Cohen & Gresser (UK) LLP > London, England > Firm Profile

Cohen & Gresser (UK) LLP
2-4 King Street
SW1Y 6QP
England

Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals) Tier 4

Working in close collaboration with its US offices, Cohen & Gresser (UK) LLP excels at advising individuals on regulatory investigations and compliance, criminal defence, and AML and POCA issues; insolvency-related matters also form a core pillar of work for the team. Richard Kovalevsky KC leads the criminal defence team and acts for CEOs and high-net-worth individuals facing allegations of fraud; Kovalevsky also represents individuals facing personal sanctions designation. Thomas Shortland handles internal and disciplinary investigations.

Practice head(s):

Richard Kovalevsky KC

Other key lawyers:

Testimonials

‘Individualised service, amazing professionals.’

‘The Cohen & Gresser team is one of the most impressive that I have worked with over the past few years. They achieve victories that clients can usually only dream about. Unlimited hard work, extraordinary tactical and strategic nous, no stone left unturned – and all done by people of the utmost charm and positivity and the epitome of ‘can-do’.’

‘Thomas Shortland is a partner in the team and a sensationally good lawyer and commercial litigator. He brings the full strength of a team to bear onto litigation so that the representation can scale to meet the challenges. He is responsible and straightforward with his clients and advises them to the highest level as to the strategy and then ensures that it is implemented to guarantee the best result.’

‘From my perspective, this is a firm of excellent lawyers.’

‘Strong international team with strong representation in the US and the UK in particular.’

‘Richard Kovalevsky KC sets the standard for the firm with a friendly and direct relationship with clients. The result of which is they return time after time.’

Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates) Tier 4

Clients praise the white-collar defence and investigations practice at Cohen & Gresser (UK) LLP for its ‘extraordinary tactical and strategic nous‘. Cross-border investigations regarding financial crime and corruption in the energy and construction sectors feature prominently in the team’s caseload; Richard Kovalevsky KC is a key name here. Other noteworthy individuals include Thomas Shortland, who takes point on internal and disciplinary investigations.

Testimonials

‘The Cohen & Gresser team is one of the most impressive that I have worked with over the past few years. They achieve victories that clients can usually only dream about. Unlimited hard work, extraordinary tactical and strategic nous, no stone left unturned – and all done by people of the utmost charm and positivity and the epitome of ‘can-do’.’

‘Thomas Shortland is a partner in the team and a sensationally good lawyer and commercial litigator. He brings the full strength of a team to bear on litigation so that the representation can scale to meet the challenges. He is responsible and straightforward with his clients and advises them to the highest level as to the strategy and then ensures that it is implemented to guarantee the best result.’

‘They have excellent lawyers.’

‘Strong team across the board, top of their game.’

‘Incredible inside knowledge of the UK’s financial services regulators and enforcement agencies provide a unique insight.’

Key clients

Itinera S.p.A

Methanol Holdings Trinidad Ltd.; Process Energy (Trinidad) Ltd.

Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market Tier 5

Cohen & Gresser (UK) LLP‘s London team acts in disputes involving shareholders, investment funds, M&A, capital markets, joint ventures, and commercial arrangements. It also litigates in relation to regulatory obligations, directors’ duties, fraud, insolvency, professional negligence, and corporate governance and restructurings.  Promoted to partner during 2023, Thomas Shortland is ‘a sensationally good lawyer and commercial litigator’. The wide-ranging practice of Patrick Ferguson encompass commercial disputes. Former UK commercial litigation leader Jumana Rahman departed the firm in April 2024.

Practice head(s):

Thomas Shortland

Other key lawyers:

Testimonials

‘The Cohen & Gresser team is one of the most impressive around.’

‘Achieves victories that clients can usually only dream about.’

‘The team is unwaveringly committed and responsive throughout cases, working long hours for months on end without losing any enthusiasm or vigour.’

‘Unlimited hard work, extraordinary tactical and strategic nous.’

‘No stone left unturned – and all done by people with the utmost charm and positivity – the epitome of can-do.’

‘The CG team is deep, wide and very skilled. They can deploy huge resources to work on a case, and bring massive and long-term experience to bear.’

‘Thomas Shortland is a sensationally good lawyer and commercial litigator.’

‘Thomas Shortland is responsible and straightforward with his clients, and advises them to the highest level as to the strategy – he then ensures that it is implemented to guarantee the best result.’

Key clients

Hot Pancakes

Sixth Borough Capital Fund

Dawson James Securities

Work highlights

  • Defended James Henderson, the former CEO of Bell Pottinger, against director disqualification proceedings issued by the Secretary of State in the Business & Property Courts.
  • Representing Sixth Borough Capital Management and Dawson James Securities in high-value Commercial Court litigation against TC BioPharm in relation to loan notes and related allegations of breach of confidence.
  • Represented Hot Pancakes in English Business & Property Court proceedings in relation to IP rights.

Founded in 2002, Cohen & Gresser is an international law firm with offices in New York, Paris, Washington, D.C., and London. The firm has an outstanding record of success in high-stakes and high-profile litigation, investigation, and transactional work throughout the world. Its clients include major international financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies across a broad spectrum of industries.

Opened in 2018, Cohen & Gresser’s London office provides legal services to clients around the world. The London office represents investment managers, financial institutions, global companies, family offices, and individuals in a variety of disciplines. On the transactional side, we represent clients in all aspects of investing and investments, restructurings, and divestitures. The UK commercial litigation team advises on a wide range of cross-border disputes, and are well-versed in funds, financial services, and insurance litigation in a number of jurisdictions, including offshore jurisdictions. Our UK white collar defense and investigations team represents entities and individuals in complex economic crime, investigations, and regulatory matters. The London office works closely across practices with colleagues in New York and Paris, providing seamless support on sophisticated cross-border matters.

Department Name Email Telephone
Corporate Daniel H. Mathias [email protected] +44 (0) 20 8036 9402