Stewarts’ partners Lucy Ward and Mo Bhaskaran have been appointed as co-heads of the commercial litigation department from 1 May 2023. Current head Clive Zietman will step back from his leadership role ahead of his retirement in May 2024.
Stuart Dench, managing partner, comments: 'I’m delighted to announce that Lucy Ward and Mo Bhaskaran will become Co-Heads of Commercial Litigation from 1 May 2023. The team is facing a period of generational change, and it seemed the right time to transition the department’s leadership ahead of Clive’s retirement date. Clive will remain a great partner and a friend of the firm and we look forward to marking his retirement next year.'
Lucy (pictured) joined Stewarts as an associate in 2011 from Freshfields and is based in London. She is a commercial disputes expert specialising in banking and financial services litigation and fraud. She has particular expertise advising institutional investors in complex securities litigation and high value disputes.
Lucy comments: 'I am thrilled to take on this role with Mo at an exciting time for the firm. I look forward to working with the team to build on Clive’s successes in creating a leading disputes practice for high value, complex litigation.'
Mo joined Stewarts from Pinsent Masons as a partner in 2013 and is based in Leeds. Mo acts on fraud and commercial litigation matters, specialising in large scale fraud and corruption investigations and recovery action (including working with enforcement authorities in the UK and overseas).
Mo comments: 'My ten years at Stewarts leading and building the Leeds team have been a hugely fulfilling period of my career. I’m therefore delighted to be moving into my new role, working with Lucy across the London and Leeds offices to continue Clive’s huge success over the last 14 years.'
Clive Zietman joined Stewarts in 2009 from Manches to establish the Commercial Litigation department. During this time the team has grown from seven to 56. Since joining the firm he has led on landmark cases such as the RBS shareholder litigation and the Commerzbank bonus dispute case. Clive will remain an important part of the team over the next year with a continued focus on strategic issues and case development.
Clive comments: 'It has been a great privilege for me to head the firm’s Commercial Litigation department for the past 14 years and our success, in short, has been the result of a collective effort by a fantastic team. I am hugely confident that the group will continue to go from strength to strength with a new generation of first-class leaders.'
