England - London • Corporate and commercial
Macfarlanes LLP ‘knows perfectly how to handle complex and international cases.’ FCA investigations and enquiries relating to market abuse issues, including market manipulation and insider trading, are the central focus for the team. ‘Very effective and wise operator’ Dan Lavender heads up the financial services and markets dispute resolution group, while Matt McCahearty oversees the litigation department. As well as UK-based regulatory engagements, the group also handles a large number of complex international mandates, including global investigations, disputes and prosecutions. Barry Donnelly‘s broad caseload includes enforcement proceedings brought by both UK and US regulatory and criminal authorities. Laura Bridgewater's experience includes regulatory investigations and studies for major financial services entities.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘I frequently recommend Macfarlanes to my clients, as the Macfarlanes team knows perfectly how to handle complex and international cases as well as investigations.’
‘A good all-round team which is able to take a holistic view of commercial problems.’
‘Dan Lavender is a very effective and wise operator.’
‘Dan Lavender strikes me as someone who knows his stuff, is calm and measured, is easy to deal with and who is likely to provide a good service to his clients.'
‘The team is fantastic - hard-working, thoughtful, diligent. My go-to firm in the UK.’
‘They work hard, are careful, attentive and really smart. And the results have been outstanding.’
'Able to navigate high-intensity contentious situations in a calm and extremely pragmatic way. Dan Lavender and Laura Bridgewater are stand-outs.'
'Their team is very experienced in managing cross-border issues for clients. Based on my experience, they are very good at understanding the clients' commercial needs and help shape strategies to achieve the objective.'
Leading individuals
Dan specialises in city and financial services litigation and investigations. He is experienced in managing and resolving major multi-jurisdiction litigation. Dan often advises on cases where the client’s reputation and business are under severe threat.
Matt’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and arbitration, white collar defence, regulatory enforcement and internal investigations. Matt leads the litigation and dispute resolution group. He regularly advises global corporations and financial institutions in relation to some of their most significant and sensitive international disputes, investigations and enforcement matters, working frequently with leading independent firms around the world to provide a comprehensive international strategy. Matt has particular familiarity with litigation, arbitration and regulatory enforcement matters in the US having been seconded to a leading New York law firm and worked extensively on transatlantic cases. Matt is a member of the firm’s International Committee, the International Bar Association’s Litigation Committee and regularly speaks at international conferences. He is also a Solicitor-Advocate.
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Dan Lavender, Matt McCahearty