Practice area: Fraud

Sam Heitlinger

  • 14 August 2025
Sam Heitlinger

Sam is a Senior Associate and Solicitor Advocate in the Commercial Disputes team, with broad experience advising clients in relation to litigation, international arbitration and investigations involving a diverse range of sectors. Sam has worked at two major international law firms in London and Paris, and is proficient in French and German.

Sam has advised on investment treaty arbitrations, group actions, professional negligence claims, commercial arbitrations, joint venture disputes, banking investigations, public inquiries, House of Commons Select Committee inquiries, partnership disputes, defamation claims, crisis management and in relation to anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance. Sam has notable experience in the professional services, energy, infrastructure, financial services and telecommunications sectors.

Sam has Higher Rights of Audience and has performed advocacy at various trials. 

Lucinda Smart

  • 18 October 2024
Lucinda Smart

Lucinda is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution team. She has experience advising clients on commercial disputes in a wide variety of sectors, including natural resources, banking and financial services, technology, and media.

She has worked on complex and high value commercial disputes across multiple jurisdictions and in a broad range of sectors. Lucinda has particular experience in cases linked to commercial fraud and has acted in proceedings at High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court level. Lucinda is also a member of Forsters’ Art Group. Her clients include corporates, financial institutions and high net worth individuals.

Saffy Sall

  • 21 September 2024
Saffy Sall

Saffy is an Associate in the Dispute Resolution team.

She has growing commercial experience acting for a broad range of clients on civil fraud matters, breaches of directors’ duties and complex contractual disputes across multiple sectors. She has acted on cases before the High Court and supports clients through all stages of litigation.

She is also a member of the firm’s Race Support Network.

Nicholas Owen

  • 21 September 2024
Nicholas Owen

Nick is a Senior Associate in Forsters’ Commercial Disputes team. He acts for high-net-worth individuals, businesses and not-for-profit organisations in commercial disputes, often involving multiple jurisdictions.

Nick’s practice is broad and includes civil fraud and asset recovery, professional negligence claims, directors’ duties and shareholder disputes, contentious insolvency and bankruptcy, and disputes concerning the interpretation of contracts. Nick has experience litigating in various divisions of the English High Court and in the Court of Appeal.

Nick’s recent experience at Forsters includes acting:

  • in a claim concerning the alleged diversion of a billion-pound business involved in the acquisition of music copyrights (Hipgnosis Music Limited v Mercuriadis & Ors), which was named as one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2026;
  • in a dispute before the Court of Appeal regarding the English Court’s jurisdiction to join family members of a defendant to proceedings brought by a sovereign state;
  • in an international arbitration brought by a Swedish company against two Saudi Arabian companies concerning the interpretation of a contract; and
  • for the Respondent to a Norwich Pharmacal application brought in the context of complex international fraud proceedings (Magomedov & Ors v Kuzovkov & Ors).

His articles have been published in New Law Journal and the Solicitors Journal.

Nick trained at Forsters and qualified in September 2021.

Joe May

  • 21 September 2024
Joe May

Joe’s broad practice spans from advising on large commercial disputes to assisting his clients with complex trust and estates disputes.

His clients include ultra high net worth individuals, trust companies, international banks and large corporations.

Joe has particular experience in relation to complex multi-jurisdictional fraud disputes, shareholder disputes, insolvency proceedings, and contractual disputes. He has acted on cases heard in the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

Joe is a member of the firm’s Pro-Bono committee and its Green Impact network.

Frances Snowball

  • 21 September 2024
Frances Snowball

Frances is a Senior Associate in our Dispute Resolution team. She has a broad practice in complex cross-border commercial litigation and international arbitration.

She has experience advising clients on high value commercial disputes in a wide range of sectors including banking and financial services, technology and real estate. Frances has particular experience of insolvency proceedings, shareholder disputes, cases involving civil fraud, asset tracing and general contractual disputes. She has acted in proceedings in the High Court and Court of Appeal both in England and the British Virgin Islands.

Fraud

  • 21 September 2024
A person sits at a desk, concentrating on a computer screen. The open-plan office is filled with multiple workstations, each displaying various monitors. Bright, natural light filters through angled windows.

Fraud is now endemic and can quickly cause significant and sometimes catastrophic losses. Knowing both how to prevent and to respond to instances of fraudulent conduct are therefore paramount considerations for businesses and individuals alike.

Our specialist team at Forsters understands that fraud cases require a meticulous and strategic approach. We are dedicated to providing robust and effective solutions, protecting your interests every step of the way.

We act for a wide variety of clients – both domestic and international – in dealing with all aspects of civil fraud and asset recovery cases. Our approach is client-focused and partner-led, ensuring you have the right experts by your side where speed is often of the essence. We combine deep legal knowledge with practical experience to navigate the complexities of fraud cases.

We understand the urgency and sensitivity of fraud matters. Whether you are bringing or defending a fraud claim, our team works swiftly to investigate, gather information, and build a strong case. Where necessary, we collaborate closely with forensic accountants, investigators, and other specialists to uncover the evidence and secure the best possible outcome for you.

At Forsters, we have successfully handled a range of civil fraud cases and claims involving allegations of dishonesty. From initial investigations through to contested court proceedings, we provide clear, strategic advice tailored to what is often a unique situation. At all times, our goal is to minimise disruption to your business or affairs while vigorously defending your rights in a cost-effective manner.

David Young

  • 29 August 2024
David Young

David is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution team.

He works with a wide range of clients operating across multiple industry sectors including life sciences, technology, media and telecommunications, and insurance in order to resolve commercial disputes, whether at the pre-action stage, in litigation or arbitration.

David has particular experience in advising on complex contractual issues and in multi-jurisdictional claims involving fraud and asset tracing, as well as advising on all aspects of litigation funding and ATE insurance.

Edward Richards

  • 29 August 2024
Edward Richards

An experienced litigator, Ed has represented clients in numerous complex, high-value disputes, often with a cross-border element. He is equally at home in litigation or arbitration, with experience in High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court proceedings and in arbitrations under the LCIA and ICC Rules (among others) and across a number of seats.

While Ed enjoys being a generalist, recent experience has included proceedings relating to the alleged fraudulent circumvention of undertakings given to the Competition Commission in relation to the de-merger of the two biggest suppliers in the UK egg market (Stonegate Farmers Limited v Kent & Ors; Clarence Court Eggs Limited v Chapman & Anor) and a claim relating to the diversion of a billion-pound plus business relating to the acquisition of music copyrights (Hipgnosis Music Limited v Mercuriadis & Ors). The former proceedings were the subject of a successful appeal to the Court of Appeal and the latter proceedings were featured in the Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2026.

Ed takes his responsibilities outside chargeable work seriously. He is a member of the firm’s Gender Equality and Social Mobility Networks and has provided pro bono legal advice at the South Westminster Legal Advice Centre. While at his previous firm, he represented the families of service personnel pro bono at a series of inquests relating to their deaths while in service.

Ed joined Forsters in 2021, having trained at Hogan Lovells and spent his initial years post-qualification in their London international arbitration team.

Benedict Walton

  • 29 August 2024
Benedict Walton

Noted by clients as “hugely commercial and great at litigation psychology”, Ben is Partner and Head of the Dispute Resolution team. He advises domestic and international corporate and individual clients on a wide variety of complex disputes, resolved by litigation, arbitration and by other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods. Ben attracts praise for his “good tactical sense and well-considered advice” and his “strategic and innovative” approach to litigation.

His particular areas of expertise include breaches of warranty and other contractual terms, competition litigation, breaches of directors’ duty, shareholder disputes (including unfair prejudice petitions), negligence, fraud, contempt of Court, investment, regulatory, and financial services disputes and group actions.

Ben has extensive experience of funded litigation and maintains excellent relationships with many of the major third-party funders, ATE insurance providers and brokers. This ensures that he is well placed, when required, to help clients find the most appropriate funding structure for their cases. While the details of funded cases remain confidential, Ben and Forsters have secured litigation funding solutions for some of the highest profile litigation to pass through the High Court in recent years.

Ben joined Forsters in 2015. He trained and spent the first 11 years of his career at Jones Day (formerly Gouldens), where he qualified as a solicitor in 2004.

Steven Richards

  • 29 August 2024
Steven Richards

Steven is Head of the Commercial Dispute Resolution team at Forsters. With a background in corporate disputes, he has particular expertise in banking and finance litigation, professional negligence, contentious insolvency, insurance disputes, fraud and cybercrime.

He has extensive experience obtaining, enforcing and responding to applications for injunctive relief, including freezing, search, seizure and delivery up orders. He also has a strong understanding of litigation funding and considerable experience in High Court proceedings. While fully prepared to pursue litigation where required, Steven also advises on settlement, mediation and other forms of dispute resolution where these are aligned with his clients’ objectives.

Steven is praised in The Legal 500 2026 for bringing a ‘wealth of experience throughout key areas such as contractual disputes and civil fraud matters’. He is also described in Chambers UK 2024 as ‘an excellent litigator’, ‘very intelligent’ and ‘user-friendly’. Steven works closely with clients to understand their commercial priorities and develop dispute resolution strategies that support their wider business objectives.

Caroline Harbord

  • 29 August 2024
Caroline Harbord

An experienced commercial litigator, Caroline has been described as a “stand-out individual” by The Legal 500 2026. She has been recognised as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ in each of the last four editions of The Legal 500, having previously been recognised as a ‘Rising Star’.

Caroline regularly leads complex international and offshore disputes, with particular expertise in joint venture and shareholder disputes, civil fraud and asset tracing, including applications for urgent injunctive relief, as well as contractual and supply chain disputes. She has acted as an expert witness in foreign legal proceedings and has led arbitrations under the LCIA, SCC, ICC and LMAA Rules. Caroline also has significant experience acting on cases, including group claims, funded by litigation funders and supported by after-the-event insurance.

Drawing on extensive cross-border and offshore experience, Caroline advises high net worth individuals, family offices, family-owned businesses, trustees and trust companies, banks, corporates, directors, private equity houses and insolvency practitioners. Her practice has a significant international and offshore focus, complemented by her experience practising in Jersey and her previous role as Global General Counsel to an international trust and company service provider. This enables her to provide commercially focused advice in high-stakes and complex disputes.

Caroline is known for her strategic approach to disputes, helping clients identify and pursue the most effective route to achieving their objectives. She combines commercial awareness with responsiveness and a strong focus on client service.

Andrew Head

  • 29 August 2024
Andrew Head

Ranked in The Legal 500 2024, Andrew is noted for his ‘track record of work on international disputes, finance cases, class action claims and professional negligence’.

As a Partner in the Dispute Resolution team, Andrew has a broad and diverse practice, focusing on professional indemnity matters, complex land disputes, civil fraud, tax investigations and large-scale group actions arising from financial mis-selling.

Andrew is skilled at analysing large volumes of documentation efficiently and cost-effectively, enabling him to develop a thorough understanding of his clients’ commercial objectives and the issues at the heart of a dispute. He has considerable experience in High Court litigation, as well as domestic and international arbitrations. His clients include international banks, major property developers, retailers, high net worth individuals and charitable institutions.