Dechert’s UK Litigation Teams Recognized by Legal Week

Dechert’s London-based insolvency litigation team has been named “Insolvency and Restructuring Litigation Team of the Year” by Legal Week in its inaugural Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Awards. Legal Week established the awards as a showcase for the most innovative and challenging disputes being heard in the UK. 

A Dechert team led by litigation partner Adam Silver won an important victory this year on behalf of various funds managed by Franklin Templeton Investment Management in a long-running international restructuring dispute with the International Bank of Azerbaijan. The case hinged on the question of how the “rule in Gibbs”, a long-standing principle under English law under which a debt may be discharged only according to its own governing law, would be affected by the UK’s Cross Border Insolvency Regulations 2006. After creditors secured victories in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom rejected the bank’s application for permission to appeal, Dechert’s clients were given the all-clear to recover US$170 million on the bonds in question. 

Dechert litigators were also nominated in two other categories. A team led by partners Matthew Cowie and Matthew Banham was “Highly Commended” by Legal Week in the “White Collar Crime Team of the Year” category for its successful defense of a British executive charged by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office in a lengthy cross-border corruption investigation into a multinational conglomerate. A team led by partner Stephen Surgeoner was also a finalist in the “Corporate/Commercial Litigation Team of the Year” category. 

Winners were announced at a ceremony in London’s Waldorf Hilton on November 5. 

About Dechert
Dechert is a leading global law firm with 26 offices around the world. We advise on matters and transactions of the greatest complexity, bringing energy, creativity and efficient management of legal issues to deliver commercial and practical advice for clients.