JUNE 2019 JUNE OF ENYO LAW IN CONVERSATION WITH RICHARD LEVETT at themoment? jurisdictions thatareparticularly activeforyou taken shapeover recentyearsandwhicharethe international. HowhasEnyo’s internationalfocus JW: Thecases you’vementionedareallvery made mefeel very welcomeindeed. enjoyed every minute andthewholeEnyo team have matters. It’s certainly beenabusy five months,butI’ve places thatcan consistently attract suchhighquality corruption inanotherAfrican state. There are very few portfolio; andafollow oncivilclaimarisingfrom an African bank inrespect ofamis-soldderivatives involving Russian assets; avery significant claim for be oneofthelargest arbitrations currently underway order insupportofaBrazilian judgment;whatmust fortnight, my in-tray includedapost-judgment freezing Richard Levett (RL):It’s beenfantastic. Inmy first gone sofar? partnership atEnyoearlierthisyear. Howhasitall James Williamson(JW):Richard,youjoinedthe Richard Levett abouthisrecent move to Enyo andtheincreasing international focus ofitspractice. firms intheCity. Inourlatest InConversation article, Associate Director, JamesWilliamsonspeaks to Partner, Enyo Law isadynamicspecialist disputes firmbasedintheheartof London andoneofthelargest litigation-only need to workonmy Spanish! real pleasure for meto beinvolved inthosecases. Ijust which isoneofmy favourite partsoftheworld,so it’s a addition, wegetalotofinterest from SouthAmerica, work, African clients regularly chooseto instructus.In Russian connectionandasaresult ofourLibya related very important for us;mostofmy workat present hasa and theformer CISstates. Those connectionsremain We’ve always beenparticularly strong inAfrica, Russia home andabroad. enjoy awell-established networkofrelationships at thanks to thefirm’s hard work over the years, wenow commitment. Ultimately, it’s aboutrelationships and abroad isnoteasy –ittakes sustained investment and active inourmarket willtell you, buildingareputation draw whencontemplating my move here. Asanyone an international dimension,whichfor mewas areal RL: It’s truethatthe vast majority ofourworkhas IN CONVERSATION SERIES NO.XVI

1 | IN CONVERSATION SERIES | NO.XVI | JUNE 2019 us willgettheir client backattheendof a first-class serviceandthefirm referring to to usintheknowledgethattheirclients get market. Full-servicefirms can refer conflicts and increasingly well-recognised role inthe disputes-only firms,asweplay a valuable I thinkthere isdefinitely abrightfuture for passionate abouthandlingdisputes. and they alsolike thefact thatwe’re allso mandate, eitherasclaimantordefendant we are nimbleandcan actonvirtually any the modelworks. Clients like thefact that litigation-only firmsoutthere isproof that there are agrowing numberofother Our continuedsuccess andthefact that approach theendoffirm’sfirstdecade. RL: It’s agreat timeto beatEnyo aswe that milestone? only firmsasEnyoheadstowards How doyouseethemarket forlitigation anniversary, whichitwillmarknext year. JW: Enyoisapproachingits10th firms to servicetheirneeds. We have an don’t automatically lookto fullservice start-up companiesandthelike, who net worthindividuals,family offices, new types ofclients:highandultra-high capital hasdiversified into numerous Over thelast20years orso, international understandable reasons. where fullservicefirms can’t orwon’t, for Firms like ourscan take onthose mandates strategy againstamajorCity institution. the client’s interests require anassertive fronting themselves, where for instance those firmsmightnot feel comfortable service firms to execute strategies which We alsolike teaming upwiththefull- and theirrelationships. to us.We’re respectful oftheirclients have withthefirms referring matters important to usistherelationships we our ownroster ofcorporate clients;what’s matter. We’re notinterested indeveloping IN CONVERSATION SERIES NO.XVI with established corporate clientbases. We thinkthatworkisbestleftto thosefirms support inanM&Aduediligence context. give training, norto provide corporate crime pure complianceadvice, draft policiesor firms. We don’tintend routinely to offer investigations offerings ofthefull service RL: We’re notlookingto replicate theglobal are nowwithoutacorporate department? you seethatdeveloping atEnyo, givenyou with youawhitecollarpractice. Howdo JW: Whenyoujoinedthefirm,brought certainly fun. for majorcorporates orbanks, butthey are a completely different approach to working way ofdoingbusiness. Thoseclientsrequire they like, andwhichoften reflects theirown funders ontherighttype ofcases, which which includespartneringwiththird party entrepreneurial andproactive approach,

2 | IN CONVERSATION SERIES | NO.XVI | JUNE 2019 the international disputes professional’s calendar. quickly establish itselfasafirmannualfixture on Berlin socouldn’tattend it!Ihopeto seeLIDW coming together for LIDW, even thoughIwas in so Iwas very pleasedto seetheLondon market uncertainty, wecannot afford to becomplacentand Annual LitigationForum. Withthecurrent political which took place atthesametimeasIBA inaugural London International Disputes Week, These were alsothemessages comingoutofthe play arole inattracting claimsto thisjurisdiction. third party fundingmarket in London willalso confidence remains strong. Thestrength ofthe as ajurisdictioninwhichoverseas partieshave Fortunately, thereputation ofEnglandandWales of genuinebafflementthatweare where weare. overseas colleagues.There isstillahighlevel remains aleadingtopic ofconversation for our RL: Itwon’tsurpriseanyone to hearthatBrexit themes comingoutofthisyear’sconference? Litigation Forum inMay. Whatwerethekey JW: You wereinBerlinfortheIBAAnnual are alsoopeningdoorsfor usinthis arena. the international business intelligence community matters atthemoment.Ourconnectionswith conflicted; Iaminvolved in a coupleofthese English corporate counselorthoseare in thesematters andwhoeitherdon’thave regular overseas investors into theUKwhogetcaught up for corporate crimeandregulatory adviceamongst for thosesortsofinstructions.Ialsoseeademand our UKreferral networkstands usingoodstead prosecutions orregulatory enforcement actionand affected by internal andexternal investigations and market isto beableto lookafter individuals Our natural placeintheglobalinvestigations IN CONVERSATION SERIES NO.XVI

3 | IN CONVERSATION SERIES | NO.XVI | JUNE 2019 competitive advantage. Iacted onthefirst to innovate over theyears to maintain its timeframe, butourlegalsystem hashad impartially, expertly andwithin areasonable deal withtheirmostimportant disputes International partiesstilltrustusto the London International Arbitration Centre. helped by theopeningearlierthisyear of commercial arbitration, whichhasbeen in thepremier leaguefor international that issecondto none. London alsoremains world andalegalprofession andjudiciary sophisticated bodiesoflawanywhere inthe We stillbenefitfrom oneofthemost although notentirely, untouched by Brexit. as aplaceto resolve disputes are largely, RL: Ithinkthereasons to chooseEngland changed asaresultoftheBrexit vote? in internationalcontracts and havethey to chooseEnglishlawandjurisdiction JW: Whatdoyouseeasthemainreasons continuing development ofthelaw, whilst of thevery highestcalibre to ensure the as thecommonlawdependson ajudiciary particularly thecase inEnglandandWales, your bestpeopleonthebench.That’s opposite ofthesportingworld:you want RL: For me, thelegalprofession isthe what woulditbe? its competitiveadvantageinlegalservices, ensure thatEnglandandWales maintains JW: Ifyoucouldchangeonethingto together to manageacase effectively. when thecourtsandpartieswork impressive andshows whatcan beachieved in less than17months,whichIfound through to adecisionintheCourtofAppeal legal pointsfrom theissue ofproceedings and whichinvolved anumberofcomplex innovation. We took aclaimworthUSD80m Trials Scheme, whichisanexample ofthat case whichwentto trial from theShorter RICHARD LEVETT JUDICIARY THAT IS SECOND TO NONE. AND A LEGAL PROFESSION AND OF LAW ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD OF THE MOST SOPHISTICATED BODIES BREXIT. WE STILL BENEFIT FROM ONE NOT ENTIRELY, UNTOUCHED BY DISPUTES ARE LARGELY, ALTHOUGH ENGLAND AS A PLACE TO RESOLVE I THINK THE REASONS TO CHOOSE IN CONVERSATION SERIES NO.XVI our current approach. valuable unless weare prepared to revisit but werisklosingsomethingeven more appointments appearless “democratic”, more into thejudicialpensionpotormake going to bepolitically popularto pay steps to redress thebalance. It’s never danger ofthathappeningunless wetake impacted by thissofar, Ithinkthere isa of ourjudiciaryhasbeenadversely Whilst Idon’tthinktheoverall quality courts oronto thearbitration circuit. leaving thebenchearly to goto overseas over thelastfew years anumberofjudges impact too andasaresult, we’ve seen judicial pensionshave hadanadverse want to take thatstep. Thechangesto judiciary andunderstandably fewer now barristers to make thetransition into the has becomealotmore onerous for top years thejudicialappointmentssystem maintaining itstechnical rigour. Inrecent

4 | IN CONVERSATION SERIES | NO.XVI | JUNE 2019 BIOGRAPHIES Middle EastandSouthAmerica. in particulartheUSandvarious countriesinthe on matters innumerous jurisdictionsworldwide, Richard’s practice isinternational, andhehasworked oil &gasandaviation. of industrysectors, withafocus on financial services, He hasexperience inadvisingclientsfrom awidevariety applications for injunctionsandotherforms ofinterim relief. Richard isregularly instructed to bringanddefend (both attrialandbefore theCourt of Appeal). the first case to beheard under theShorter Trials Scheme the largest cases arisingfrom the2008financialcrash and before theEnglishcourts inrecent years, includingoneof He hasacted onsomeofthemostsignificant cases to come advise where bothcivilandcriminalissues arise. involving financialcrimeandistherefore wellplaced to element. Heisalsoregularly instructed to actonmatters commercial disputes, typically withaninternational Richard’s practice iscentred oncomplex andhighvalue [email protected] +44 2038371650 Partner Levett Richard ENYO LAW [email protected] +44 2038074524 AssociateDirector James Williamson of England&Wales in2012. school andFreshfields, James was admitted asaSolicitor completed hislegaltraining andqualifications atBPPlaw (Distinction) from theUniversity ofCambridge. Having College London andanMPhilinHistorical Studies James holdsaBAinHistory (FirstClass) from University developments andpolicydebates. and strategy inresponse to fast-changing news Commons, where headvisedonlegislative developments Earlier inhiscareer, Jamesworked intheHouseof and globalinvestigations. disputes, aswellcollective actions,publiclawmatters shareholder, civilfraud, banking,tax andcompany law and contentious regulatory issues. Theseincluded and often multi-national,commercial litigationproceedings sectors andadvisedclientsonadiverse range ofcomplex, Freshfields BruckhausDeringerwhere heworked across Prior to joiningVannin, Jameswas aSeniorAssociate at VANNIN CAPITAL IN CONVERSATION SERIES NO.XVI

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