Member Profiles

Hamraj acts for corporate and individual clients in investigations brought by the major UK law enforcement agencies including the SFO, HMRC, FCA, NCA, CMA, CPS, BEIS, ICO, Trading Standards and a wide range of regulatory bodies. He has particular expertise in HMRC investigations and prosecutions including MTIC & VAT fraud, money laundering, tax & duty evasion and regularly conducts cases throughout the country. There are few solicitors nationally who can match Hamraj’s experience of complex multi-million pounds MTIC and VAT fraud cases as he acted in many such cases in his career. He has considerable expertise in the areas of money laundering, bribery & corruption and insider dealing, having been instructed by a number of PLCs and senior company executives on such matters. The work is often complex, multi-jurisdictional and necessitates overseas travel which has led to Hamraj working in numerous overseas jurisdictions. Hamraj advises corporate and individual clients both during and in the immediate aftermath of a dawn raid when quick, effective and incisive advice is required to protect the legal rights and reputation of the client. He has considerable experience of representing clients in interviews with all the leading law enforcement agencies including the SFO, HMRC and the NCA. He is admired for his novel tactical thinking and possesses a proven track record of guiding clients to a successful conclusion in many difficult and demanding cases. As a result of working on high profile and complex fraud cases, Hamraj’s client base is both national and international ranging from publicly listed companies to individual clients. Due to his expertise and experience in international financial crime investigations, Hamraj is also instructed in complex extradition cases often with a financial crime background involving allegations such as money laundering, wire fraud, bribery and corruption. He accepts instructions involving all jurisdictions but most notably the USA, Russia, CIS countries, India, Pakistan, Africa, the Caribbean, South America and the Far East. Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery In addition to criminal fraud, Hamraj advises in relation to civil fraud matters acting for both claimants and defendants. His clients range from large corporations to private individuals with the work often including early action and interim reliefs.  The areas of work include: Cryptocurrency disputes The conduct of internal investigations on behalf of corporate clients Obtaining and responding to freezing orders Obtaining and responding to search orders Norwich Pharmacal orders Receivership orders The civil fraud and asset recovery High Court litigation for claimants and defendants includes allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary and directors’ duties, unjust enrichment, unlawful means conspiracy, bribery, deceit, carousel/MTIC fraud, boiler room fraud and bogus investment schemes. Civil Recovery | POCA Hamraj is recognised by Chambers UK as a leading lawyer in the area of proceeds of crime and asset forfeiture, being one of only six solicitors ranked in Band 1 in the country. His work includes civil recovery proceedings under Part 5 of POCA such as Property Freezing Orders, Civil Recovery Orders and Account Freezing Orders. Hamraj is also able to advise in relation to Interim Freezing Orders and Unexplained Wealth Orders. HMRC Tax Investigations | Tax Tribunals There is often a considerable overlap between criminal and civil fraud proceedings and HMRC civil tax investigations. Hamraj regularly advises both corporate and individual clients in relation to HMRC civil tax investigations, VAT Assessments including Kittel Assessments as well as COP8 & COP9 investigations. The work includes representation before the First-tier Tax Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal in relation to VAT Assessments, Kittel VAT Notices, Direct Tax Appeals, Personal Liability Notices, Condemnation Proceedings and Excise Duty matters. Disciplinary | Regulatory | Sports Work Hamraj has represented a number of professionals facing criminal and regulatory allegations including accountants and other financial professionals, solicitors, doctors, dentists and pharmacists. He has developed an excellent understanding of the regulatory framework and codes of professional conduct governing the professions. In recent years, Hamraj has successfully represented a number of solicitors in serious criminal fraud prosecutions and achieved their acquittal which has resulted in a successful outcome in associated SRA disciplinary proceedings. Hamraj has represented many individuals from the sporting world (mainly football, cricket, horse racing and boxing) and is regularly instructed by a number of Premier League and Championship Football Clubs. Serious Criminal Work Hamraj also undertakes serious criminal work such as historic sexual allegations, murder, corporate manslaughter, drugs offences and serious driving offences, having acted in many high-profile cases of this nature. Clients include football clubs, members of the professions, company executives and public figures from the world of entertainment, politics, media and sport. Hamraj places the issues of confidentiality, privacy and reputation management at the forefront of his strategy when conducting cases. Matters are dealt with the utmost sensitivity and complete discretion. He always adopts a strong and proactive approach to investigations with the overriding objective to bring each matter to a successful and swift conclusion, and where possible, to avoid court proceedings and any adverse publicity for his client.

His specialist subject is crisis management, specifically dealing with the media and handling regulators following serious incidents. He works across the Construction/Infrastructure, Insurance, Road haulage, Food, Oil and Gas sectors providing expertise in health and safety regulation as well as compliance training and audits. Steffan has been at DWF for 14 years and works on a national basis. In his role as Head of Regulatory he leads the firm's Crisis Response Service, which is designed to provide clients with a legal service incorporating media advice and employee well-being. This aims to protect clients' reputations when they are in the middle of a crisis situation. He is commended in the Legal 500 directory and in Chambers and Partners (2012) as 'Best in UK'. Chambers also states that I have an "exceptional legal mind," while maintaining a "calm and understated manner." He chairs the UK Health and Safety Lawyers Association which results in my being asked to attend Select committee hearing, speak at national conferences and liaise with governmental advisors on policy development. Steffan has worked on many ground breaking precedent setting cases, in particular R v HTM, R v Porter and R v Lion Steel. As well as trying to look after his clients to the very best of his ability, Steffan also enjoys cycling and horse riding, recently trying his hand at polo and drag hunting!

Kate has advised and represented a large cross section of the alternative asset management  community over the past 21 years, since founding Oesa in 2002. She has also been engaged as a legal and regulatory consultant by Ernst and Young, as well as by large pension funds, a well-known charitable trust, industrial corporates and proprietary trading houses, all of whom required specialist legal advice in relation to their trading and derivative documentation. Kate qualified as a barrister but decided to pursue a career in the City as a sales and trading lawyer specialising in derivatives, prime brokerage and complex structured products.  She gained invaluable experience in-house at several large financial institutions during the innovative period of the 1990’s  including Daiwa Securities, Salomon Brothers (now Citi) and then Goldman Sachs, where she headed up the Prime Brokerage and the European capital markets legal teams that encompassed all the derivative trading activity for EMEA & Hong Kong. Kate’s advice at all of these institutions was integral to the development of a vast array of new innovative financial products.  In addition, she contributed to the many industry initiatives to standardise documentation and product definitions, including the ISDA Master Agreement and CSA/CSD, Master Confirmations, FOA ETD agreements, and the GMRA. Prior to setting up Oesa, Kate was a consultant to the then FSA and was one of the original authors of the Market Abuse Code and the Wholesale Money Markets Code of Conduct.   Kate’s wealth of experience is unmatched today in the alternative asset manager space.  

Sherina Petit is an international arbitration lawyer based in London, and leads the practice across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. She also heads the firm's India practice. Besides arbitration, she has significant experience in investor state disputes resolution, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and litigation. In addition to acting as counsel in arbitrations, she regularly sits as an arbitrator. Sherina has a wide range of experience in all key aspects of international arbitration, particularly relating to India, across a broad range of industries including energy, construction, oil and gas, trade, transport, pharmaceuticals, commodities, finance and technology. She represents clients across the globe in a wide variety of commercial and investment arbitration proceedings and has had numerous successes both in terms of settlement (including through ADR) and Arbitration Awards in her clients' favour. These include arbitrations before all major arbitral institutions including the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) as well as in ad hoc proceedings. Sherina comes from a wide international background, having practiced across multiple jurisdictions. She qualified as an Advocate in India whilst working at a leading law firm in Mumbai (now non-practicing). She obtained her England and Wales qualification whilst training at a global firm in London and subsequently spent six years as an associate in the international arbitration team at another global firm in London before joining us in 2009. Professional experience Admissions King's College London Master of Law (LLM) Solicitor, qualified in England & Wales Advocate, qualified in India (non practicing) Representative experience Sherina has had numerous successes in arbitrations that she has handled both in terms of settlement (including through ADR) and Arbitration Awards in her clients' favour, notably: An Indian engineering company which specialises in the manufacturing of high chromium wear, corrosion and abrasion resistant castings used in the cement, mining and thermal power generation industries - against its majority shareholder.(ICC, Indian Law, London seat) A Middle Eastern satellite operator - in a dispute with a Canadian telecommunications provider concerning a transponder rights agreement. (ICC, English law, London seat). An Indian airline - in relation to a multi billion dollar dispute between various shareholders concerning alleged breaches of a shareholders agreement. (LCIA, Indian law, New Delhi seat). An Indian multinational oil and gas company and its international subsidiary - in three oil and gas related arbitrations against of an African state (UNCITRAL, Sudanese law, London and Dubai seats). Rankings and recognitions Awards Sherina has received multiple awards, the most recent include: Recognised as one of ten global "Power Players International Arbitration" - "Distinguished Advisers" by Financier Worldwide 2022; Recognised as a "Global Leader" by Who's Who Legal Arbitration 2022; Acritas Star for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Acritas says that in their global research of senior in-house counsel, one or more of her clients has independently nominated her to be one of the most outstanding lawyers they have worked with. Another large Indian Pharmaceutical client described Sherina as a "star performer"; Leading Individual from England in the Who's Who Legal: Arbitration 2019, 2020 and 2021 being described as "a stand out name in the international arbitration space"; India Business Law Journal's A-list for 2019, 2020 and 2021 of the Top international lawyers for India related work; "Dispute Resolution Star" for 2019 and "Litigation Star" for 2020 and 2022 by Benchmark Litigation Europe; Featured in the 5th annual Global Business Edition of The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom, 2020 and 10th Edition for International Arbitration, 2021 and 2022; Featured in the Euromoney's Commercial Arbitration Expert Guide, 2021; Featured in the Euromoney's Women in Business Law Expert Guide, 2021 and 2020 where she is nominated by her peers as "one of the top Commercial arbitration practitioners in the UK"; Featured in the Lawdragon 500 Global Litigation Lawyers guide, 2021; Professional Adviser Award at The Indian Awards 2019, by the India Business Group at the House of Commons; Legal 500's inaugural International Arbitration Powerlist for the United Kingdom; Expert in Expert Guides' 2018 edition of the Commercial Arbitration Guide as "one of the world's leading practitioners in this field"; Client Choice Awards for the UK in the Arbitration & ADR category in 2017 and 2018 (as voted for by corporate counsel); Who's Who Future Leaders in Arbitration for both 2017 and 2018, noting her as "a prominent name in the arbitration market ... widely endorsed for her extensive experience in energy and infrastructure disputes"; Corporate International Magazine Global Award for the "India Arbitration Lawyer of the Year in England" in 2017; LMG Rising Stars as a "Rising Star for International Arbitration" in 2015 and 2016 which described her as "a key figure in developing the firm's India practice" and "a complete dynamo"; Legal Week's 2016 feature, "Rising stars: the new generation of litigators making their mark". Directories Sherina is ranked in several leading directories including: Legal 500 UK 2022 as a "Leading Individual" in International Arbitration. Testimonials stated that "Sherina Petit is a brilliant lawyer and I have worked with her on many occasions – very robust drafting of disputes documents and she is very thorough in her work" and that she "has a deep and insightful understanding of what her client needs; she provides clearheaded, no-nonsense and sensible advice to clients, while helping them navigate the unfamiliar territory of international arbitration." Band 1 in Chambers and Partners Asia Pacific, Dispute Resolution: International Firms - India 2020, 2021 and 2022. Testimonials state that "London-based Sherina Petit advises clients on a range of disputes matters, with expertise in handling both arbitration and litigation cases." A client notes: "Given her Indian background, Sherina can naturally connect with the Indian business mindset, understand cultural sensitivities and fully appreciate the market dynamics. I would recommend Sherina for her diligent and meticulous work." "She's one of the best arbitration lawyers I've ever come across; she knows her stuff and is very astute; she'll tell you when not to take things to court, which I found refreshing, and was taken aback with her candidness on defects in the case; hands down, I'd close my eyes and give every matter to her." Chambers and Partners Global 2021: "Sherina Petit maintains her position at the forefront of complex Indiarelated arbitrations. She is sought after for her multi-jurisdictional expertise and knowledge of ICC and LCIA procedure. She is also adept at handling significant BIT claims." "Sherina is absolutely superb and a preeminent India specialist." "She is a very client-friendly lawyer and would do anything and everything to make sure any deadlines are met." Publications Sherina is a published writer and speaker on international arbitration. She has co-authored chapters of numerous books including: "Arbitration in England" edited by Julian Lew QC; "Enforcing Arbitral Awards in India" edited by Nakul Dewan; "The Guide to Challenging and Enforcing Arbitration Awards" (two editions) edited by J Willian Rowley QC, Emmanual Gaillard and Gordon E Kaiser; "Commercial Arbitration, International Trends and Practices" edited by Chirag Balyan and Yahraj Samant; and "Arbitration in India" edited by Fali Nariman, Martn Hunter, Dushyant Dave and Marike Paulsson. ​Memberships and activities LCIA (board member) ICC Indian Arbitration Group (board member) SIAC Users Counsel (board member) European Federation of Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA) (Executive board member) School of International Arbitration of the Queen Mary University of London (Advisory council member) Steering Committee of the Pledge for Equal Representation for Women and the Chair of the India Pledge Committee (Committee member) Sherina also acts as a mentor for law students including being part of the inaugural programme for mentorship of the Mumbai International Arbitration Centre (MCIA), the mentorship programme of the School of International Arbitration of the Queen Mary University of London and the Institute of Transnational Arbitration (ITA) at the Centre for American and International Law.

Sherina Petit is an international arbitration lawyer based in London, and leads the practice across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. She also heads the firm's India practice. Besides arbitration, she has significant experience in investor state disputes resolution, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and litigation. In addition to acting as counsel in arbitrations, she regularly sits as an arbitrator. Sherina has a wide range of experience in all key aspects of international arbitration, particularly relating to India, across a broad range of industries including energy, construction, oil and gas, trade, transport, pharmaceuticals, commodities, finance and technology. She represents clients across the globe in a wide variety of commercial and investment arbitration proceedings and has had numerous successes both in terms of settlement (including through ADR) and Arbitration Awards in her clients' favour. These include arbitrations before all major arbitral institutions including the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) as well as in ad hoc proceedings. Sherina comes from a wide international background, having practiced across multiple jurisdictions. She qualified as an Advocate in India whilst working at a leading law firm in Mumbai (now non-practicing). She obtained her England and Wales qualification whilst training at a global firm in London and subsequently spent six years as an associate in the international arbitration team at another global firm in London before joining us in 2009. Professional experience Admissions King's College London Master of Law (LLM) Solicitor, qualified in England & Wales Advocate, qualified in India (non practicing) Representative experience Sherina has had numerous successes in arbitrations that she has handled both in terms of settlement (including through ADR) and Arbitration Awards in her clients' favour, notably: An Indian engineering company which specialises in the manufacturing of high chromium wear, corrosion and abrasion resistant castings used in the cement, mining and thermal power generation industries - against its majority shareholder.(ICC, Indian Law, London seat) A Middle Eastern satellite operator - in a dispute with a Canadian telecommunications provider concerning a transponder rights agreement. (ICC, English law, London seat). An Indian airline - in relation to a multi billion dollar dispute between various shareholders concerning alleged breaches of a shareholders agreement. (LCIA, Indian law, New Delhi seat). An Indian multinational oil and gas company and its international subsidiary - in three oil and gas related arbitrations against of an African state (UNCITRAL, Sudanese law, London and Dubai seats). Rankings and recognitions Awards Sherina has received multiple awards, the most recent include: Recognised as one of ten global "Power Players International Arbitration" - "Distinguished Advisers" by Financier Worldwide 2022; Recognised as a "Global Leader" by Who's Who Legal Arbitration 2022; Acritas Star for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Acritas says that in their global research of senior in-house counsel, one or more of her clients has independently nominated her to be one of the most outstanding lawyers they have worked with. Another large Indian Pharmaceutical client described Sherina as a "star performer"; Leading Individual from England in the Who's Who Legal: Arbitration 2019, 2020 and 2021 being described as "a stand out name in the international arbitration space"; India Business Law Journal's A-list for 2019, 2020 and 2021 of the Top international lawyers for India related work; "Dispute Resolution Star" for 2019 and "Litigation Star" for 2020 and 2022 by Benchmark Litigation Europe; Featured in the 5th annual Global Business Edition of The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom, 2020 and 10th Edition for International Arbitration, 2021 and 2022; Featured in the Euromoney's Commercial Arbitration Expert Guide, 2021; Featured in the Euromoney's Women in Business Law Expert Guide, 2021 and 2020 where she is nominated by her peers as "one of the top Commercial arbitration practitioners in the UK"; Featured in the Lawdragon 500 Global Litigation Lawyers guide, 2021; Professional Adviser Award at The Indian Awards 2019, by the India Business Group at the House of Commons; Legal 500's inaugural International Arbitration Powerlist for the United Kingdom; Expert in Expert Guides' 2018 edition of the Commercial Arbitration Guide as "one of the world's leading practitioners in this field"; Client Choice Awards for the UK in the Arbitration & ADR category in 2017 and 2018 (as voted for by corporate counsel); Who's Who Future Leaders in Arbitration for both 2017 and 2018, noting her as "a prominent name in the arbitration market ... widely endorsed for her extensive experience in energy and infrastructure disputes"; Corporate International Magazine Global Award for the "India Arbitration Lawyer of the Year in England" in 2017; LMG Rising Stars as a "Rising Star for International Arbitration" in 2015 and 2016 which described her as "a key figure in developing the firm's India practice" and "a complete dynamo"; Legal Week's 2016 feature, "Rising stars: the new generation of litigators making their mark". Directories Sherina is ranked in several leading directories including: Legal 500 UK 2022 as a "Leading Individual" in International Arbitration. Testimonials stated that "Sherina Petit is a brilliant lawyer and I have worked with her on many occasions – very robust drafting of disputes documents and she is very thorough in her work" and that she "has a deep and insightful understanding of what her client needs; she provides clearheaded, no-nonsense and sensible advice to clients, while helping them navigate the unfamiliar territory of international arbitration." Band 1 in Chambers and Partners Asia Pacific, Dispute Resolution: International Firms - India 2020, 2021 and 2022. Testimonials state that "London-based Sherina Petit advises clients on a range of disputes matters, with expertise in handling both arbitration and litigation cases." A client notes: "Given her Indian background, Sherina can naturally connect with the Indian business mindset, understand cultural sensitivities and fully appreciate the market dynamics. I would recommend Sherina for her diligent and meticulous work." "She's one of the best arbitration lawyers I've ever come across; she knows her stuff and is very astute; she'll tell you when not to take things to court, which I found refreshing, and was taken aback with her candidness on defects in the case; hands down, I'd close my eyes and give every matter to her." Chambers and Partners Global 2021: "Sherina Petit maintains her position at the forefront of complex Indiarelated arbitrations. She is sought after for her multi-jurisdictional expertise and knowledge of ICC and LCIA procedure. She is also adept at handling significant BIT claims." "Sherina is absolutely superb and a preeminent India specialist." "She is a very client-friendly lawyer and would do anything and everything to make sure any deadlines are met." Publications Sherina is a published writer and speaker on international arbitration. She has co-authored chapters of numerous books including: "Arbitration in England" edited by Julian Lew QC; "Enforcing Arbitral Awards in India" edited by Nakul Dewan; "The Guide to Challenging and Enforcing Arbitration Awards" (two editions) edited by J Willian Rowley QC, Emmanual Gaillard and Gordon E Kaiser; "Commercial Arbitration, International Trends and Practices" edited by Chirag Balyan and Yahraj Samant; and "Arbitration in India" edited by Fali Nariman, Martn Hunter, Dushyant Dave and Marike Paulsson. ​Memberships and activities LCIA (board member) ICC Indian Arbitration Group (board member) SIAC Users Counsel (board member) European Federation of Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA) (Executive board member) School of International Arbitration of the Queen Mary University of London (Advisory council member) Steering Committee of the Pledge for Equal Representation for Women and the Chair of the India Pledge Committee (Committee member) Sherina also acts as a mentor for law students including being part of the inaugural programme for mentorship of the Mumbai International Arbitration Centre (MCIA), the mentorship programme of the School of International Arbitration of the Queen Mary University of London and the Institute of Transnational Arbitration (ITA) at the Centre for American and International Law.