About
Sarah is Global Head of Freshfields’ Dispute Resolution practice having previously led the Dispute Resolution practice in London.
Sarah is a market leading lawyer in financial services litigation and complex cross-border investigations, known for her strategic approach and deep expertise in navigating high-stakes disputes. Clients repeatedly turn to her as their trusted advisor, relying on her insight and judgement to guide them through their most challenging contentious and regulatory matters.
Sarah was seconded to a major investment bank, where she was responsible for managing their EMEA litigation and contentious regulatory matters. This experience gave her first-hand insight into the commercial and strategic pressures facing financial institutions, enhancing her ability to provide pragmatic and business-focused advice.
In 2023 she was named by the Lawyer Magazine as one of the “Hot 100” lawyers.
Her experience includes advising:
- Indivior plc in a claim brought under sections 90/90A and schedule 10/10A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;
- dfcu Bank Limited and dfcu Limited in defending a claim of unlawful means conspiracy brought in the English courts;
- P.Morgan Chase on significant litigation arising from allegedly fraudulent payments made from an account held by the bank;
- a global investment bank in relation to a collection of regulatory and criminal investigations into allegations of a conspiracy among the world's largest banks to manipulate the setting of the LIBOR and other leading benchmark interest rates;
- UBS in relation to a claim brought against SoftBank and the liquidators of Greensill Ltd arising out of the collapse of the Greensill group;
- Nomura International Plc in relation to claims arising out of derivative contracts with Italian public authorities; and
- in relation to disciplinary and enforcement (and related) proceedings brought by the ICAEW and the FRC (and its predecessor bodies) concerning corporate governance, audit, corporate finance and insolvency matters.
Sarah Parkes
100 Bishopsgate