Our Europe practice has been built on decades of experience.

Our firm

Stewarts is the UK’s largest disputes-only law firm with over 200 lawyers – more than 90 of whom are partners – across 15 specialist practice areas. We act for corporates, government entities and individuals in complex and high-value disputes in the UK and across the globe. We have experience on both sides of litigation and as counsel and arbitrators across major arbitral institutions such as the ICC, LCIA, SIAC, DIAC, SCC, HKIAC, PCA, and ICSID, and in ad hoc arbitrations.

Clients instruct us when the stakes are high and where genuine disputes experts are needed. We are conflict-free and uniquely placed to advise where other law firms may be conflicted.

A great majority of our work is international. As an independent law firm, we are free to work with our clients’ existing advisers and can also draw on our strategic alliances with leading international law firms. This enables us to work in a global counsel role to coordinate complex multi-jurisdictional matters via a single point of contact.

Our reputation is confirmed by our top rankings in the leading legal directories. We are recognised as a “truly client-focused outfit whose calibre and experience is second to none”.

Read more

Our offering

We have represented some of the largest companies, state-owned entities, financial institutions, institutional investors, family offices, trustees, trust companies, protectors and high net worth individuals in Europe, as well as foreign nationals and companies with interests in the region.

We deliver practical and commercially astute advice on complex issues and endeavour to resolve disputes quickly and cost-efficiently. We offer a proactive approach at every stage of dispute resolution, from pre-dispute management to litigation and arbitration strategies.

Read more

Key experience

Private Client Disputes

The following is a selection of the cases we have worked on:

  • Advising the wife of a settlor in a $1bn trust restructuring and cross-border divorce proceedings taking place in England, Monaco and Belgium.
  • Advising a client in an international divorce case with assets worth over £300m involving Germany, England and Canada. There was an initial “jurisdiction race” to enable matters to be dealt with by the English courts.
  • Advising two beneficiaries of an estate and offshore trusts who are defending a claim being brought by their minor half sibling and that child’s mother against their father’s estate. There are assets in Switzerland (subject to forced heirship) and trust assets offshore held through a number of trusts and complex corporate arrangements.
  • Advising the wealthier party in the preparation of a multi-jurisdictional cohabitation agreement involving seven jurisdictions, including four in Europe.
  • Advising an Italian beneficiary of Jersey trusts involved in a contested Public Trustee v Cooper application in the High Court in England and Wales.
Read more

Commercial Disputes

  • Advising bondholders seeking to recover sums of up to c. €1 billion, in relation to investments and securities held in a failed financial services company. The case concerns issues in the UK, Luxembourg, and Germany among other countries, with proceedings in those jurisdictions.
  • Advising on proceedings in England, Germany, Luxembourg and New York concerning the restructuring of the debts of €1.2 billion owed by a group of manufacturing companies.
  • Advising the Swedish state-owned power company Vattenfall AB in a multi-million Euro cartel damages claim following on from the European Commission’s decision regarding a high voltage power cable cartel.
  • Advising Thales SA and others (formerly Gemalto) in relation to proceedings brought against household names Infineon, Renesas, Samsung and Philips. The claim is the largest to be issued in any jurisdiction in relation to the smart card chips cartel.
  • Advising a government in an application to set aside an English High Court order to enforce an award in respect of a dispute arising from an intra-EU bilateral investment treaty.
Read more

Litigation costs and funding

If assistance in financing a dispute is required, we offer expert guidance on a multitude of options for litigation funding. These creative solutions encompass securing external funding for significant cases, exploring insurance coverage, implementing conditional fee agreements and providing fixed or capped fees where appropriate. We have now acted in more than 2,000 disputes for nearly 4,500 clients and have recovered well in excess of £2bn in damages using alternative funding arrangements of one or more forms.

Read more

If you require any assistance, please email us your enquiry or contact us.