Senior Associate Steven De Lara appointed as an Insolvency Practitioner by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission
Becca has a wide range of experience in commercial disputes with a focus on banking and financial services. She specialises in high value complex matters including both High Court litigation and arbitration. Becca also advises on regulatory matters including regulatory investigations involving the FCA.
Before joining Signature Litigation, Becca was an Associate at Clyde & Co where she trained and qualified in September 2010. Becca also has experience working in the FSA’s enforcement division and at Goldman Sachs’ Compliance Division while on secondment.
EXPERIENCE
Commercial Litigation
- Acting for a large institutional and retail claimant group in complex group litigation against a large UK bank and its former directors in relation to allegations of breach of statutory obligations under s.90 FSMA with respect to alleged omissions and/or misleading statements in a prospectus. The areas of complaint include liquidity, capital, credit market exposures, risk management, VAR and LIBOR.
- Acting for Vestia, a Dutch social housing association in relation to a claim by Credit Suisse for €83 million arising from Vestia’s interest rate derivative portfolio. This case was heard in a four week trial in the Commercial Court from March to April 2014. Judgment was handed down in favour of Credit Suisse in October 2014, from which Vestia obtained permission to appeal.
- Advising an insurance company in relation to a breach of a binding authority agreement.
- Advising in relation to a breach of confidence and computer systems hacking.
- Advising a Singapore company in relation to a fraud claim arising out of a sale and purchase agreement. Becca sought and obtained a freezing injunction and successfully withstood an application to set aside the freezing injunction. Following mediation, she was able to negotiate a settlement.
- Advising a property company in relation to interest rate swaps sold by two UK banks.
- Advising an Italian company in respect of an urgent application for a freezing injunction following a theft of EU carbon trading allowances, subsequently dealing with the issued proceedings and eventually negotiating a settlement.
- Advising an individual in relation to a series of contracts concerning the provision of financial services. The claim successfully settled out of court shortly after the completion of disclosure.
Arbitration
- Working on a multi-million dollar claim against a former director of a UK Plc concerning allegations of bribery and corruption. The arbitration of this matter was heard in August 2014.
Regulatory
- Advising an individual in respect of an application to the FCA to remove a Prohibition Order.
- Advising an individual in respect of disciplinary proceedings brought by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
- Acting for an insurance broker in relation to an investigation by the FCA concerning allegations of bribery and inadequate systems and controls relating to third party payments. Advising in relation to a mediation with the FCA in November 2012, subsequent section 166 report and a negotiation meeting with the FCA regarding the Final Notice.
- Acting for an FCA regulated insurance broker in relation to a cyber-hack of its systems resulting in customers’ personal information being taken.
- Advising in relation to the company’s requirement to notify the FCA and the Information Commissioner’s Office, the reparation strategy following the hack and making representations to the ICO regarding the wording of the Monetary Penalty Notice and the amount of the penalty.