Speakers

Tom Whittaker, director and senior disputes & litigation lawyer, Burges Salmon

Tom Whittaker is a senior disputes and litigation lawyer at Burges Salmon LLP. He specialises in high-profile, complex, and data-rich litigation, investigations and inquiries, as well as advising and training clients on AI regulation and risk. Tom is ranked as a Global Market Leader in AI Law and published the chapter on Public Law and AI in the Law of AI textbook.

Richard Jeens, partner, Slaughter & May

Richard is a partner in Slaughter and May’s Disputes and Investigations group. He acts for major corporates, pension trustees and governmental bodies on a broad range of high-profile commercial disputes, investigations and contentious data and tax matters, often involving multiple jurisdictions.

Charlotte Hill, partner, Pennington Manches Cooper

Charlotte, a Partner at Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP, is an experienced commercial disputes lawyer. She is recognised as being ‘tenacious’, ‘a real force of nature’, and an ‘opponent-whisperer’. She advises on a broad range of complex, high-value cross-border disputes across a number of commercial and business sectors, including financial services (having previously been on secondment at a large institutional bank), company disputes, corporate insolvency and civil fraud. She has specialist expertise in digital assets where she advises clients about emerging tech including AI, cryptocurrencies, NFTs and blockchain disputes. In 2023, Charlotte won the esteemed title of ‘Woman of the Year – FinTech/Crypto Innovation – UK’ at the Citywealth Powerwomen Awards, for the impact of her work in the sector.

Meagan Sauve, legal tech solutions consultant, OpenText

Meagan Sauve is a Legal Tech Solutions Consultant experienced in machine learning and text analytics. Meagan specializes in guiding clients through e-disclosure strategies, focusing on data collection, processing, review, and analysis. Prior to joining OpenText, she worked as an eDisclosure Consultant at Allen and Overy and as a Solutions Consultant at Advanced Discovery. Prior to moving to London, Meagan was a Senior System Administrator at the Department of Justice, a Senior Analyst at Lockheed Martin, and an Analyst at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

Meagan holds a B.Sc. in psychology and statistics from Central Michigan University and has completed a Post Graduate Program in Data Science and Business Analytics (PGPDSBA), through the University of Texas at Austin.

Ben Ko, senior associate, dispute resolution, Baker McKenzie

Ben Ko is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution team at Baker McKenzie in London. He is a solicitor-advocate with Higher Rights of Audience in Civil Proceedings. His practice focusses on commercial litigation, particularly cases involving allegations of civil fraud. Ben has extensive experience of complex commercial litigation, including heavy trials in the High Court; appeals to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court; applications for injunctive relief; enforcement of judgments; and settlement of disputes pursuant to various forms of ADR. He has previously completed secondments to the litigation teams at an international oil major and an international investment bank, as well as to Baker McKenzie’s office in Hong Kong.

Francesca Richmond, partner in dispute resolution, Baker McKenzie

Francesca Richmond is a partner in the Baker McKenzie Dispute Resolution team based in London. Francesca specialises in the litigation and investigation of high value commercial and regulatory enforcement matters with a focus on class actions and mass torts litigation. Her practice spans antitrust, consumer and human rights law. Francesca has been seconded to Baker McKenzie’s offices in Chicago, Washington and Sydney as well as to clients Barclays Bank PLC, the BBC Trust and O2. She attained higher rights of audience to act as a solicitor-advocate in 2009. Francesca is recognised by Legal 500 as a Leading Individual in Commercial Litigation and practice lead of a Firm to Watch in Competition Litigation.

Sylvie Gallage-Alwis, partner, Signature Litigation (Paris)

Sylvie Gallage-Alwis is one of the founding partners of the Paris office of the European law firm Signature Litigation which specializes in international litigation & arbitration. Sylvie represents product manufacturers and marketplaces in all the litigation they face in France and in the European Union. She handles, for international manufacturers from all industries, commercial litigation, litigation against consumers, end-users, NGOs, the French State and regulators. Being involved in some of the largest group claims filed across Europe against mainly American companies, working together with Signature Litigation’s London and Frankfurt offices, she is particularly knowledgeable in the challenges faced by her clients to handle multiple cases in different jurisdictions at the same time.

Kevin L’Heveder, associate GC EMEA, Vertiv (Paris)

Kevin L’Heveder currently serves as an Associate General Counsel for the EMEA region at Vertiv, a leader in the datacenter industry. With previous experience in the pharmaceutical, consulting and energy sectors, he has developed deep expertise in managing complex legal challenges, providing strategic advice, and collaborating with external lawyers to resolve disputes efficiently. Kevin L’Heveder holds a Master’s degree in International Business, Trade and Tax law, and an MBA from the University of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Neil Kitchener KC, barrister (King’s Counsel), One Essex Court

Neil took silk in 2008. Neil is regularly instructed in the most significant disputes of the day. He has particular expertise in civil fraud, company (litigation and advisory), life sciences, banking and financial services, professional liability and arbitration. Neil is consistently ranked as a Leading Silk for Commercial Litigation, civil fraud and in other categories in Chambers UK Bar and The Legal 500, being described as “tactically brilliant”, “a brilliant leader in the true sense” and “excellent to work with”.

Vanessa Whitman, partner, CMS

Vanessa is a Partner in the CMS Finance Disputes team in London. She is ranked as a ‘Next Generation’ partner for banking litigation and described as “absolutely first-class” in the legal directories. Vanessa is regularly instructed on contentious matters by banks, financial institutions and insolvency professionals. Vanessa has significant experience advising clients how to deal with Serious Fraud Office cases and other fraud related matters, having advised on Britain’s largest mortgage fraud.

Vanessa also has a growing practice specialising in fintech and crypto disputes. She is passionate about improving the mental health of lawyers and leads the CMS Mental Health and Wellbeing Network, regularly speaking on the topic at industry events.

Sandy Phipps, barrister, One Essex Court

Sandy Phipps is a leading senior junior with a broad, multi-jurisdictional practice. He has been described as one of the “stars of his generation” (Chambers and Partners) and a “future leader of the Commercial Bar” (Legal 500). His speciality is complex commercial disputes, often with an international dimension. He has appeared in or advised on disputes at all levels of the English courts, as well as disputes in arbitration and in foreign courts (including the courts of the Cayman Islands, the BVI, France, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, the United States and Australia). He is ranked by the leading directories in various fields, including Commercial Litigation and Banking & Finance.

James Fox, barrister, One Essex Court

James was called to the Bar in 2015. Since then, he has been instructed in a number of market-leading commercial disputes including the 93-day trial in Autonomy v Lynch and Hussain, which the Judge noted may be “amongst the longest and most complex in English legal history” and resulted in a 1200-page judgment on liability. James is consistently ranked in Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners as a rising star in civil fraud and commercial litigation.