Nathaniel Bird

Nathaniel is an established and in-demand junior for heavyweight commercial litigation, banking & finance disputes and civil fraud claims. He is regularly instructed in complex and high-value matters, and has significant experience of both High Court litigation and arbitral proceedings.

Recent experience includes:

Acting for Ukrainian businessman Gennadiy Bogolyubov defending a USD 1.9 billion fraud claim brought by JSC Commercial Bank PrivatBank at trial over 13-weeks in the Chancery Division. The case was named by The Lawyer as one of its Top 20 cases of 2022. Successfully defending Mr Bogolyubov against a USD 300 fraud claim brought by Russian oil company PJSC Tatneft in a twelve-week Commercial Court trial. Defending a multi-billion dollar claim arising out of the Malaysian 1MDB scandal in parallel Commercial Court proceedings and a LCIA arbitration. Representing Dubai Islamic Bank in a significant dispute with the administrators of the NMC Group in parallel proceedings in the Abu Dhabi Global Market Court and an LCIA arbitration. Acting for litigation funder Vannin in a claim against the RBOS Shareholders Action Group (one of The Lawyer’s Top Cases of 2020).

Notable past instructions include representing Citibank in the successful defence of a £2.3bn fraud claim brought by the Terra Firma private equity fund (one of The Lawyer’s Top Cases of 2016) and acting for Société Générale defending claims that high-value investments were procured by bribery in Libya (one of The Lawyer’s Top Cases of 2017). In 2018 he was named as one of The Lawyer’s ‘Hot 100’.

London School of Economics and Political Science (LLB 2009)

Hughs Hall, University of Cambridge (LLM 2010)

Mansfield College, University of Oxford (BCL 2011).