Slaughter and May partner helping government on Covid financing makes immediate exit
Slaughter and May partner Oliver Storey has left the magic circle firm following an internal investigation by the firm.
Storey has left the firm with immediate effect and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRC) has been notified.
When a firm passes information to the SRC having completed an internal investigation, it is then the job of the watchdog to decide if a formal investigation is required, and if there has been any professional misconduct.
The now ex-Slaughter and May partner was one of the lawyers advising the government’s emergency Corporate Covid Financing Facility, which will purchase commercial paper, a debt instrument, from companies in order to boost their liquidity.
Storey worked at Slaughter and May for more than 14 years. He began as a trainee after graduating from the University of Oxford. He was a partner at the magic circle firm for about four and a half years.
Senior partner Steve Cooke said: “We expect the highest standards of behaviour from all our partners and staff. If these standards are called into question, we will not hesitate to investigate promptly and take whatever action is required.”
New partner coming to Slaughter and May
The magic circle firm will soon bring on a new partner. Gayathri Kamalanathan is currently head of group litigation and enforcement at Danske Bank in Copenhagen. She has been elected as a partner at Slaughter and May’s disputes and investigations group and is expected to join the firm in April 2021.
In her role at Danske Bank Gayathri has help to manage the bank’s response to ongoing investigations by regulators and criminal prosecutors in multiple jurisdictions including in relation to its former Estonian branch.
Prior to that she was UK head of litigation and regulatory enforcement for Deutsche Bank, managing a broad range of litigation matters and cross border regulatory investigations, including in relation to LIBOR.
Richard Swallon, who is head of Slaughter and May’s disputes and investigations group, said: “Gayathri is an absolutely fantastic hire for us at a time when we are growing our team and securing some significant victories for clients.
“Her decade of leading edge experience in senior in-house roles has given her deep knowledge of complex litigation and global regulatory and criminal enforcement action. All the partners are immensely excited to add Gayathri to our team.”