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Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance

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United States • Dispute resolution

4

Securities litigation: defense

Clifford Chance is experienced in a range of matters concerning regulatory shifts, private capital, AI, and energy. The team is particularly adept at advising financial institutions and corporations in securities litigation. Practice head Robert Houck represents companies, underwriters, corporate officers, and outside directors in class-action suits and other civil litigation. John Friel assists with a range of securities, derivatives, and antitrust matters, while Benjamin Berringer focuses on cross-border investigations and commercial litigation. Benjamin Peacock‘s experience spans litigation, regulatory, and criminal investigations. Peter Isajiw joined the team in February 2025, with knowledge of regulatory enforcement matters and government investigations. All the lawyers mentioned above are based in New York.
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Key clients

  • Dr Mike Lynch, founder of Autonomy
  • ICBC Standard Bank Plc
  • BMO Capital Markets Corp
  • A major international bank
  • Government of Sri Lanka
  • Barry Silbert/ Digital Currency Group
  • NatWest Group PLC (f.k.a. Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc)
  • NatWest Markets
  • Kingdom of Belgium
  • Banque Internationale à Luxembourg
  • Sibanye-Stillwater
  • TOTSA TotalEnergies Trading SA

Work highlights

Represented Dr Mike Lynch and his estate in criminal and civil litigation in the U.S. and U.K., in a matter involving allegations of accounting improprieties at Autonomy, a FTSE 100 UK technology company which Hewlett-Packard (“HP”) acquired in 2011 for US$11 billion. In 2012, HP announced the write-down of US$8 billion of Autonomy, attributing US$5 billion to fraud.
Defending ICBC Standard Bank Plc (“Standard Bank”), a large London-based financial institution, in U.S. class action litigation accusing Standard Bank and other defendants of manipulating prices of London-based auctions for physical platinum and palladium.
Successfully defending NatWest Group PLC (f.k.a. Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc) in eight separate actions in New York federal courts concerning the Anti-Terrorism Act, as amended by the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (“JASTA”).
Practice head

Robert Houck

Other key lawyers

Peter Isajiw; John Friel; Benjamin Berringer; Benjamin Peacock

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