England - London • Dispute resolution

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Commercial litigation: premium

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

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Described by a client as a ‘disputes powerhouse’, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is well-versed in handling complex high-stakes matters for large blue-chip multinationals. ’Great advocate and cross examiner’ Lord Peter Goldsmith KC leads the team that has particular experience in funds and private equity related work. Widely lauded Patrick Swain is key to the team, with extensive experience in shareholder disputes alongside commercial fraud claims and professional negligence litigation. ‘Brilliant commercial litigator’ Christopher Boyne is a 'trusted commercial advisor' to many of the clients of the practice. At associate level, ’exceptionally smart, diligent, and creative’ Luke Duggan is recommended.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team is a disputes powerhouse. They have broad view and understanding of all angles of the dispute, which allow the team to suggest the most appropriate solutions and best options.’

  • ‘Lord Goldsmith KC - nobody can rival his experience - remains a great advocate and cross examiner. He has built a top team, including another top quality partner, Christopher Boyne. He is also highly thought of and highly recommended.’

  • ‘I work with Christopher Boyne and Hugo Farmer at Debevoise because they drive solutions that work and are the most commercial legal team I have worked with.’

  • ‘Debevoise specialises in a very broad range of extremely high-value, complex disputes. Peter Goldsmith KC’s reputation, and the firm’s reputation in the US, together with their premium place in the market mean that they are exceptionally well-suited to handling very complex, high-value and high-profile disputes of all kinds for clients ranging from ultra high net worth individuals to blue chip companies, state entities and sovereign states.’

  • ‘Christopher Boyne is excellent. He is a trusted commercial advisor to a number of high profile in-house counsel. He is also a brilliant commercial litigator who punches well above his weight in terms of seniority. As well as being super bright and very sensible in his judgment, he is an exceptional team leader who commands loyalty from his juniors and respect from both senior partners and opponents. ’

  • 'Luke Duggan is an associate to watch: exceptionally smart, diligent and creative.’

  • ‘Top class team capable of handling the biggest and most complex disputes. Well led at partner level and great depth of quality associates who really add value.’

  • 'Christopher Boyne pays superb attention to detail and clarity in what he writes, often large documents holding together a range of complex information in a tight and readily understandable whole.'

Key clients

  • Shell PLC and various Shell subsidiaries
  • The Hinduja family
  • Neoma Private Equity Fund
  • Gedeon Richter PLC
  • JLPS Leasing Draco Limited
  • Xio Fund 1 LP and associated Fund entities
  • Victor Pisante & associated investment companies

Work highlights

  • Act for Shell in a number of high-profile litigations.
  • Represent three members of the Hinduja family regarding claims regarding the status, meaning, and effect of two documents and their effect on the family’s significant business assets in the UK and abroad. The assets in question are worth multiple billions of US$.
  • Advise NPEF IV in relation to claims in relation to various loans/investments made to Abraaj Holdings Limited and Abraaj Investment Management Limited, both of which are members of the Abraaj Group.

Lawyers

Leading individuals

Patrick Swain

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Patrick Swain is a partner based in the London office, where he is a member of the Litigation Department. Mr. Swain’s practice focusses on commercial disputes. He has guided clients through high profile disputes and claims in a variety of contexts, including M&A-related and other shareholder disputes, commercial fraud claims, professional negligence litigation and contentious insolvency. Mr. Swain also has a distinctly international practice, having practised from London, New York and Hong Kong during the course of his career to date.

Next Generation Partners

Christopher Boyne

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Christopher Boyne is a partner based in the London office, where he works in the Litigation Department. He specialises in complex litigation and has wide-ranging commercial litigation experience across a wide variety of industries and geographies including financial institutions and multinational corporations. He has represented clients on a variety of high-profile litigation matters including large-scale corporate disputes, shareholder/joint venture disputes, civil fraud claims and court applications relating to arbitral proceedings. He has extensive experience of applications to challenge the jurisdiction of the English Courts as well and advising on interim and protective measures in both English and foreign courts. This experience includes successfully obtaining and defending billion-dollar freezing injunctions. He has also advised on a wide range of banking and financial services disputes, including in respect of some of the most significant cases arising out of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Lord Goldsmith KC

Other key lawyers

Patrick Swain, Christopher Boyne, Natasha McCarthy, Luke Duggan, Hugo Farmer

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