Piers is a partner in our London disputes practice. Piers has extensive experience advising on litigation and investigations for a wide range of clients, including investment and retail banks, wealth and asset managers, insurers, investment funds, brokers, specialist finance providers, payment service providers, fintechs, stock exchanges and clearing houses, financial advisers, professional services firms, family offices, and other corporates, in the UK and elsewhere.
Piers has experience of complex cases, including: mis-selling claims, derivatives disputes, shareholder disputes, financial crime, data and confidentiality issues, sanctions issues, governance and culture issues, and commercial disputes, often with multijurisdictional dimensions; and investigations by, and disputes with, the UK's FCA, FRC, PRA, OFT, NCA, HMRC, OFSI, and overseas regulators.
Having been seconded to a number of clients, Piers provides practical advice that reflects the legal, regulatory, commercial and practical issues that institutions face. Piers is also involved in mentoring lawyers at Freshfields and at client organisations. He mentors internal talent from diverse backgrounds (ethnic, gender and other diversity), and has been a mentor on the Stephen Lawrence scholarship scheme.
- Acting for a global investment bank on litigation concerning a credit default swap linked to a collateralised debt obligation.
- Advising on POCA, SAR, and other financial crime issues.
- Acting for a global wealth manager in an enforcement investigation by the Dubai Financial Services Authority into regulatory perimeter issues.
- Acting for a retail bank in relation to FCA enforcement following a cyber-attack.
- Acting for a global investment bank in relation to confidentiality issues arising from M&A advisory business.
- Acting for a payment services provider in relation to regulatory investigations across multiple jurisdictions.
- Acting for a global bank in relation to a UK FCA dual-track civil and criminal enforcement investigation into financial crime systems and controls.
- Advising on sanctions breaches and related litigation and regulatory risk.
- Acting for a global bank in relation to cross-border market abuse investigations and related employee and other legal issues.
- Advising extensively on systems and controls, governance, and compliance issues.
- Acting for a major insurance provider in a Part 8 claim for a declaration on the construction of a with-profits insurance policy.
- Acting for a Middle Eastern institution in relation to allegations of manipulation of FX markets.
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