Chris Warren-Smith represents clients in a broad range of corporate investigation, dispute, and privacy matters, across all sectors and many of them high profile, including commercial and international dispute resolution and regulatory enforcement proceedings. Deputy chair of Morgan Lewis’s global white collar and corporate investigations practice, he also has an especially strong banking and financial services practice. The Legal 500 describes Chris as a “highly trusted” “heavy hitter” who leads a banking litigation team “right up there with the best magic circle firms.”
Chris has both a regional and a global practice, with many years spent advising on matters in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, and South America. He acts for financial institutions, corporations, professionals, and insurers in all forms of mainstream and alternative dispute resolution and regulatory and professional investigations. He also counsels on issues arising from a more diverse range of bodies in the United Kingdom, ranging from the Treasury Select Committee to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Chris frequently works on compliance and regulatory issues, including corruption, financial crime, economic sanctions, and fraud. He represents clients in a wide range of investigations, including UK proceedings conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority, the Serious Fraud Office, and Lloyd's of London, and those involving regulators such as the US Department of Justice and US Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as regulators and professional bodies in many other jurisdictions around the world.
Chris has experience over many years in both group actions and litigation-funded disputes. He acted for the first third-party funded claimant to go to trial in the United Kingdom, as well as in a landmark third-party funded group action. He also has experience in privacy and cybersecurity matters.
Clients praise his “commercial awareness, technical knowledge and ability to tackle prospective problems before they arise”’ his “reliable, sensible balanced advice”; and his “ability to dive into the detail and excellent communications skills.” Chris is described as “refreshingly personable and knowledgeable” while impressing clients with his “incisive analytical mind and rate of turnaround.”
Before joining Morgan Lewis, Chris served as the global head of investigations in the London office of another global law firm.
For over 15 years Chris has been ranked as a Leading Individual in directories and publications including: