Mishcon de Reya LLP

Shaistah Akhtar

Shaistah is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution group specialising in complex commercial litigation, fraud, investigations and regulatory compliance. She is an expert on sanctions law and leads the team in this area. Her experience spans a number of industry sectors ranging from financial services (global investment banks, investment funds, asset management firms and private equity houses) to pharmaceutical companies, real estate developers, software firms and the defence industry. She also acts for high net worth individuals. She has particular experience in advising on contentious investor related claims and investigations, including shareholder and partnership disputes, fraud, negligence and misrepresentation claims, as well as matters involving contractual interpretation, warranties and termination. Shaistah has also acted in disputes and on enforcement actions both for and against governments involving state immunity issues.   Shaistah has a long track record of acting for life sciences companies in both general commercial litigation and specialist areas such as follow on damages claims, product liability, procurement disputes and arbitration under the PPRS scheme. She has also advised on industry compliance issues arising under the ABPI Code, UK Bribery Act and FCPA. Examples of her work include: representing senior individuals in the Central Bank of Bahrain investigation as part of the US$10 billion Saad v Al-Gosaibi dispute; acting for UK and offshore insolvent investment funds in litigation and regulatory investigations to recover significant assets, including recovering almost £100 million for Connaught Income Series I Fund UCIS investors in its claim against Capita Financial Managers Limited; and advising senior management of GlaxoSmithKline in the Chinese Government's corruption investigation. She is representing parties involved in a multi-billion dollar tax evasion investigation encompassing offshore trust litigation and multi-jurisdictional criminal and civil proceedings.She also led the team acting for the Government of Nigeria in challenging a $10 billion arbitral award in favour of a BVI company arising from a failed gas deal, on the basis that the underlying contract and the award itself were procured through fraud and corruption.  A successful application was made to the English Commercial Court to secure an unprecedented extension of time to challenge the arbitral award more than three years after it was made, extending the usual 28 day limit in which arbitral awards must be appealed, on the grounds that there was strong prima facie evidence of fraud and bribery.  Shaistah's practice frequently has an international element and she has extensive experience of litigation and investigations in a number of European, Middle Eastern, Asian and African jurisdictions. This includes advising on sanctions involving Russia, Iran, the Middle East and North Africa, in addition to many other jurisdictions where sanctions are in operation, in both an advisory and contentious capacity. She has led internal investigations relating to alleged violations and advised on regulatory challenges involving sanctions in numerous sectors including financial services, life sciences and the travel industry, including making reports to HM Treasury and OFAC. She has also advised the Law Society and OFSI on its Guidance on sanctions regulations. Shaistah is a recommended lawyer in legal directories, described as "excellent" for commercial litigation, "tenacious” and a “real street fighter”, achieving successful outcomes in some of the most challenging cases. She has spoken at and chaired a number of conferences, including regular slots with the BVCA and the Cambridge Economic Crime Symposium. Shaistah is Co-Editor of Dispute Resolution in the Gulf: GCC Approaches and Egyptian Influences.

Kasra Nouroozi

Kas led the firm's Dispute Resolution department for twenty years, during which time Mishcon de Reya was recognised as Law Firm and Litigation Team of the Year by The Lawyer. In 2023 he stepped back from his departmental role to devote more focus to the Firm’s international strategic development and the demands of his clients and caseload. Kas regularly represents clients with complex and unconventional problems and has deep experience of both crisis management and overseeing large multi-jurisdictional disputes. He often leads large teams conducting legal, investigative and forensic work and operating across various jurisdictions. He has been involved in and overseen litigation and investigations in more than 60 jurisdictions. His experience helps him in creating and implementing inventive solutions for his clients. Many of his cases involve urgent injunctions including search orders, freezing orders and various types of third-party disclosures. Kas has been frequently recognised in the directories for his experience in fraud-related investigations and his instincts as a strategist in difficult cases. Kas' clients include global institutions, brand owners and high-net-worth individuals who are often victims of dishonesty. A significant proportion of the work concerns very high value litigation conducted, or partly conducted, outside the UK; mostly in offshore financial centres, the Middle East, India, Eastern Europe and the USA. Kas is a co-founder of The International Fraud Group (IFG). The IFG is a handpicked group of specialist fraud lawyers located across more than 60 jurisdictions which focuses on securing injunctions, asset recovery and trust-busting remedies in key offshore territories. He is also part of the MDR Solutions I team, the Firm's litigation finance venture which offers greater access to funding for claimants. Kas contributed to "Information, Risk and Securities", the standard book on computer crime at work. He brought the first known set of proceedings against spammers in the UK. Kas has been listed as a Fraud Law Expert in the Super Lawyers directory, and in the words of Chambers, is a recommended leader in the field of civil fraud "a gifted negotiator who is firm but fair" and is admired for his "encyclopaedic knowledge of the area."