| United Kingdom
Brown Rudnick is highly experienced and effective in handling large, complex disputes, often cross-border, including in Russia and CIS countries and many offshore and ‘freezone’ jurisdictions. The firm has a reputation for handling the “difficult” cases, and its team has been involved in a number of high profile matters, including matters arising from the collapse of Lehman, the Irish Banking crisis, and the Madoff and Stanford scandals.
Brown Rudnick’s highly skilled team offers an integrated civil and white collar crime litigation and arbitration service, and includes English barristers, French avocats and US trial attorneys based in London, Boston, New York, Washington DC, Hartford, Providence, California and Paris. The firm offers a one stop, partner-led service able to deliver a truly integrated approach to crafting comprehensive, multi-jurisdictional solutions, including joint US/UK investigations, criminal and contentious regulatory work.
The firm’s lawyers are experienced in acting for clients at all levels including States and Public Bodies, and are free to take adverse positions to global institutions. The team is rated highly in legal directories in both the US and UK. Brown Rudnick is ranked as Band 1 in a number of areas by Chambers & Partners UK 2016 which describes the firm variously as “focal, effective and particularly experienced in Eastern European litigation” and “very tenacious, imaginative and fights very hard”. The firm also recognised by the Legal 500 UK 2015 with ‘Leading Individuals’ described variously as “tenacious and analytical” who “work tirelessly for clients”. Brown Rudnick is also rated by Who’s Who Legal for asset recovery and business crime.
Christian Toms
As a partner in the International Disputes team Christian Toms specialises in complex and high-value commercial banking/investment, contract and tort disputes as well as company, shareholders and joint venture/partnership disputes. He also has experience in confidential applications for privacy injunctions, and competition law related matters. He has acted for and against investment banks, hedge funds, pension funds and other investors, as well as individuals, technology, construction and pharmaceutical companies. A typical example of his banking and funds litigation practice is the Goldman Sachs matter he helped lead on behalf of a Dutch pension fund, which brought claims against Goldman arising out of its performance as an asset manager during the last financial crisis.
Perhaps slightly unusually Mr Toms started out life as a barrister, prosecuting and defending matters at the criminal bar in England, and this means he often works alongside Brown Rudnick’s Corporate Crime/White collar crime and regulatory teams given the increasing criminalisation and regulation of the corporate world the firm is seeing grow year on year. Mr Toms finds that being both a civil and criminal practitioner often informs his ability to deliver what is needed for a client.
Fee earning aside he is a board member of the firm’s Charitable Foundation, and he plays an active role in supporting the firm’s pro bono initiatives.
