Asees Johar

Asees is a Senior Associate in Signature’s London office, specialising in commercial litigation.

Asees has more than six years’ experience advising on all stages of high-value, cross-border commercial litigation, from pre-action through to trial and enforcement proceedings. She has a broad range of litigation experience, with a particular focus on group actions, civil fraud claims, asset tracing investigations, and general commercial and banking litigation.

She has recently been involved in representing clients in multifaceted, large-scale group actions in the banking and financial services industries. Her experience in multi-party disputes is predominantly focussed on investor/claimant-side work, seeking collective redress for investors from major financial institutions.

She additionally has a strong track record of working on high-value civil fraud matters, as well as complex global asset tracing and recovery investigations, for which her cases have spanned multiple jurisdictions including Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well as a number of sectors including the financial, pharmaceutical and media sectors. Asees also has substantial expertise in various contractual, tortious and director liability claims, both in the English courts and offshore.

While she has decided to specialise in litigation, she has significant commercial arbitration experience in both London and Dubai, and has represented clients in arbitrations conducted pursuant to the rules of the LCIA and DIFC-LCIA, as well as ad hoc arbitrations.

She primarily acts for major corporates, institutional claimants and high-net-worth individuals but has experience working on all types of commercial litigation and arbitration for a range of clients across the corporate, pharmaceutical, energy and construction sectors, amongst others. Asees has had significant involvement in Middle Eastern disputes, including clients and matters across the region, having previously worked in the UAE.

In addition to her practice as Senior Associate, Asees is a member of CORLA, LSLA, and the Female Fraud Forum, and takes an active interest in pro bono work, having volunteered at the Southwark Citizens Advice Bureau and having worked on projects for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Labour Organisation.

Asees trained at international law firm DLA Piper in London and qualified in 2018 before joining DLA Piper’s Litigation, Arbitration and Investigations team in Dubai where she had previously been seconded.

Asees was admitted as a solicitor by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in September 2018.

Asees is a native English speaker and also speaks Punjabi at an intermediate level.

Banking and Financial Markets Litigation

Representing over 200 institutional claimants with respect to over 1,000 different funds/portfolios in a c. GBP 1.5bn group action claim against Standard Chartered involving allegations of untrue or misleading statements and omissions in information published by the Defendant to the market giving rise to claims under s90 and s90A Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Commercial Litigation

Representing ultra HNW individuals in high-profile USD 1.5bn High Court proceedings against the estate of a late oligarch and associated entities concerning a partnership dispute. The case involved allegations of multi-jurisdictional fraud, complex offshore asset ownership structures and parallel court proceedings globally.
Representing Société Générale, a global investment bank, in the English Court defending declaratory proceedings brought by Clifford Chance following Société Générale’s EUR 500 professional negligence claim for alleged mishandling of a dispute with Turkish jewellers, Goldas Kuyumculuk Sanayi Ithalat Ihracat AS, and other companies in the same group.
Representing a large group of retail investors in a ground-breaking piece of international investment litigation. It concerned breach of contract and misrepresentation claims against major life insurance companies to recover losses in excess of GBP 100m suffered from failed investment bonds. The proceedings in the Isle of Man are ongoing and are the first of their kind in that jurisdiction.
Representing former shareholders of a European fin tech company in a multi-hundred-million dispute against its former director and a major US crypto-payments company arising from the alleged misappropriation of proprietary blockchain technology.
Representing partners in a UK private equity firm, along with associated global entities, in a Commercial Court claim alleging diversion of the business opportunity to conduct an asset recovery process on behalf of the Family and Estate of the late Badri Patarkatsishvili, a Georgian billionaire. The claim is valued in excess of USD 100m.
Representing major international consumer products company in the successful defence in the Court of Appeal of a high profile class action relating to alleged liability arising from an armed invasion of the property of an African subsidiary company.
Advising on USD multimillion claims arising out of alleged breaches of directors’ duties by former board members of Cayman-incorporated, listed oil and gas company, in relation to a D&O insurance policy.
Advising on a GBP 50m claim arising out of various breaches of fiduciary and directors’ duties.

International Arbitration: Commercial Arbitration

Representing a FTSE 100 main contractor on a USD 200m, DIFC-seated construction arbitration under the DIFC-LCIA Rules.
Representing a US Fortune 500 contractor in an ICC arbitration concerning numerous claims valued at USD 200m, relating to an international airport in the Middle East.

Professional Negligence Litigation

Representing multinational bank in high-profile professional negligence claim worth USD 140m involving major international law firm, giving rise to proceedings in both the English Commercial Court and Paris Civil Court. Working on jurisdictional challenge before both the English High Court and Court of Appeal.

Civil Fraud and Asset Tracing

Representing and obtaining favourable settlement for major US multinational media company following investigation into a systemic and long-running fraud perpetrated across various European jurisdictions by an IP holder.
Advising a Middle Eastern client on a USD 220m alleged fraud conducted by officials of a major international bank and spanning multiple jurisdictions across Asia and the Middle East.
Advising a Saudi-based global pharmaceutical company in relation to a wide-ranging fraud investigation across numerous jurisdictions in the Middle East.

Article: Legal advice privilege and intra-client documents: widening the scope – Thomson Reuters PLC Magazine – 30 April 2026

Article: What lurks beneath the surface of Barclays’ dark pool? – Financier Worldwide – 28 April 2022