DISPUTE RESOLUTION, ARBITRATION AND INVESTIGATIONS
LAWYERS

Commercial Disputes
We are recognised by independent directories and commentators as one of the leading commercial disputes practices in England, with a strong reputation for combining technical excellence with clear commercial judgement. Our focus is on achieving the outcome that best serves your organisation through early strategic advice, negotiation and any other form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) where appropriate, and, when cases do need to go to trial or full hearing, a proven track record of success in court and arbitration.

We act for multinational corporates, financial institutions, government bodies, funds and high profile individuals across all sectors. Our expertise and experience cover both day to day operational disputes and complex, high value and reputationally sensitive matters, often involving multiple parties and cross border elements.

Business Protection
We help businesses protect their people, relationships and confidential information when they are threatened by unlawful competition. Whether the issue involves former employees, founders, shareholders or competitors, we act quickly to minimise disruption, preserve value and protect your commercial position.

Professional Negligence
We help clients recover losses arising from negligent professional advice. Whether the issue relates to a corporate transaction, construction project, financial or pensions advice or another professional service, we provide strategic advice that protects your commercial interests and helps you achieve the best possible outcome.

Professional negligence claims can involve a wide range of advisers, including solicitors, accountants, auditors, surveyors, construction professionals, financial advisers, insurance brokers, pension advisers and expert witnesses. Drawing on expertise from across the firm, we help clients pursue and defend complex claims, providing practical, commercial solutions that reduce the effect of sub-standard advice while maximising opportunities for recovery.

Long-Term Relationship Disputes
Whether involving joint ventures, strategic partnerships, long-term supply agreements, outsourcing arrangements or other ongoing business relationships, we provide pragmatic advice that protects your commercial interests while supporting your long-term objectives.

Disputes between long-standing business partners can be particularly challenging, where legal, commercial and reputational issues are closely connected. We work with clients to understand the wider context of the relationship, balancing the need to preserve valuable partnerships with taking decisive action where commercial interests are at risk.

Insurance Disputes
We are a specialist insurance practice dedicated to working with policyholders. We have extensive experience of mediation, arbitration and litigation, including complex, international, multiparty coverage disputes. We also provide expert advice on policy wordings, claims notifications and issues such as the scope of the duty of disclosure.

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Reputation and Information Disputes
We use defamation, privacy, confidentiality and data protection laws to protect the reputation, privacy and information of businesses and individuals. We advise on reputational threats arising from media enquiries, regulatory investigations, litigation, employees, customers, campaigners, shareholders and damaging online content. 

Our specialist Reputation and Information Protection practice helps clients manage these risks, including hostile media coverage, corrections and takedowns, regulatory complaints and legal proceedings, the recovery or protection of confidential information, and strategic advice on reputation risk and crisis management.

Pensions Disputes
We support employers, trustees, administrators and representative beneficiaries resolve the full range of complex pensions issues and regulatory challenges.

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AG’s Finance Disputes and Investigations practice is a specialist, partner-led, national team with a proven track record of acting for all types of financial services clients in significant litigation and investigations. We have extensive experience of international and cross-border work, as well as of UK matters, and the strength in depth, frequently praised by clients, to deal with them. 

We use our deep understanding and knowledge of banking and financial services, and our rigorous, efficient and pragmatic approach, to help clients navigate finance disputes and investigations whilst meeting their commercial objectives and maintaining their relationships with regulators, customers and other stakeholders. 

Finance Disputes

We advise banks, building societies, asset managers, fintechs, payment firms, digital assets businesses, trade finance firms, private equity funds, pension fund trustees, asset finance providers and investors in a broad range of complex finance disputes, including those involving derivative and structured products, syndicated and other lending, fraud, professional negligence, shareholder issues, trade finance, and recoveries. Our practice includes judicial review and public law issues affecting finance firms. 

We bring together expertise across disputes, banking, financial regulation, competition, investigations and restructuring, to provide coordinated advice tailored to each matter. We also support clients in resolving disputes through arbitration, mediation, the Financial Ombudsman Service, and other dispute resolution mechanisms where appropriate.

We resource our cases with specialists from across the team and from our legal technology function, to deliver efficient and scalable services. In appropriate cases, we also offer flexible litigation funding solutions, including our bespoke CONTROL model. 

Meet the team

Financial Services and Contentious Regulatory Investigations
From early engagement with regulators, through negotiated settlements, to pursuing legal challenges to their decision-making, we help our financial services clients and those who work for them manage regulatory risk, minimise disruption and resolve difficult issues effectively. The partners in our team have deep expertise of investigations work and regularly interact with regulators on behalf of our clients. 

Our work includes assisting clients with:

• regulatory investigations by the FCA, PRA, HMRC and numerous other agencies, covering a wide range of issues, including systems and controls weaknesses, financial crime and market abuse;
• regulatory interventions and ‘contentious supervision’, including regulators’ use of voluntary requirements (VREQs), s166 ‘skilled persons’ reports and other similar tools;
• internal investigations into a wide range of issues, including alleged compliance breaches, culture and conduct matters (including non-financial misconduct), financial crime compliance and whistleblowing investigations;
• remediation work, including devising and executing customer remediation schemes and complaints handling; and
• challenges to authorities’ decision-making before the Upper Tribunal and by way of judicial review.

We also have an active practice assisting listed companies with investigations into alleged breaches of the UK market abuse regulation and listing regime, and assisting clients operating in the energy and commodities markets.

Meet the team

Our Global Investigations group advises on corporate crime, compliance and the full spectrum of investigation and enforcement matters, helping organisations manage risk, respond to crises and strengthen their approach through tailored training and assurance for boards and legal teams.

Over the past three years, more than 300 major organisations, including over 25 FTSE 350 businesses, have trusted us to support them with investigations and related advisory and compliance matters. Our work spans the UK and jurisdictions around the world, including Ireland, Germany, France, the Middle East and Asia.

Visit our Global Investigations page

Competition Disputes
Competition litigation remains one of our real strengths, with a track record of having litigated competition law disputes before the High Court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) and in mediations.

Our team comprises experts from both our competition and litigation practices who have worked together on several stand-alone and follow-on competition law damages cases.

We have defended companies implicated in cartels (appealing infringement decisions and defending those companies in related damages actions) and recovered millions of pounds in damages for those harmed by anti-competitive conduct. We also offer white-collar global investigations expertise and global coverage through our Preferred Firms network.

Visit our Competition and Regulation page

Group Litigation
Our cross-border team has extensive experience advising on group litigation and mass claims acting for a broad range of clients, including listed companies and FTSE 100 businesses. We act for both claimants and defendants, giving us a clear view of the strategic, commercial and procedural dynamics on all sides of a dispute.

We have advised on numerous Group Litigation Orders (GLOs) and both the prosecution and defence of Collective Proceedings, as well as complex multi-party claims outside formal group litigation frameworks. We also have significant experience in securities litigation, including claims under sections 90 and 90A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). 

Our practice is further strengthened by our specialist litigation funding and insurance expertise. That combination allows us to give clients practical, informed advice not only on the merits of claims, but also on risk allocation, strategy, cost exposure and opportunities for early resolution.

Litigation Finance (CONTROL)
And because disputes threaten balance sheets and budgets, you can expect us to work efficiently and effectively. As well as deploying over 150 specialist technologists and paralegals to rapidly complete routine tasks, we are market leaders in litigation finance.

Visit our Litigation Finance tool 

For businesses operating internationally, disputes rarely stop at national borders. Our international arbitration team advises on complex, high-value disputes across jurisdictions, helping clients navigate legal, commercial and reputational challenges with confidence.

With specialists across key arbitral hubs and experience spanning a wide range of sectors, we work with clients to develop strategies that protect their interests, preserve valuable business relationships and achieve successful outcomes in cross-border disputes.

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Technology and Media Disputes
We help companies navigate risk management and disputes that threaten their technology or data safety, security and operations. Our international team comprised of litigators, arbitrators, mediators on hand to help you protect your position and defend your rights.

Every day we support our clients on a range of technology-related disputes and help various technology suppliers on the management of their customer relationships and claims platforms. 

We are one of the few leading London based international law firms to have expert and dedicated technology and digital teams across Europe and Asia Pacific.

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Sport and Sponsorship Disputes
We help sports organisations, governing bodies, clubs, investors, athletes and other stakeholders resolve complex disputes that arise across the sports sector. Whether the issue relates to governance, commercial agreements, disciplinary proceedings or regulatory investigations, we provide practical, commercially focused advice that protects your interests and supports your long-term objectives.

Sport operates within a unique legal and regulatory framework, where disputes often require specialist sector knowledge alongside strategic legal advice. Working across litigation, arbitration, regulatory, employment, competition and commercial law, we help clients navigate disputes efficiently while balancing legal, commercial and reputational considerations.

Every matter requires an approach tailored to the circumstances. From resolving disputes through negotiation, mediation and arbitration to representing clients before courts, tribunals and sporting bodies, we help clients manage risk, minimise disruption and achieve commercially effective outcomes.

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Procurement Disputes
We regularly advise on risk, contract and dispute management from the outset of procurement processes, to contract awards, extensions and beyond.

We combine leading non-contentious experts with specialist procurement litigators in a single, seamless team to provide an unrivalled service to clients who urgently need to assess their position and potentially bring or defend a procurement challenge.

Our team has also acted in many of the major reported cases, successfully bringing and defending challenges for a wide number of clients. We offer swift, concise and practical advice, essential attributes given the very short time in which to bring/defend a challenge.

Judicial Review and Public Law
We help public bodies, regulated organisations and businesses exercising public functions navigate complex public law and judicial review issues. Whether advising on decision-making, statutory duties and consultation processes, or responding to judicial review proceedings, we provide practical advice that manages risk and protects your interests.

Where decisions are challenged, we support clients at every stage of the process, from pre-action correspondence and judicial review proceedings to appeals and interventions before the Administrative Court. Every matter is approached with a strategy tailored to the legal, commercial and operational context, helping clients achieve effective, defensible outcomes.

Public Inquiries
We help organisations and individuals navigate the legal, regulatory and reputational challenges of public inquiries. Whether acting for public bodies, businesses or individuals as core participants or witnesses, we provide strategic advice that helps clients prepare for every stage of the inquiry process while protecting their wider interests.

Public inquiries often raise complex legal, operational and governance issues that extend beyond the hearing itself. Bringing together expertise across investigations, dispute resolution, health and safety, corporate crime, insurance and reputation management, we provide coordinated advice on document management, witness preparation, governance, stakeholder communications, funding, insurance and related litigation.

We work closely with clients to manage risk, respond to evolving challenges and provide clear, practical support throughout the process, from the initial stages of an inquiry through to hearings, evidence and any subsequent legal proceedings.

Environment and Sustainability 
We help clients identify and manage ESG-related disputes before they escalate, strengthening governance and decision-making while developing robust, defensible approaches to compliance and reporting. This includes navigating increased scrutiny of impacts across group structures, subsidiaries, supply chains and overseas operations, particularly in relation to human rights and environmental issues.

We also advise on emerging areas of ESG risk, helping clients minimise exposure and respond confidently to greenwashing allegations, climate-related litigation and shareholder activism.

Visit our ESG Lawyers page

Health and Safety 
We provide bespoke regulatory advice to corporates, large national and multinational organisations, and senior individuals across a range of industry sectors including advanced manufacturing, energy and utilities, financial services, healthcare, real estate, retail & consumer and transport.

We are adept at guiding clients through the regulatory landscape within a wide range of contexts, including health & safety, corporate manslaughter, consumer protection, advertising and marketing, building safety, food safety and hygiene, fire safety, product liability and safety, security and counterterrorism, corporate and directors' duties and a wide range of other criminal regulatory matters.

Our practice also includes extensive experience advising and representing corporate clients at inquests in the Coroner's Court arising from work-related and other fatalities, and at Public Inquiries established by the Government to investigate matters of public concern.

When things do go wrong, we are on hand 24/7 to provide our clients with crisis support when faced with major incidents, investigations and enforcement action taken by regulatory authorities, including the Police, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Local Authorities, Trading Standards, Care Quality Commission (CQC) Fire & Rescue Services, Marine Management Organisation (MMO), Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Security Industry Authority (SIA) and other regulatory enforcement bodies.

Product Safety and Disputes 
We help manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and retailers manage the legal, regulatory and commercial risks associated with product safety, product liability and product recalls across a wide range of sectors and jurisdictions. Whether responding to an emerging safety concern, defending a product liability claim, managing a complex recall, or advising on the product safety and liability aspects of commercial arrangements and strategic projects, we provide practical and commercially focused advice that protects your business, your customers and your reputation.

Every product issue requires a clear, commercially focused response. We help clients prepare for potential risks, minimise disruption and navigate claims efficiently, from individual disputes to group litigation, while also pursuing recovery from suppliers where appropriate. Where an issue has international dimension, we coordinate responses across multiple jurisdictions, helping you manage risk, maintain consumer confidence and return to business as usual as quickly as possible.

Building Safety
We help developers, owners, investors, contractors, consultants and other stakeholders navigate the legal and regulatory challenges of building safety. Whether supporting with safety obligations, advising on regulatory requirements in connection with remediation or advising on evolving obligations, we provide practical advice that protects your assets, manages risk and supports your commercial objectives.

From proactive risk management and regulatory engagement to litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, we help clients resolve complex building safety issues efficiently while minimising disruption and supporting long-term resilience.