Fraudbuster moves into the City

A TOP New York lawyer who made a fortune winning compensation from brokers who cheated clients is coming to London. John Lawrence Allen recently won more than $100m (£67m) in a case where a group of Hollywood actors sued Morgan Stanley.

The man dubbed the 'fraudbuster' by his supporters is teaming up with London litigation lawyer David Wylde, 59, who is chairman of the City of London Law Society.

The duo will target brokers who work for American investment banks in London and invest in US markets for British clients.

Allen worked for ten years in the securities business after he qualified as a lawyer. But he returned to his first love, the law, where he concentrated on stockbroker and share frauds. 'I grew disenchanted with what I saw as the sales practices in the securities industries,' he said. 'It seemed as though the focus of the industry was in providing income, commissions and fees to the brokerage companies without concern as to how the investing clients were doing.'

Allen believes that there is a growing mood of dissatisfaction by investors and equal distrust in those managing their funds. 'Wall Street is going through the greatest crisis in its history. My telephone has been jumping off the hook with newly impoverished investors asking if they have a case against these brokers. I fully expect the position to be identical in the UK.'

Allen, who used to be a senior litigation partner at the London law firm Macfarlanes, agrees. 'There are many aggrieved investors out there,' he said.