Conditions of ex-SFO chief's move to Slaughter and May revealed
Letter from vetting committee also reveals Slaughters outbid three firms to secure role on multimillion-pound Tchenguiz brothers litigation
September 12, 2018 at 12:31 PM
3 minute read
Details of ex-Serious Fraud Office (SFO) director David Green QC's move to Slaughter and May have been revealed in a government letter that sets out the conditions of his new job, as well revealing details of the magic circle firm's role on the multimillion-pound Tchenguiz brothers lawsuit brought against the SFO in 2013.
The letter was published today (12 September) by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACoBA), which vets new roles taken up by former ministers, senior civil servants and other Crown servants, to avoid conflicts of interest.
Acknowledging that Green, as head of the SFO was "responsible for decisions which benefited Slaughters", the letter states that the committee recognised there could be concerns over a "high-profile public office holder moving from a pivotal role within the criminal justice system to a private law firm operating in the same area".
As such, the ACoBA has imposed a number of conditions on his move. These include that Green: should not advise on any matters relating to investigations conducted by the SFO during his tenure as director; he should not draw on any privileged information available to him from his time at the SFO; that he should not directly engage with the body on behalf of Slaughters or its clients; or be personally involved in lobbying government or the SFO for two years from his last day at the department.
The letter also contains details of Green's official dealings with Slaughters during his tenure at the SFO – in particular the multimillion-pound claims resulting from its failed investigation into entrepreneur brothers Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz.
The letter states that Slaughters was paid fees of "circa £15m" for representing the SFO in the legal battle, which saw the body sued for damages by the brothers in January 2013. The case, in which the SFO admitted errors in the evidence it used to obtain search warrants against the pair, was settled for £4.5m in 2014.
The letter reveals that four City firms were approached to advise the SFO on the lawsuit, but Slaughters was selected as it had no conflicts to prevent it from acting and "offered a lower rate". It adds that Green played no role in selecting Slaughters.
Other SFO cases referred to in the letter include the investigation into Rolls-Royce, which concluded with a groundbreaking £497.25m deferred prosecution agreement last year.
Green said he attended one meeting with Slaughters and the CEO and chair of Rolls-Royce to "reset" negotiations during the case, and that he had no other dealings with Slaughters with regards to other clients of the firm under investigation by the SFO.
Slaughters was also required by the ACoBA to provide evidence of how it would deal with any potential conflicts presented by Green's hire, stating that matters relating to the SFO would be put behind an "information barrier", meaning that he would be unable to access information on the cases from the moment he joins the firm.
Green's move to Slaughters was confirmed yesterday (11 September), ending months of speculation. He will join the magic circle firm as senior consultant on 22 October, six months after he left the SFO in April.
The letter states that Green was approached about joining Slaughters by the firm's global investigations group co-heads, Richard Swallow and Jonathan Cotton.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllNew Frontiers: Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Launches in Cairo and Abu Dhabi
4 minute readTravers Gives Holiday Bonus, Ropes & Gray Reduces Time Off Allowance
1 minute readJapan’s Mori Hamada Joins Funder LCM for $150M Credit Suisse Bonds Claim
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250