Cooke, Young & Keidan LLP’s disputes practice spans corporate, commercial and financial services litigation, with an increasing specialism in the technology sector. ‘Strategically savvy partner’ Sinead O’Callaghan represents a diverse roster of clients, encompassing high-net-worth individuals, multinationals, and government entities. Stephen Elam specialises in commercial disputes in the financial services sector. Lydia Danon has an active multijurisdictional practice, while Sam Roberts focuses on the fintech and technology spaces. Jon Felce is another name to note, alongside Natalie Todd. An ’intellectually immense industry leader’, Rosie Wild was promoted to partner in April 2023.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Sam Roberts, Liz Meade and Florence Sandberg. All very approachable and on top of the detail.’

  • ‘Sinead O'Callaghan - very strategically savvy partner who remains serenely calm under stress. Sam Roberts - legally and commercially astute partner who is often at least one step ahead. Liz Meade - an incredibly bright and hardworking senior associate, who has a phenomenal eye for the detail.’

  • ‘Natalie Todd and Jon Felce specialise in extremely high-value and fiendishly complicated civil fraud claims. They are incredibly smart, efficient and have excellent commercial and strategic instincts. Wonderful to work with.’

  • ‘Jon Felce is a highly cerebral litigator who knows the law inside out. Natalie Todd is a brilliant leader who knows how to get results for clients.’

  • ‘I have worked with Lydia Danon and Mikhail Vishnyakov. They are both superb. They know the detail, but never lose sight of the big picture. They have excellent client manners and they are a real pleasure to work with.’

  • ‘Rosie Wild is intellectually immense industry leader who is hardworking and a fantastic to work with.’

  • ‘Lydia Danon - a shrewd intellect and delight to work with. Rosie Wild - never a task not done on time.’

  • ‘Jon Felce and Florence Sandberg are names to watch out for. They are strategic, commercial and walk the extra mile to fight in the client's best interest. They work very closely together in a seamless team, are always available, and a pleasure to collaborate with.’

Key clients

  • i) Domidias Limited and Mr Andrey Severilov; and ii) Domidias Limited and Merbau Synergy Limited
  • Jason Cox and Amaury Sechet
  • ThinkMarkets (FCA and ASIC-regulated online trading broker)
  • Topalsson GmbH
  • Sovcomflot company defendants: Cally Shipholdings Inc, Vital Shipping Corporation, Dainford Navigation Inc, Tamara Shipholdings SA, Tuscany Maritime SA, Novoship (UK) Limited
  • iFinex Inc (trading as Bitfinex).
  • Investors in Echosense, a MedTech business
  • PL Holdings Sarl (PLH)
  • Seyed Ehsan Dastghaib
  • Mex (1) - Stewart Owen Ford, (2) Brian Robert Cormack, (3) Melville Consulting Partners Limited, (4) Melville Consultancy Ltd, and (5) Regal Consultancy International Ltd
  • Joyvio
  • Michael v Michael

Work highlights

  • Acting for two defendants in the multi-billion dollar claim brought by Tulip Trading Ltd, a corporate alter ego of Dr Craig Wright, alleging that it is the owner of c. 110,000 BTC (along with equivalent tokens on three other forked blockchains) and that the private keys to those BTC were stolen during an undetected hack of Dr Wright’s home network.
  • Acting for Domidias Limited and Mr Andrey Severilov as defendants to $14bn conspiracy proceedings commenced by Mr Ziyavudin Magomedov (“ZM”) and nine connected parties in the Commercial Court.
  • Representing the Sovcomflot company defendants in a high-profile dispute, which started when entities now part of the Sovcomflot Group brought proceedings against Wilmer Ruperti and his companies for taking secret profits connected to charters to the PDVSA.

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Other key lawyers

Sinead O’Callaghan, Stephen Elam, Lydia Danon, Jon Felce, Natalie Todd, Sam Roberts, Rosie Wild, Kajal Patel, Elizabeth Meade, Florence Sandberg, Mikhail Vishnyakov