Banking and Financial Markets Litigation

Signature advises clients on all aspects of banking and financial markets litigation.

Our clients include banks, funds, wealth managers, private equity funds and other financial institutions, as well as high net-worth individuals. Our experience allows us to understand not only our clients’ commercial objectives, but also the sophisticated financial structures that form the basis of many disputes.

Our clients include banks, funds, wealth managers, private equity funds and high net-worth individuals.
Our conflict free platform means we are unconstrained in who we can act for and against. We can therefore offer clients who are involved in disputes on both sides of the customer/institutional relationship access to high quality expertise from lawyers who have significant experience in handling such disputes.

The team has specialist experience in negligence claims, complex securities litigation, contract enforcement, as well as disputes relating to losses arising from financial products.

Signature is highly ranked in Chambers and The Legal 500 for Banking Litigation

The Legal 500 UK 2024 Guide consistently ranks Signature as a ‘Leading Firm’ for its banking litigation expertise, and the practice is praised for its “great specialist knowledge” and describes members of the team as “litigation heavyweights in small firm clothing.” The Chambers UK Guide also ranks the practice highly and praises the firm’s “wide experience of heavyweight banking disputes.”

In addition to ranking in The Legal 500, Chambers and Partners Guide ranks Signature’s founding partner, Graham Huntley, in Band 1 for Banking Litigation, and have identified his “enviable reputation” whilst describing him as “extremely tenacious.” He has previously been described as “very committed and very driven,” enjoying a “stellar reputation” for his “great knowledge and experience,” and noting that “he’s very bright, very hard-working, he’s a good tactician and he offers very sound advice.” The Legal 500 UK 2024, which ranks Graham in its Hall of Fame, commends him for having a “great balance of assertiveness and tact.” Previous Guides praise him as “a legend in the London banking litigation market”, “a doyen of London banking litigation” and “a master tactician.”

Both Becca Hogan and Rory Spillman are ranked as ‘Next Generation Partners’ in The Legal 500 UK 2024 Guide. Becca is highlighted as “detail-oriented and very switched on” and “a calm, composed and confidence-inspiring presence in a team.”

The Legal 500 recognises London-based partner Abdulali Jiwaji as “an extremely experienced litigator who is utterly unflappable. Definitely someone you want in your corner in a tough spot.” In Chambers Global, he has been described as being a “technically sound, sensible and robust litigator who always finds practical solutions”.

Josh Wong is ranked as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ by The Legal 500 in the UK 2024 Guide, described as “an extremely experienced litigator with sound litigation instincts.” He is also commended as “an impressive operator who can attack a difficult situation with great energy, judgment and effectiveness.”

Kate Gee has over twelve years’ experience acting in complex, high value, cross border disputes, including banking litigation, civil fraud and asset tracing claims and general commercial litigation. Kate is ranked in The Legal 500 UK 2024 Guide as a ‘Rising Star’ and Chambers UK 2023 guide for Civil Fraud and is described as having “notable experience in civil fraud work” and commended for having “a real commercial handle on things and is completely unflappable”.

Alasdair Glass is also recognised as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in The Legal 500 UK 2024 Guide, and is highlighted as “a standout associate with a bright future.”

In Paris, the practice is led by partner Thomas Rouhette, who is described as “an intelligent and clear-minded lawyer”, a “tough but excellent” litigator, and “a good strategist and the best trial lawyer [the client has] seen in the French court system”. He is consistently ranked in the Chambers and Legal 500 Guides for his litigation expertise and is a member of The Legal 500’s ‘Hall of Fame’ for his market leading practice.

Banking and Financial Markets Litigation Team

“There is real depth of experience in the banking litigation team.“

The Legal 500 UK 2021

Kate Gee

Kate is ranked in the Chambers UK 2024 guide for Civil Fraud and is described as “excellent”. A market source notes Kate is “making a name for herself in terms of crypto fraud”. She has also been commended by sources as being “great at driving a matter forward and building a team. She is really smart with a huge amount of energy and expertise“. Another commentator notes that “Kate is a great litigator. She is hard-working, dedicated to her clients and able to bring good commercial judgement to bear on her cases.” Previous guides have described her as having “notable experience in civil fraud work” and commended her for having “a real commercial handle on things and is completely unflappable”. In the latest The Legal 500 UK 2024 Guide, Kate is recognised as a ‘Rising Star’ for civil fraud. In The Legal 500 UK 2023 Guide, sources described her as having “real depth of experience in civil fraud matters, including cryptocurrencies.”

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Graham Huntley

Graham is consistently recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers as one of the UK’s highest ranked commercial and banking litigators and has been involved in some of the most significant cases of recent years. Chambers UK describes him as “an intense and effective solicitor with an incredibly client-focused approach” and he has previously been described as “very bright, very hard-working, a good tactician” and “very committed and driven”. The Legal 500 UK 2024 recognises Graham as a ‘Hall of Fame’ lawyer for civil fraud, banking litigation and commercial litigation, and he is described as “a lawyer with a particularly formidable reputation within the banking sector.”

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Abdulali Jiwaji

Abdul is regarded as a ‘Leading Individual’ in The Legal 500 UK 2024 for Commercial Litigation and a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for Banking Litigation: Investment and Retail. He is described as “highly regarded” and “an extremely experienced litigator who is utterly unflappable. Definitely someone you want in your corner in a tough spot.” Testimonials describe him as “super impressive” and “understated, authoritative, and effective“, “a clever lawyer whose quiet and calm manner inspires confidence“. Previous Guides have described Abdul as having “a grip of the big picture and the detail; very deft in client handling; tenacious and determined; swift, responsive and clear-thinking“. A commentator has noted that: “One of the best litigators I have had the privilege of working with is Abdulali Jiwaji.” He has also been praised for being “a steady hand during turbulent times”. Chambers Global has described him as a “technically sound, sensible and robust litigator who always finds practical solutions”.

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Thomas Rouhette

Thomas is ranked as a leading expert by both Chambers Global and Europe for his litigation and aviation law expertise, with sources praising him for his “invaluable” advice, experience and knowledge. The Legal 500 EMEA Guide consistently recognises Thomas as a ‘Hall of Fame’ lawyer for his aviation and commercial litigation practices. Who’s Who Legal regards Thomas as the “finest product liability lawyer in the country and one of the very best on the continent.”

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Banking and Financial Markets Litigation Experience

Advising a French bank in a multimillion-euro civil liability case in defending an alleged fraud claim, consisting of forgery and misappropriation.

Representing a bank in a high profile, multi-jurisdictional, matter against the bank’s former owner in the scope of enforcement proceedings involving piercing the corporate veil and attachment of assets located on the French Riviera and in the French West Indies.

Advising the fund managers of an investment fund in a €200 million dispute concerning assets held in Italy.

Advising a Central Asia and Eastern Europe investment bank in a £100 million dispute with an AIM-listed mining and mineral company with operations in Sierra Leone regarding a number of M&A, equity and debt transactions over a period of 4 years.

Advising authorised persons in relation to ongoing SEC, DoJ and FCA investigations concerning credit default swaps pricing.

Acting for an investment bank and monoline insurer in simultaneous proceedings in England and France to ensure continuity of service by an alternative back up service (BUS) provider to maintain the rating of a €900 million securitisation.

Acting for individual investors in the special administration of a global broking firm.

Acting on behalf of approximately 40 institutional clients and over 8,000 individual shareholders to bring claims against RBS over its 2008 rights issue following the disastrous acquisition of ABN Amro. This case was recognised as one of The Lawyer’s top 20 cases of 2017.

Advising a major corporate on claims in excess of $300 million in relation to foreign exchange derivative transactions entered into with international banks, with allegations of non-compliance with Shari’a law.

Assisting the distressed assets Team of a leading French bank in connection with the recovery of a loan to a Romanian company.

Representing several investment funds in relation to contractual enforcement of an SPA.

Representing an Austrian bank in defending proceedings before the French Courts in order to obtain the cancellation, based on alleged vitiated consent and fraud, of several subscriptions of subordinated participation capital bonds, for a total notional amount of €300,000,000.

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