Mr Chris Warren-Smith > Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP‘s ‘dynamic‘ team in London is a critical part of the firm’s global contentious regulatory practice, with practitioners frequently playing a key role in matters with a cross-border element. FCA investigations and proceedings, large-scale customer redress exercises, and remediation programmes are all part of the group’s regular workload. The key senior contacts are Chris Warren-Smith, who ‘combines great strategic and tactical nous with rigorous analysis and excellent legal judgment‘, and ‘great litigator‘ Melanie Ryan.

For one client, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP boasts ‘one of the best banking litigation teams in the City’, describing it as ‘dynamic, highly effective, and committed’. The team is particularly strong in the securities litigation sphere, with team head Chris Warren-Smith notably skilled in this area. Also leading the team is Melanie Ryan, who is a ‘great litigator with a very good following’. Ryan represents banks and financial services firms in relation to cross-border regulatory investigations. Peter Sharp yields a ‘fantastic intellect’, and has experience in insolvency and restructuring situations. ‘Brilliant partner’ Paul Mesquitta is another name to note.

‘With huge experience in international arbitration‘, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP‘s London team represents clients under all the major international arbitration. It routinely handles significant disputes involving the Americas, Asia, Europe, the CIS, Africa, and the Middle East. David Waldron is particularly active in financial services and oil and gas sector-related disputes; Peter Sharp has ‘great strategic appreciation‘; and Chris Warren-Smith and Melanie Ryan‘s practices also incorporate arbitration work. Recently-promoted partner Paul Mesquitta is ‘a great arbitration practitioner‘.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP has a ‘dynamic and effective’ litigation practice, and for one client, is ‘up there with the best of the magic circle firms.’ Melanie Ryan, a ‘great litigator’, represents clients across disputes in banking, financial services, and energy, and leads the team. Chris Warren-Smith, co-chair of the firm’s white collar and corporate investigations practice, is key to the team, along with ‘clever, shrewd litigator’ Peter Sharp  and ‘highly experienced’ David Waldron.

Deploying a ‘rational, hard-charged and thorough’ approach when addressing financial crime issues, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP represents international banks and global corporations in regulatory and criminal investigations. With special expertise in cases involving insider trading, market abuse, and complex fraud corruption, the team consistently deals with cross-border proceedings brought by international and domestic enforcement authorities, spanning from the SFO to the US DOJ. Melanie Ryan and Chris Warren-Smith both lead the group, providing bespoke advice on tax issues, sanctions breaches, and retail share trading matters. Paul Mesquitta handles complex commercial litigation and arbitration, having been promoted to partner in October 2022.