Locke Lord continues its commitment to strategically growing the Firm’s London office and team with the addition of David Savell. Savell’s focus on risk, compliance and regulatory matters adds depth to the Firm’s regulatory investigations, investment management and financial services capabilities.

Savell, who joins the Firm from K&L Gates LLP where he was a Partner, has advised both corporations and individuals on regulatory and criminal work ranging from regulatory concerns, reporting obligations, initial stages of investigations, interviews under caution and restraint proceedings to appeal and confiscation. He also has experience in a wide variety of advisory and contentious matters in the areas of sanctions, anti-money laundering and the UK Bribery Act, including advising on related compliance policies and procedures.

“David is a highly skilled and energetic lawyer with a strong reputation in the regulatory and compliance space, an increasingly important and fast-growing area in the UK,” said James Channo, Managing Partner of Locke Lord’s London office. “David’s arrival combined with the transactional and regulatory skill set of his former colleague Sean Donovan-Smith, who joined the Firm last year, will be extremely beneficial to our clients in the financial services industry.”

Savell has experience in all aspects of white collar crime defence in cases brought by the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office, the Serious Fraud Office, the Financial Services Authority and the Crown Prosecution Service, among others. Earlier in his career, he worked at the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office, handling cases involving direct taxation investigations and prosecutions.

“I’m looking forward to reuniting with Sean and having the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Firm’s collegiate group of lawyers in London and to be part of a dynamic and fast- growing London office,” said Savell.

He has regularly been rated in leading legal directories, including The Legal 500. In its 2017 edition, Savell is noted as having “a ‘stellar reputation’ for contentious work and ‘excels at leading defence teams in complex financial matters.’”