PCB Byrne

06/10/2021

Helping people get access to legal advice!

The large majoirty of people in the UK don't know how to access legal advice, and 14 million who live in poverty or on very low incomes can't afford it. This is of grave concern to us who practice in the legal profession. To try and effect some change we are walking with the Lord Chief Justice and thousands of other lawyers to raise funds for the London Legal Support Trust which funds Law Centres and pro bono agencies in and around London.

Our team in the London Legal Walk will raise vital funds to ensure that there is access to justice for our communities’ poorest and most vulnerable people, not just the fortunate in our society.

Funds raised by the event will support over 100 legal advice agencies in London and the South East. We know that these agencies do a fantastic job in preventing homelessness, resolving debt problems, gaining care for the elderly, fighting discrimination and exploitation.

Please help us to help others if you can, by going to the link below and donating whatever you can afford to give. Any size of donation will be gratefully received.

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=PCBByrne21&pageUrl=1

12/05/2021

Two London boutiques join forces…

PCB Litigation, a disputes boutique part-owned by
Burford Capital, has merged with London fraud
specialists Byrne and Partners to form a new firm
handling “all forms of dispute resolution”.

The merged firm, PCB Byrne, launched today, with PCB
Litigation moving into the offices of Byrne and Partners.
The newly merged international arbitration team features
six partners, including recent arrival Uliana Cooke, who joined
PCB Litigation as partner in February from Allen & Overy.
Burford Capital, which bought a 32% stake in PCB Litigation
last year in a “first of its kind” transaction that has seen
the funder finance a portfolio of the firm’s cases, was
“fully informed” about the merger plan and has been
“highly supportive throughout the process,” according to
Cooke.

Cooke will lead the drive to grow the team along with
another former PCB Litigation partner, Trevor Mascarenhas,
who worked on a US$2 billion LCIA mining dispute and a US$450 million SCC oil and gas case.

The team from PCB Litigation also includes Nick Ractliff,
Anthony Riem and Jon Felce, who acted in commercial disputes including a fraud claim involving two Russian banks and an UNCITRAL arbitration for an oil services company
based in Kazakhstan.

Elizabeth Seborg brings arbitration experience from the Byrne
& Partners side of the merger, having previously won a
US$90 million LCIA award.

The new firm will combine the Russia and CIS disputes
experience of the PCB team – and most notably Cooke,
who is dual-qualified in Russia and England and Wales –
with the fraud and white-collar crime specialism of Byrne
and Partners.

PCB Byrne launches with several Russia-related banking
disputes on its books: acting in an US$80 million LCIA
arbitration over investments in one collapsed Russian
bank and a fraud-related dispute that has also given rise
to LCIA proceedings.

And Cooke has brought in the first instruction in an
investment treaty dispute for PCB Byrne – and indeed its
two legacy firms – representing a Russian investor in a
potential claim against a Central Asian state.

While most of those instructions have come from the
PCB side, Byrne and Partners has brought with it a
US$170 million LCIA dispute acting for a Middle Eastern
company; and a fraud and bribery-related dispute worth
US$350 million.

PCB Byrne also brought several arbitration-related
litigation instructions, including one case seeking to
enforce an ICSID award and another helping a state resist
enforcement.

“I am delighted to have joined at this landmark moment
for both firms to lead the development of the newly
merged international arbitration practice,” says Cooke, who
began her career a decade ago at Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer in Moscow and has also worked at Quinn
Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Withers in London.

She has worked on various investor state disputes:
including an ICSID annulment proceeding in a Spanish
renewables case; a billion-dollar investment treaty claim
against an African state; representing an investor against
the Czech Republic; and defending a CIS state in a
gambling dispute.

Cooke says the two firms had an “outstanding track
record of arbitration enforcement cases,” including in
investor state disputes, but the merger now “completes
an arbitration offering that enables us to see the case
through from start to finish.”

She says the new firm’s expertise in white collar crime,
fraud and sanctions will be a “real asset.”

Merger discussions have been ongoing over the last two
years, says Cooke, given the “synergy between the two
firms and the opportunity to grow to the next level as a
top-tier specialist disputes firm.”
Cosmo Sanderson
Author

19/02/2021

Partnership Appointment..

PCB Litigation is delighted to welcome Uliana Cooke as a partner, who joined the firm on 15 February 2021. Uliana brings expertise in international arbitration having represented clients in a variety of both international commercial and investment arbitration matters.

She has acted as counsel in arbitrations under major arbitration rules, including ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, ICC and SIAC Rules, as well as in ad hoc arbitrations emanating from the CIS region, Africa, Asia and Middle East. She has also advised Governments on public international law issues and has been involved in drafting bilateral investment treaties. Uliana is a dual-qualified lawyer, qualified both in England and Russia, and has worked for global law firms in Moscow and London prior to joining PCB Litigation.

PCB Litigation’s Joint Senior Partner, Trevor Mascarenhas, said: “We are very pleased that Uliana has chosen to join PCB, as part of our ambitious plans to strengthen PCB’s dispute resolution offering. Her experience in international arbitration complements our skills in enforcement of awards and injunctive relief.”

Uliana commented: “I am delighted to have joined the partnership as part of the firm’s exciting growth plans and am looking forward to developing the international arbitration practice. It is a tremendous privilege to be working alongside forward-thinking and like-minded individuals.”

https://www.pcblitigation.com/

15/01/2021

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02/12/2020

Jon Felce’s article ‘Developments in Contempt Proceedings – A Get Out of Jail Free Card?’ was published in ThoughtLeaders4’s FIRE Magazine – 2020 in Review.

To read the article please click on the link below:

28/10/2020

Praise for PCB...

PCB Litigation is delighted to share its continued tier 1 ranking for civil fraud, one of only four such UK firms with this accolade. Both Anthony Riem and Trevor Mascarenhas also maintain their top tier rankings.

To read the full article please click the link below:

PCB Litigation is delighted to share its continued tier 1 ranking for civil fraud, one of only four such UK firms with this accolade. Both Anthony Riem and Trevor Mascarenhas also maintain their top tier rankings. PCB is described as being “very experienced in this field” and “able to handl...

04/05/2020

Partnership Announcement

PCB is delighted to announce that Priyanka Kapoor, a specialist in white collar crime and investigations, has been promoted to Partner in their team in London.

Priyanka specialises in multi-jurisdictional financial crime and regulatory matters. She advises clients on issues related to bribery and corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, and economic sanctions. She also advises financial institutions on cross-border fraud and asset recovery related issues and has particular expertise in conducting complex multi-jurisdictional investigations. Her experience spans a wide range of industry sectors, particularly, financial services, natural resources and technology.

Anthony Riem, the Managing Partner of PCB, says “Priyanka’s practice and experience of working with international clients and sovereign regulators complements our expertise in fraud and international asset recovery. Her experience will help us expand our services to clients in key markets, especially, India, Singapore and Africa.”

Fellow senior partner, Trevor Mascarenhas, says “Priyanka’s promotion is part of our firm’s growth strategy. With an increased focus on cross-border investigations, her experience will bring considerable value to our clients.”

www.pcblitigation.com

28/01/2020

PCB news update..

PCB Litigation is delighted to welcome David Harby as a partner, who joined the firm on 6 January 2020 from a leading City firm. David is a barrister, litigator and mediator with significant experience of complex international disputes and, in particular, insolvency, trust and fraud litigation and advocacy. David routinely advises and works with insolvency practitioners, offshore law firms, financial institutions and corporate and commercial clients throughout the world.

PCB Litigation’s Joint Senior Partner, Trevor Mascarenhas, commented: “We are delighted that David has joined PCB Litigation. As a partner specialising, in particular, in complex and cross-border insolvency litigation, he will bring significant capabilities to this area of the firm’s practice”

David said: “I am very excited to have joined the firm and I look forward to further developing the team’s success in the area of cross-border and offshore insolvency and trust disputes.”

www.pcblitigation.com

14/10/2019

PCB Litigation has been shortlisted for Boutique Law Firm of the Year in The British Legal Awards 2019.

www.pcblitigation.com



Legal Week

19/09/2019

Jon Felce’s and Rachel Turner’s article on Tools for Cross-Border Enforcement of Judgments was published in the Asset Recovery Magazine see the extracted article, via the link below:

03/09/2019

Partnership Appointment

PCB Litigation is delighted to announce that Natalie Todd has joined the partnership on 1 September. Natalie is a commercial litigator with significant experience in dealing with asset recovery, fraud and other big ticket cases. Prior to joining PCB, she acted in one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases for 2014. Since joining the team in 2018 from a leading City firm, Natalie has been involved in a number of substantial international asset recovery and fraud disputes including obtaining freezing and search orders in one of Russia’s biggest ever alleged frauds – a US$1.8bn claim arising from the collapse of an Eastern European bank.

PCB Litigation’s Joint Senior Partner, Anthony Riem, said: “We were delighted when Natalie joined the team last year, and we believe she will be a tremendous addition to the partnership. Natalie is an excellent lawyer who has demonstrated her ability to lead a team in complex and high-pressured cases.”

Natalie commented: “I am excited to be joining a forward-thinking and ambitious partnership and to help drive the plans of the new leadership to expand upon its existing success.”

17/07/2019

Fraud News Update

PCB Litigation has succeeded in halting a high profile claim against its client, Mr Giahmi. In a judgment handed down in June, the Commercial Court found that the claim brought by the Libyan Investment Authority against Mr Giahmi was time barred and that there had been a serious breach by the Libyan Investment Authority of its obligation to give full and frank disclosure when it applied for permission to serve the claim on Mr Giahmi out of the jurisdiction.

Anthony Riem said “It was a bold strategy to seek to dispose of a very substantial case at the outset, but we had the right team in place to see it through.”

The PCB team of Anthony Riem, Trevor Mascarenhas, Rachel Turner, Jonothan Gould and Caitlin Foster instructed Alan Gourgey QC and Anna Littler of Wilberforce Chambers and Adam Kramer of 3VB. For more information, please contact Anthony Riem at [email protected] or Trevor Mascarenhas at [email protected].

www.pcblitigation.com

Internationally known as true specialists in investigating and advising on business fraud, asset recovery and commercial litigation.