Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced today the arrival of partner Matthew Banham to the firm’s litigation department, further expanding the firm’s globally recognized white-collar and investigations practice. Banham joins Seyfarth from Dechert, where his practice focused on multi-agency and complex cross-border investigations and prosecutions with an emphasis on financial crime and contentious regulatory matters.
"There is a tremendous need right now among our clients for expertise in handling high-stakes and high-profile investigations and white-collar matters,” said Pete Talibart, Seyfarth’s London office managing partner. “Matt’s background as one of the leading investigations and white-collar lawyers in the region enhances our ability to continue to provide sophisticated counsel in this area, not just in London but globally. It fits in perfectly with our global employment law offering as we are seeing a real upturn in demand for the skillset that Matt has.”
Banham counsels and represents corporations as well as individuals and firms operating in the financial services sectors. He has extensive experience in external and internal investigations involving regulators in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He also provides regular analysis of cutting-edge and developing fields such as ESG supply chain due diligence, crypto assets, and complex AML.
“Matt has a rare combination of government enforcement and in-house experience that aligns with our strategic plan of further bolstering our already strong and extensive regulatory and investigatory practice,” said James C. McGrath, Seyfarth’s litigation department chair. “With our incumbent talent and the recent additions of Scott Morvillo, Rich Morvillo, and Ellen Murphy from Stroock, and Gary D. Friedman from Weil, we are truly building a powerhouse international practice in this area.”
Seyfarth’s multidisciplinary white-collar and investigations practice represents public and private companies, investment banking firms, banks, investment advisors, broker-dealers, hedge funds, private equity funds, accounting firms, law firms, and individuals who work for them. The group is known for its extensive experience conducting investigations and appearing before various regulatory agencies both in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Before joining Dechert, Banham served as the senior vice president of Barclays Bank’s litigation investigations and enforcement division where he advised and managed external investigations and regulatory risks for the investment bank. He also served as Case Controller at the Serious Fraud Office, where he worked and led the UK’s most complex and landmark cases including Rolls Royce, LIBOR, and Foreign Exchange benchmarks. His previous experience also includes working as counsel at the Financial Conduct Authority, where he routinely advised and managed investigations and prosecutions into allegations of insider trading, and other financial crime offenses.
“There are just a handful of firms that can operate across a broad range of enforcement agencies in the UK, US, and UAE, and Seyfarth is one of them,” said Banham. “Seyfarth has truly committed itself to investing in this rapidly growing area and I’m excited to be a part of this stellar team.”