Fieldfisher

Dispute Resolution

Director

Nicola is a commercial disputes lawyer who has been advising clients on a broad range of contentious issues and their resolution since 2010.

She also advises clients in relation to anti-corruption and financial crime legislation and putting in place policies and procedures to address corruption risks.

Nicola has a broad practice, she is accordingly able to assist clients across all sectors with a wide variety of disputes. Highlights of the types of cases she has worked on include prosecuting an international dispute worth hundreds of millions of dollars arising from a fraudulent trust, bringing a multi-million pound breach of directors' duties and wrongful trading claim on behalf of liquidators and a secured creditor bank, advising on auditors' professional negligence and breach of banking mandate claims arising from employee fraud in the travel industry, assisting clients in protecting their businesses from employees using their confidential information and/or breaching restrictive covenants including by obtaining injunctive relief, as well as helping clients resist such claims, and bringing and defending complex breach of contract claims including those brought against a firm of stockbrokers and for a household name in the media sector.

Additionally Nicola has particular expertise in anti-corruption and financial crime and regularly advise clients from all sectors (most recently in the food and drink and telecoms sectors) about how to deal with suspected incidents of bribery and corruption (such as the making of "unofficial" customs payments). She has also helped numerous clients undertake risk assessments and put in place anti-bribery and corruption policies and procedures, and provided training on the same, as well as reviewing contractual terms and performing due diligence or gap analysis checks in this respect (including recently for clients in the media, chemicals, and construction sectors). I also advise on anti-tax evasion safeguards following the coming into force of the Criminal Finances Act in 2017.

Nicola has extensive experience of managing the court process and litigating before the UK Courts, but will work with her clients to reach a commercially acceptable settlement before getting to trial if desirable and possible. She therefore also has significant experience of mediation and other forms of ADR and regularly advises on the appropriate strategy for her clients.