Administrative and Public LawBanking and Financial Markets LitigationCivil Fraud, Asset Tracing and RecoveryCommercial LitigationCompetition LawConstruction and Engineering DisputesContentious Trusts, Estates and Private Wealth DisputesGroup Action LitigationInsolvency LitigationInsurance and Reinsurance LitigationInternational ArbitrationInvestigations and White Collar CrimeProduct LiabilityProfessional Negligence LitigationToxic Tort and ESG
Founded in 2012, Signature Litigation has grown into one of London’s pre-eminent specialist dispute resolution practices. From the outset, we set out to do things differently: a conflict-free, disputes-only platform designed to give clients the undivided focus and strategic agility that complex, high-stakes matters demand.
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Established in 2017, Signature Litigation's Gibraltar office was founded to address growing demand for specialist expertise in commercial litigation and private wealth disputes on the Rock.
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Signature Litigation AARPI houses one of France’s most enviable product liability practices, with the team also handling commercial and corporate litigation, insurance and reinsurance, toxic tort and ESG, civil fraud and asset tracing, international arbitration, administrative and public law.
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Frankfurt has emerged as one of Europe's foremost financial and commercial centres and, increasingly, as a bridge between European and Asian markets. With that growth comes an increasing demand for sophisticated dispute resolution. Signature Litigation established its Frankfurt office to meet this need, bringing our conflict-free, disputes-only platform to the German market.
FIND OUT MORE“The team display technical competence, finesse of analysis and knowledge of the insurance business.”
Chambers France 2025, Insurance
We act for our clients in respect of a wide range of business protection insurance including:
Our clients include multinational companies and major global insurance and re-insurance companies. We excel in high-value, multi-party, multi-jurisdictional, and technically complex disputes usually involving master structure policies and captives. We are equally experienced in representing our clients in litigation and in international arbitration.
We have significant experience in policy wording disputes and coverage disputes in a wide range of industry sectors including automotive, chemical, commodities, construction and infrastructure, financial services, food & facilities management, hospitality, luxury goods, manufacture, natural resources, renewable/alternative energy, and telecommunications.
Our expertise has a specific emphasis on both emerging and fast developing industries, as well as more advanced industries, and technologies where the most complex policy and coverage disputes often arise. This includes life science/biotechnology, complex and large-scale construction and infrastructure projects involving underground pipework and submerged road tunnels, and complex manufacturing projects in the energy and automotive sectors focused on the latest technological advancements and environmental efficiency.
We have also established a reputation as leading specialists in handling disputes arising out of natural disasters, major environmental incidents, global epidemics (such as COVID-19), as well as other major terrorist and other incidents (such as London Bridge terrorist attack in London in 2017, Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017, The George Lloyd riots in the US in 2020).
We are also well-known for our in-depth expertise in claims management, expert-appraisal proceedings, and industrial risk investigations.
Our forte is acting as strategic counsel to our clients throughout the entire life-span of the claims. The role of a strategic counsel is essential in multi-jurisdictional, multi-party disputes, especially when such disputes often run in parallel to other disputes involving other insurance or reinsurance companies and arising out of related insurance policies.
Emmanuèle Lutfalla is an excellent lawyer - she's highly responsive and has excellent business sense.
– Chambers France Guide 2025, Insurance
Thomas Rouhette is attentive, responsive, and knows how to provide his expertise, which is a real professional added value.
– The Legal 500 EMEA 2025 Guide, Insurance
Jan Kraayvanger acts quickly and with oversight.
– The Legal 500 EMEA Guide
Daniel Spendlove is absolutely brilliant. He is sensible but also courageous, with brilliant attention to client care.
– Chambers UK Guide 2025, Commercial and Corporate Litigation
Simon Fawell is a brilliant litigator with great analytical and legal skills, boundless enthusiasm, and a real sense for the winning points.
– The Legal 500 UK 2025 Guide, Commercial Litigation: premium
Advising a leading German insurer, covering the biggest European discount chain distributor, following the partial collapse and evacuation of a hospital and an orphanage in Turkey, arising out of the construction of a shopping centre. The value of claim was EUR 8m.
Advising a German machinery insurer following the occurrence of a nuclear accident at a French power plant. The value of claim was EUR 50m.
Representing a European chemical and engineering company, which built a chemical plant in the US under a turn-key contract, in ICC arbitration proceedings seated in London, commenced by the employer in relation to a claim valued at USD 80m and concerning an explosion at the plant caused by the failure of the emergency shut down system.
Representing several insurance companies in an insurance consortium in a EUR 270m dispute comprising two DIS arbitrations and related court proceedings. The dispute was commenced by an Asian major manufacturer of building materials and concerned a breach of warranty and indemnity related to accounting information and arising out of an acquisition of a large European plumbing fixtures manufacture.
Advising boards, executive committees and individual company officers on the D&O coverage alongside civil and criminal proceedings. The issues included the scope and boundaries of insurability.
Advising a French‑headquartered group and their boards on complex D&O coverage issues following an Australian acquisition up to USD 55m. Assessing D&O coverage under consecutive polices for a prospective claim against former and current directors and company officers arising from accounting irregularities identified post‑closing.
Representing a leading financial institution in a EUR 15m claim against its insurer relating to a fraud committed by the client's customer, an Asia-based commodity trader, in obtaining pre-shipment financing.
Advising a global reinsurer in relation to a EUR 1bn aggregate claim made by a multinational insurance company in respect of all payments made by them through various subsidiaries in Europe relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advising a Middle Eastern investment company that owns a luxury hotel labelled palace (The Savoy) in London on making a PDBI (Property Damage and Business Interruption) claim of GBP 5m following the London Bridge terrorist attacks in London in 2017.
Advising a subsidiary of a large LATAM mining company in relation to a USD 120m claim under a "Terrorism" policy following violent and property damaging public riots in New Caledonia.
Representing an investment bank in a complex and multi-faceted policy coverage insurance dispute with a major Lloyds underwriter concerning D&O and PI policies.
Representing a global insurance company in relation to a EUR 35m SPPI claim against a European construction consortium, the insured, concerning a partial collapse of a submerged road tunnel. This matter includes a strategic monitoring and advisory role in relation to related arbitration proceedings in Europe concerning claims under Property Damage Insurance and liability dispute with a subcontractor.
Advising a manufacturer of onshore wind turbines in New Caledonia and England: drafting of a transaction to allow the completion of the work, management of relations with the local labour inspectorate, setting up the modalities for the replacement of the damaged wind turbine with preservation of the existing one and impact on the initial contract. The value of the claim was GBP 10m.
Advising a leading French luxury bags manufacturer, on a EUR 20m coverage claim following the latent defect of leather skins delivered by the German and Dutch sub-contractors and involving Latvian manufacturers.
Advising a French insurer in a product dispute between the French leader in the pharmaceutical industry and its insured manufacturer of stoppers for vaccine vials. The value of claim was EUR 40m.
Representing a leading German insurer in relation to a USD 50m dispute between a leading French engineering company, the insured, and the owner of a waste treatment facility in Southern Europe concerning an explosion of an on-site gas turbine causing damage to the machinery.
Representing a global insurance company in relation to a liability claim valued at c. EUR 250m and brought by the car manufacturer concerning the alleged defect in a component forming part of a diesel emission reduction system in a car. The manufacturing chain involves complex cross-border sub-contracting arrangements.
Representing a leading French insurer, covering a French breast implants manufacturer and involving worldwide (Argentina, UK, Spain, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Italy) personal injury cases as well as class actions with the total value of claims EUR 1.2bn. Providing global strategy for the denial of cover and coordinating lawyers in multiple jurisdictions.
Advising a worldwide leading carpet manufacturer in relation to a coverage claim, denied by its environmental liability insurer, of USD 10m involving costs for the clean-up of a river in the State of New Jersey, USA.
Representing a global leading design manufacturer of underground pipelines and its insurer in a CAD 450m (c.EUR 280m) dispute with an Asian company concerning major soil pollution in North America and involving allegations of product defects and gross negligence.
Representing a global insurance company in relation to a EUR 100m claim arising out of a major fire which resulted in significant property damage. The case is of high importance to the insurance industry and involves a precedent-setting issue of self-ignition of lithium batteries.
Advising a leading European engineering company, a sub-contractor in charge of the geotechnical studies, in relation to a coverage claim in the value of EUR 15m following land subsidence in China in a shopping centre preventing access to escalators and leading to business interruption losses.
Advising a French semi-public company operating the heating network of a city located in the East of France on expert determination of the EUR 20m damage linked to the interruption in the distribution of heating fluids during construction works.
Advising a German machinery insurer following the explosion of a gas turbine at a waste treatment plant in Spain. The value of claim was EUR 50m.
Representing a global luxury brand in a EUR 30m claim in relation to business interruption and other types of losses caused by looting and destruction of the client's shops during the riots in multiple States in the US following George Floyd's death. The case involved a precedent-setting issue of interpreting the events as a single "cause" or multiple "causes" which is relevant to the liability cap.
Representing a global insurance company in relation to a multiple liability claim valued at GBP 40m against the engineering sub-contractor, the insured, in relation to the construction of a new engineering plant in Gibraltar.
Representing insurers in relation to a public and hard-fought USD 45m dispute between an Asia-based global commodities company and an African-Asian conglomerate in relation to a metal fraud. The dispute involved policy wording issues, business interruption issues and interim measures.
Advising a global insurance company in relation to a EUR 10m coverage dispute between a leading energy company, the insured, and its customers in the Middle East in relation to the supply and installation of photovoltaic panels. Parallel actions against the panels' manufacturers in Asia.
Representing the owners of a luxury yacht in a EUR 6m dispute with a leading European insurance company in a coverage dispute concerning the importance of a vessel being "in Class" at the time the insurance policy was incepted and the effect of the COVID pandemic on the classification process.
Representing a worldwide manufacturer of climbing harnesses in a USD 75m personal injury claim brought by a victim. Parallel action in relation to the client's claim under a complex insurance policy.
Representing a North American tech company, specialising in energy and water resources management, in relation to a coverage claim arising from a dispute valued in excess of EUR 100m with a European energy company concerning energy meters which allegedly did not conform to spec.
Banking and Financial Markets Litigation 
