Travers Smith LLP boasts a ‘highly recommended team with top quality across the board’, acting for both claimants and defendants in disputes involving a wide range of financial institutions. Members of the team work closely with the finance and derivatives and structured products teams of the firm, to offer a comprehensive disputes offering to clients. International mandates are a stalwart of the team, commended for its ’high level of intellectual ability with excellent attention to detail’. Heather Gagen heads the practice notably including Rob Fell, who is recognised for his ‘long experience and commercial acumen’. Caroline Edwards and Jan-Jaap Baer are key to the team that is ’consistently helpful, courteous, tenacious and a delight to work alongside’. Stephanie Lee and Alice Childs are noted.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The banking litigation team at Travers Smith bring us high profile and quality work. They enjoy strong international links with other international firms.'
- 'We found the Travers Team to be consistently helpful, courteous, tenacious and a delight to work alongside.’
‘It was always a pleasure to work with the Travers team - they were always helpful, always produced documents on time and of excellent quality, always 'put up their hand' to help and take the initiative. It was a genuine pleasure to work with them - Alice, in particular, took the lead most of the time - and she was not only excellent at her work, but also someone who was very skilled at building a team.’
‘Travers combine a high level of intellectual ability with excellent attention to detail, while being a pleasure to deal with. We really value their advice and their ability to face off against the big firms, and they always go the extra mile for us.’
‘Partners: We really rate Rob Fell and John Lee. Rob brings his long experience and commercial acumen to our case, whilst John has great intellectual ability and runs the team day to day.'
- 'Senior Associate: We see Imogen Nolan as a rising star. She has a fantastic grasp of the detail across the case, but over the life of the matter has also begun to advise at a more commercial level. We think that in coming years, she could be an excellent partner. ’
Key clients
- Nomura International Plc
- Qatar National Bank (Q.P.S.C.)
- Preventative Counselling for Miscellaneous Banks
Work highlights
Advising leading international investment bank Nomura on its application to the EU General Court for annulment of the European Commission's Decision finding of anti-competitive behaviour in the primary and secondary European Government Bond ("EGB") markets.
A group of nine Claimants, eight of whom are anonymous, issued a claim in the Commercial Court on 29 July 2022 against four Defendants. Our client is the First Defendant in these proceedings. The claim was stayed shortly after it was issued, pending final resolution of a related claim brought against 18 Defendants, of which only four (including our client) were served. On 30 October 2022, HHJ Pelling KC granted the four Defendants' state immunity challenges in the first claim, and permission to appeal was refused by the Court of Appeal in February 2023, at which point the stay on the new claim was lifted and it was transferred to the King's Bench Division.
Following the high-profile furore surrounding debanking in 2023 and 2024, and given the changing regulatory landscape, we provided training and preventative counselling to a number of banks on the current laws and future developments in relation to the rules and regulations surrounding debanking.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Stephanie Lee
Practice head
Heather Gagen
Other key lawyers
Rob Fell; Caroline Edwards; Jan-Jaap Baer; Stephanie Lee; Alice Childs; John Lee; Natalie Puddicombe