Civil Litigation Recovery

We move quickly and discreetly to help victims of fraud recover funds.

In this section

The discovery of fraud in your business can be a complete shock and distraction. Our civil litigation recovery team moves quickly and discreetly to provide you with the best chance of recovering unlawfully taken monies while minimising any disruption.

We help clients to navigate the competing concerns of regulatory compliance and reporting obligations with the desire to investigate and recover what has been lost through acts of fraud and dishonesty. Working closely with our corporate defence colleagues where necessary, we explain your available civil recovery options before agreeing and swiftly implementing an effective recovery strategy.

We act on large and document-heavy cases, working closely with specialist IT providers that image electronic data and assist in the harvesting and analysis of email traffic to identify money transfers. Such cases often require urgent responses, data analysis and evidence harvesting to support any urgent applications to the courts that seek orders to preserve assets and trace the transmission of monies.

Meet the team

Our services

Early review and assessment of evidence to establish what has occurred and whether there are any civil routes to preserve and recover assets.

Applications to the court for urgent injunctive relief which can freeze accounts and enable third party properties to be searched (with assets seized).

Advice on the extent to which third parties can be required to deliver up documents to better understand what has happened to your assets. This can take many forms and will often run in tandem with the regulatory responses.

Advice on the range of options and steps you can take to recover lost funds, which can include harvesting and reviewing emails and texts from individuals within the business, as well as urgently applying for and executing freezing and search and seizure orders. Our team members have experience of acting as court-appointed supervisors in the execution of search orders by others.

Agreeing response strategies when claims of fraud are made against your business, liaising closely with insurers where a policy exists to meet coverage requirements and ensure that any responsive defence costs are covered.

Case highlights

A business owner reviews financial records

Large-scale accounting fraud

We acted for an international manufacturing company that discovered a large-scale internal accounting fraud, immediately securing injunctive relief by freezing accounts and being granted search and seizure orders.

We instructed expert forensic accountants to investigate the unauthorised transactions before securing significant recoveries and assisting in the criminal prosecution of the individuals involved.

Rental property manager hands over property keys to a couple

Breaches of duty in property portfolio

We acted for beneficial owners of a substantial property portfolio in a claim against its managing agents for failing to account for all rental receipts. We issued proceedings for breaches of duty as well as third-party disclosure orders to secure evidence of the fraudulent transactions. The claim was linked to proceedings that were ongoing in the British Virgin Islands and Switzerland. Substantial recoveries were achieved.

Bribery and unauthorised payments

We advised a company on breaches of duty by former directors regarding bribery and unauthorised payments in relation to reporting obligations under its contract with a major IT communications supplier.

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False breaches of warranty

We advised a corporate client that sought damages following its acquisition of a company and false breaches of warranty regarding operational activities. The case went to trial for two weeks and required extensive disclosure to be undertaken to analyse the nature of the breaches and the knowledge of the parties who gave the warranties.

“Dan Stowers has over 20 years’ experience, much of which related to serious and complex fraud cases. He is friendly and approachable to clients, but tenacious with his opponents. Having worked with Dan, he has consistently proved to be a very strategic thinker with an incredible eye for detail. He is particularly effective during investigations and has managed to stop criminal investigations before his client has been charged.”

The Legal 500, 2021

“[Dan Stowers is] highly experienced in all aspects of fraud work and is head and shoulders above his peers… a leader in the field.”

The Legal 500, 2012

“Dan Stowers is clearly in control of his cases. He has the exceptional ability of both being able to have a well-reasoned overview of a case as well as having all the details at his fingertips. This means that you feel that he is truly providing the best representation for his client.”

The Legal 500, 2020

“Dan Stowers is without doubt the most dynamic lawyer in his field, understanding the issues immediately and how to address them.”

The Legal 500, 2020