Taylor Wessing strengthens its competencies in the financial services sector | Robert Li

A former Magic Circle financial services litigator talks to CDR about his move from RPC to join Taylor Wessing as he seeks a broader platform for his growing civil fraud practice.

Taylor Wessing has stopped Parham Kouchikali as a partner in the London-based international disputes and investigations practice, effective today (15 July).

Joining of RPCKouchikali, who works in the financial litigation practice and has spent the last nine years there, spoke to CDR today from his new office about his move: “I have particular expertise in litigation in the financial services sector and in large banking disputes. In recent years I have also handled many more civil fraud cases, often in the financial services sector, which often has cross-border elements, so my practice now covers more areas of law.”

“Taylor Wessing was at the top of my list because of its international office network and excellent reputation in dispute resolution, financial services and civil fraud cases. After many years as a partner, it was the right time for me and it was so important to be on an international platform with international reach to handle more complex civil fraud cases,” he continues, citing his new firm’s established private wealth practice as attractive due to its frequent overlap with civil fraud and finance.

Kouchikali advises on incident response and crisis containment, including investigations and actions by regulators such as the Financial Supervisory Authority (FCA) and represents companies such as international financial institutions, hedge funds and investors as well as high net worth individuals.

His significant roles at RPC include serving as lead partner for the South Africa-based Steinhoff after the international retailer ran into financial difficulties due to alleged It is one of South Africa’s largest corporate fraud cases, which Kauchikali describes as “one of the most interesting cases I have ever handled”, not least because of the multitude of international elements, as it was a case before the London Commercial Court, involving German, Austrian and Swiss law, and involving parties from the British Virgin Islands and Jersey.

The increase in fraud cases observed by Kouchikali shows little sign of abating, particularly in the area of ​​fraudulent deception: “One of the reasons for this is that, given the current economic climate, people are trying to shed light on areas that have previously been ignored and are starting to ask questions that lead you down a particular path – in the last two years I have dealt with more fraud cases than in my entire career – a clear sign that this work is becoming increasingly important.”

Earlier in his career, Kouchikali spent nearly 12 years in the London dispute resolution group of British firm Magic Circle. Linklaterswhere he completed a number of banking secondments and handled cases relating to the global financial crisis before joining RPC as a senior associate in April 2015.

Litigation has been a focus of his career spanning more than two decades, and yet Kouchikali shies away from describing himself to his clients as a litigator, preferring the term “problem solver.” “I love the intellectual rigor of litigation,” he says, citing the tactical approach as one of the main reasons he became a lawyer: “Litigation is like three-dimensional chess because you need a strategic mindset to get clients to get the result they want, not the outcome they want.” He also cites Rob Reiner’s 1992 film A few good men as inspiration from childhood.

For now, however, he is focused on developing client relationships and promoting the opportunities available on his new firm’s platform and is looking forward to “bringing the exciting cases I want to work on here at Taylor Wessing. It’s going to be a busy summer.”

Taylor Wessing UK Head of Dispute Resolution and Investigations Group Andreas Wiesen In a statement, it said: “We are delighted to welcome Parham, whose expertise complements and strengthens our existing offering as we continue to handle high-quality cross-border commercial disputes mandates.”

Taylor Wessing welcomed an Irish patent attorney from McCann Fitzgerald in Dublin and recruited a new head of Middle East and North Africa disputes from Clyde & Co in Dubai, all in May.

Also this month, an experienced fraud and bankruptcy lawyer ended his 25-year career at Stephenson Harwood join Jenner & Block in London.