Sion Richards > Jones Day > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Jones Day‘s civil fraud team is hailed as ‘the best in the business‘, and is, in particular, ‘at the top of the field for complex cross-border fraud and asset tracing‘.  The practice is ‘full to the rafters with experienced, canny litigators‘ which includes Barnaby Stueck, an ‘absolutely first class‘ specialist for asset tracing and enforcement, contentious insolvency, and investment fund disputes, as well as ‘efficient operator‘ Annabel Treadgold and Daniel Travers. Associate James Fidler is a ‘shrewd lawyer‘ who specialises in advice to clients from the Asia-Pacific region. The practice is headed by ‘crème de la crème of civil fraud lawyers in London‘, Sion Richards, who is ‘particularly strong on fraud, particularly in an insolvency context‘. The team has recently also been active in defence work for banks, which included disclosure and vicarious liability issues, and has acted for several banks from the Middle East.

The team at Jones Day boasts a ‘incredibly impressive marriage of fastidious attention to factual detail and carefully thought out litigation strategy’ and routinely acts on commercially sensitive, complex disputes. ‘Hugely charismatic and confident practitioner’ Sion Richards heads up the team, advising on multijurisdictional investigations and high-value civil litigation. Also of note are ‘top class litigation partner’ Rhys Thomas, ‘exceptionally talented partners’ Ben Larkin and Adam Brown, and ‘very bright’ Daniel Travers. At associate level, Sarah Batley is commended for her ‘good litigation instincts’.

The ‘exceptionally able and well-resourced’ team at Jones Day is best-known for its contentious insolvency expertise, where it handles the ‘biggest cases calmly and successfully’. Ben Larkin, who is praised for his willingness to take ‘the time to develop a very deep understanding of salient aspects of litigation’, has been instrumental to this success, and alongside the ‘fantastic’ Adam Brown, has acted for the IPs in relation to many of the largest retail insolvencies in UK history, including their ongoing work investigating and prosecuting claims in the aftermath of the BHS collapse. Larkin, who co-heads the overarching team alongside Sion Richards, has also continued to develop the team’s traction among private equity firms in relation to distressed M&A activity, in particular. Barnaby Stueck  is a ‘highly effective insolvency litigator’ and is adept at handling cases with a multi-jurisdictional complexion, while at a non-partner level, counsel Hannah Plumb is ‘one to watch’.

The investigations and white-collar practice at Jones Day works closely with its civil fraud team, advising on the gamut of corporate criminal investigations and asset-tracing, recovery and enforcement actions. Drawing on a sizeable network of offices across multiple jurisdictions, the group is routinely called upon to deal with cross-border white-collar crime proceedings brought by the SFO, US DOJ, and SEC. Both Sion Richards and Glyn Powell co-head the department, each specialising in major fraud, corruption, and economic crime matters. Adam Brown advises both corporates and financial institutions, while the ‘tremendously perceptive’ Karl Moussalli focuses on complex international litigation and arbitration.