The Clifford Chance partner who acted for UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch in defeating US fraud charges earlier this summer is missing along with his client following the sinking of the sailing yacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily yesterday. According to the magic circle firm, Christopher J Morvillo, a former assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York, specialises in representing corporate and individual clients in white-collar government investigations.
In June this year, Lynch was cleared by a federal jury in California of criminal charges relating to the $11bn sale of his software startup Autonomy to US-based Hewlett-Packard. His acquittal of US criminal charges followed an English High Court ruling in 2022 that Lynch and another Autonomy executive had fraudulently inflated the company’s revenue ahead of the acquisition.
Bayesian sank yesterday morning while at anchor off the coast of Sicily. Of the 22 people on board, 15 were rescued. They are reported to include Clifford Chance associate Ayla Ronald. One body has so far been found while six people are missing.
Morvillo, who became a Clifford Chance partner in 2011, had a high-profile role in prosecutions and investigations, including those arising from the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. He led the legal team which succeeded in clearing Lynch of securities and wire fraud. On the witness stand in California, Lynch denied the allegations against him, asserting that the US$8.8 billion write-down HP took the year after the Autonomy acquisition was the company’s own fault.
Following the acquittal, Morvillo said: ‘We are thrilled with the jury’s verdict, which reflects a resounding rejection of the government’s profound overreach in this case. The evidence presented at trial demonstrated conclusively that Mike Lynch is innocent. This verdict closes the book on a relentless 13-year effort to pin HP’s well-documented ineptitude on Dr Lynch. Thankfully, the truth has finally prevailed. We thank Dr Lynch for his trust throughout this ordeal and hope that he can now return home to England to resume his life and continue innovating.’
A Clifford Chance spokesperson said: ‘We are in shock and deeply saddened by this tragic incident. Our thoughts are with our partner, Christopher Morvillo, and his wife Neda who are among the missing. Our utmost priority is providing support to the family as well as our colleague Ayla Ronald, who together with her partner, thankfully survived the incident. Our thoughts extend to the other passengers and crew and all those affected. We have no further comment at this time. We, and the families, ask that their request for privacy is honored during this period.’
Irish-born Lynch has been a key figure in the AI sector. Among the ventures in which he has invested is the UK-based legal AI pioneer Luminance, whose software is used by 700 organisations worldwide including one quarter of the top-100 law firms.
