John Reynolds

Practice Areas

John Reynolds is a leading international litigation and arbitration specialist. John is our London firm's managing partner, and the Head of International Disputes.

Over the years, John has maintained a broad practice, believing that diverse experience brings benefits in looking at most problems. His specialist areas of focus include corporate and M&A disputes, finance litigation, shareholder disputes, investigations, crisis management, fraud and competition litigation.

John has been a ranked litigator in both Chambers and Legal 500 for more than 20 years. He has been described as “a titan of the London litigation landscape” in Legal 500’s 2021 Hall of Fame, an ‘esteemed litigator’ in Chambers 2021 and is ranked as a Global Leader in Who’s Who Legal // Litigation.

Career

In his 35-year career, he spent over 15 years at White & Case as Head of the London Litigation Department and Global Co Head of the firm’s Financial Institutions Practice, and he was also a partner at McDermott Will & Emery and Herbert Smith. John has helped clients resolve complex problems for more than three decades and is a deeply-connected member of the global dispute resolution community. As a leading figure in the legal world, he has been involved in many of the landmark cases that have shaped the litigation landscape.

Work Highlights

John’s work highlights include a 13-year battle for control of a Turkish mobile telephone operator, arising from financing and restructuring during the Turkish banking crisis, with litigation in the British Virgin Islands, 8 appeals to the Privy Council, and arbitration proceedings in Geneva and Vienna. This case established the parameters of the European security-enforcement measure of appropriation. He also handled an investigation into transatlantic regulatory enforcement proceedings against a global investment bank concerning anti-money laundering systems and mirror trading of Russian blue-chip stocks. John was involved in the first major UK case of the global financial crisis, suing the UK Government for the nationalisation of Northern Rock Bank, successfully arguing that the nationalisation breached the human rights of a non-UK investment fund. He has also managed litigation and arbitration in Eastern Europe regarding the ownership of a former state-owned company, raising allegations of fraud and political motivations. Further highlights include advising on a major IPO, providing strategic advice to a global consumer brand on a regional joint venture termination, and guiding an international financial institution through governance changes and regulatory challenges.