15 years a …………………….fee-earner at CYK

CYK was founded 15 years ago at the start of the banking crisis to offer clients a top-flight alternative in the world of commercial disputes.  Our partner Lydia Danon has been with the firm from the beginning and in this article she shares a very personal perspective on the last decade and a half.

It’s January 2009, three months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. I am a junior associate arriving at the two offices we have rented from another law firm in their brand new, and very flash, Ludgate Hill office building. I am here three weeks after the official opening due to my notice period. It is chaos and CYK is very busy. I am told that I arrived at the right time, as the previous three weeks had been “actual chaos” as the phone and internet lines had been somewhat temperamental (to put it mildly). It sounded awful. What had I got myself into?

There are six of us, three partners, two associates and a secretary. To say the firm is overworked is an understatement. The interpretation of non-exclusive jurisdiction clauses is all the rage, and we are in the thick of it. On 31 July 2009, the House of Lords grants us permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, the last decision of the day and of that historic institution. The case settles. Annoyed.

In September 2009, we move to our incredibly inexpensive (thank you financial crisis) offices on Cannon Street, where we lived happily for the next 10 years. We rode out the banking litigation boom, serviced the odd minor oligarch against major oligarchs, handled the odd idiosyncratic and highly litigious billionaire, raced around the world enforcing some of the first freezing injunctions against ‘persons unknown’¸ tackled (repeatedly) a fraudster who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, embraced the Brave New World of crypto and the blockchain, advising exchanges and cyber fraud victims along the way. We took the David role in battles against Goliaths.

We lost some great people and gained some great people. I had a bit of a wobble when we reached 13 fee-earners. We were huge, we had lost our culture, we were no longer going out for impromptu dinners on a Tuesday because we could – what had CYK become?! We were suddenly “a name” and people from the likes of Latham, A&O, Clifford Chance wanted to join us. It did make recruitment easier, we were still incredibly busy and we needed the fee-earners. I easily got over it, we are now a team of 35 and growing, and we plan our team dinners in advance – it still works.

In March 2019, we moved to our fancy offices on Lombard Street and I finally got the roof terrace I always wanted. We could entertain, hold seminars for clients and contacts, the world was our oyster. COVID was a curve ball, and our shiny new premises lay virtually empty for 18 months while we battled through. We encouraged associates back to work as soon as we could, we needed to get back that CYK spirit. It took a bit of time, but we got there, laughter fills the corridors once again.

We still attract large and high-profile cases. I act for two Defendants on the Magomedov (and Ors) v TPG (and Ors) in which the Claimants seek US$14bn. Sam Roberts (another CYK lifer) acted for two Defendants on the now collapsed Tulip Trading case. Sinead O’Callaghan (who outrageously worked at two other firms before joining us on our one-year anniversary) adeptly steers the ship as our Managing Partner, a thankless task which she handles with aplomb.

I always tell people I lucked out when I joined CYK, and it is true. It could have been a disaster, there were very few credible boutique disputes firms at the time, and it could have ended very differently. But the founding partners were excellent lawyers with a great client base. They also led from the top, and what could have been a highly stressful environment was frankly very enjoyable (and still is). They were fair, reasonable, encouraging, great teachers and above all, good people. I think I can safely say this is the same for the new generation here at CYK.

I don’t know where the next 15 years will take us. I would be happy with more of the same, to see the firm grow, for our talented associates to become our partners and for CYK to remain in the legal lexicon for many years to come.