional negligence, breach of contract and fraud.  With experience acting for and against banks, Lucy is able to anticipate opponents’ strategy.  Her work often involves multi-jurisdictional issues.

A selection of Lucy’s key cases include:

  • Acting for 313 institutional investors in the first group securities litigation of its kind in England in a claim against RBS regarding its 2008 rights issue.
  • Acting for Portigon AG (a legacy entity of WestLB) against RBS in a claim for breach of contract, negligence and misrepresentation in relation to CPDO notes.
  • Acting for the investment authority of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKIA) in a claim against a businessman for fraudulent misrepresentation, conspiracy and breach of contract and defending allegations of hacking and abuse of process.
  • Acting for RAKIA in RAKIA (& Ors) v Bestfort Development LLP (& Ors) [2017] EWCA Civ 1014, in which the Court of Appeal clarified the test required for the existence of assets in an application for a worldwide freezing order.
  • Acting for an IT services company in a contractual dispute.
  • Acting for 83 bankers in a successful claim against Dresdner Kleinwort and Commerzbank over unpaid bonuses (Attrill & others v Dresdner Kleinwort and Commerzbank [2012] EWHC 1189 (QB)).
  • Acting for the successful defendant in a claim relating to an alleged written agreement (Gaydamak v Leviev [2012] EWHC 1740 (Ch)).

Career

Lucy joined Stewarts in 2011, having previously trained and worked at Freshfields. She was promoted to partner at Stewarts in 2018.

Personal

Lucy enjoys skiing, exploring new cities, spending time with her two children and good food.

Lawyer Rankings

London > Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium

Litigation-only firm Stewarts Law LLP acts on large scale, complex, cross-border disputes, and is ‘one of the best in the market’. The team consists of a ‘great selection of top-quality but nice and happy lawyers’, with Clive Zietman leading the team that consists of ‘complete packageIan Gatt KC, and ‘highly organized and efficientLorraine Lanceley. Lucy Ward is integral to the team, with specific expertise in complex securities litigation – a mainstay of the work undertaken by the team. The bench strength of the team continues to develop, with the arrival of Alex Leitch from Paul Hastings LLP.

London > Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail

(Next Generation Partners)

Lucy WardStewarts Law LLP

Stewarts Law LLP fields ‘one of the top litigation teams in London’ and one that acts frequently for some of the largest international financial institutions, multi-national corporations, and high-net-worth individuals. The team has carved out a niche specialism in securities litigation, having represented shareholders in high-profile proceedings brought against Tesco, and similarly acting for institutional investors in relation to Glencore. Clive Zietman is a ‘superstar who has driven the team to success’ and leads the department, bringing 30 years of experience in large-scale litigation. ‘Tenacious, driven, and analyticalMarc Jones, ‘smart, indefatigable and creativeFiona Gillett, and ‘impressive litigatorKeith Thomas are key names to note at partner level, alongside Sean Upson and Lucy Ward.