Melanie Ryan

In addition to her Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) work, Melanie has advised clients in investigations and proceedings involving the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Channel Islands regulators, the Treasury Select Committee, the Financial Ombudsman Service, HM Treasury, and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). She also represents clients in proceedings involving the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Melanie is the head of Morgan Lewis’s disputes and investigations practice in London, is a co-leader of the Morgan Lewis Ukraine Conflict Task Force, and is recognised as a top UK contentious regulatory, financial crime, and banking litigation lawyer by Chambers and The Legal 500.

Melanie is a fluent French speaker.

• Acting for a foreign-owned UK bank in an FCA enforcement investigation into its anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing controls
• Advising a large, non-Russian energy company with ongoing operations in Russia in connection with its compliance with western sanctions and export controls amid the conflict in Ukraine
• Advising multiple UK, EU, and US companies with Russian operations or connections on UK and EU sanctions amid the conflict in Ukraine
• Advising a global financial institution in FCA and SEC investigations arising from a complex oil financing transaction in Latin America
• Representing a financial institution in UK High Court proceedings arising from film financing investment schemes
• Acting for a foreign financial services provider in connection with a $180 million repossession dispute before the Commercial Court in London
• Acting for a foreign financial services provider in connection with an $80 million repossession dispute in Nigeria
• Advising a UK insurer in connection with a Section 166 Past Business Review required by the FCA
• Representing and advising European financial institutions in claims arising from investments in CDOs linked to the subprime and prime sectors, including acting for a large independent French asset manager in connection with a 240 million claim and a 90 million claim arising out of ISDA-governed credit default swaps referencing super-senior tranches of synthetic CDOs
• Acting for the global head of foreign exchange (FX) of a global investment bank in an internal investigation as well as FCA and SEC investigations into the FX scandal
• Acting for financial institutions in connection with multimillion-pound losses in Switzerland arising from the Madoff fraud
• Acting for a leading global provider of offshore drilling services to the energy industry in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation brought by the DOJ into activities in Nigeria, Gabon, and Cameroon
• Acting for a large independent stockbroking firm in connection with a multimillion-pound fraud perpetrated by one of its brokers
• Acting for a global financial institution in multimillion-dollar proceedings arising from the Icelandic banking crisis, including advising on related regulatory issues
• Acting for multinational petroleum and natural gas exploration companies in relation to private law, public law, and EU law issues arising from the unlawful termination of exploration licences by an EU member state
• Representing a global gasoline and biofuel transportation company in a dispute arising out of a ‘Design, Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning Contract’ for the expansion of a storage and blending terminal for gasoline and biofuels in Europe
• Acting for an independent wealth manager in professional negligence proceedings brought by high-net-worth individuals
• Acting for a large UK investment manager in an investigation brought by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Enforcement Division arising from the Pensions Review, including devising and conducting the customer redress exercise
• Acting for London Market reinsurers in connection with various claims in the Asia-Pacific region, including one of the largest civil cases ever brought in Korea ($5 billion)
• Acting for an independent wealth manager in an HMRC investigation into tax avoidance schemes
• Acting for a global investment bank in multimillion-dollar proceedings in the Bahamas arising from the collapse of the Oracle Fund
• Acting in cross-jurisdictional group action litigation in the United Kingdom involving the alleged mis-selling of investments in various geared with-profit schemes
• Acting for a senior executive of a foreign bank in an internal and FCA investigation into allegations of market abuse
• Acting for a CEO of an independent financial adviser network in enforcement proceedings brought by the FCA arising from alleged breaches of Statement of Principle 5 (management and control)
• Advising in connection with UK and US regulatory investigations into bribery and corruption issues in various countries
• Acting for a large independent stock brokerage firm in defending multiple claims arising from alleged mis-selling of portfolios of geared second-hand traded endowment policies
• Advising a national firm of independent financial advisers in an investigation brought by the FSA Enforcement Division arising from alleged widespread mis-selling of life policies
• Acting for a global energy producer and its subsidiaries in a wide range of issues and disputes arising from its downstream operations
• Acting in DIS (German Institution of Arbitration) proceedings seated in Frankfurt arising from a European Commission investigation into breaches of antitrust laws
• Acting for Lloyds of London in International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration proceedings seated in Paris brought by a large French bank