Mr Damien Byrne Hill > Herbert Smith Freehills LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP Offices
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PRIMROSE STREET
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EC2A 2EG
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Mr Damien Byrne Hill
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Work Department
Dispute Resolution
Position
Career
Based in London, Damien helps banking sector clients resolve or navigate major disputes. Damien led our multi-award winning global disputes practice from 2018 to 2023 and is now co-head of the firm’s crisis management practice.
Damien specialises in providing advice on high-value, contentious issues facing domestic and international banks, investment funds, private equity houses and other financial institutions. These include disputes about corporate finance transactions, investment advice, fund management, securities trading, project finance, private equity investment, enforcement of security and structured finance.
He has helped clients with company and commercial disputes in London and Asia across a wide range of industries, in both High Court litigation and international arbitration.
Damien is ranked in the Hall of Fame in Legal 500 UK 2024 for Commercial Litigation: Premium and Banking Litigation: Investment and Retail. Damien was named as the Dispute Resolution Individual of the Year (London) in the Legal 500 UK 2019 awards.
Education
Damien has an M.A. in history from Cambridge and qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales (1993) and Hong Kong (1998).
Damien trained with Herbert Smith in London and spent five years in the firm’s Hong Kong office in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. He was promoted to partner in 2000.
Lawyer Rankings
London > Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
(Hall of Fame)The team at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP is the ‘top choice for litigation of significant value, strategic importance or complexity’, covering the whole gamut from general commercial disputes to more specialist areas, including insurance disputes, with a dedicated international arbitration practice. The firm is particularly well placed to see clients through the energy transition, and provides a comprehensive service for its clients through alternative legal services businesses within the firm’s international offices. Paul Lewis, previously the head of the insurance disputes practice at the firm, has recently replaced Damien Byrne Hill
as managing partner of the disputes practice, with the latter returning to full-time practice. Alan Watts
is another key name at leadership level, acting as the head of both global class actions, and UK commercial litigation. The ‘excellent technical knowledge’ of the team is thanks in part to dual-qualified Julian Copeman, Natasha Johnson, Andrew Cooke, and solicitor advocate Rachel Lidgate. Of counsel Catherine Emanuel is another key figure in the team, with specific expertise in class actions.
London > Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
(Hall of Fame)Herbert Smith Freehills LLP is the ‘leader of the pack in commercial litigation’ with wide ranging experience defending securities class actions and related group claims, advising leading domestic and international banks. Rupert Lewis is ‘strategically aware and client-friendly‘, and sits at the helm of the team, with a practice regularly acting for banks and financial institutions in high-profile, complex disputes. Damien Byrne Hill
, global co-head of dispute resolution at the firm, also regularly acts for major financial institutions, alongside ‘excellent litigator’ Chris Bushell and Simon Clarke who has a ‘encyclopedic knowledge of banking law‘. Nic Patmore is another name to note.
Lawyer Rankings
- Banking litigation: investment and retail London > Dispute resolution
- Commercial litigation: premium London > Dispute resolution
- Hall of Fame London > Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Hall of Fame London > Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Public sector > Administrative and public law
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Real estate > Commercial property: corporate occupiers
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Real estate > Commercial property: investment
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Risk advisory > Corporate governance
- Industry focus > Emerging markets
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- Employment > Employers
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition: trade, WTO anti-dumping and customs
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: Project finance and development
- Insurance > Insurance litigation: for policyholders
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Investment fund formation and management > Listed funds
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Mining and minerals
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Oil and gas
- Corporate and commercial > Partnership
- Real estate > Planning
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Power (including electricity, nuclear and renewables)
- Insurance > Product liability: defendant
- Insurance > Professional negligence
- Transport > Rail
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- Dispute resolution > Tax litigation and investigations
- Industry focus > TMT
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Water
Firm Rankings
- Transport > Aviation
- Finance > Bank lending: investment grade debt and syndicated loans
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Finance > Debt capital markets
- Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – mid-large cap
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Fintech
- Employment > Health and safety
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: M&A and acquisition financing
- Insurance > Insurance and reinsurance litigation
- Insurance > Insurance: corporate and regulatory
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
- Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Upper Mid-Market And Premium Deals, £750m+
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Advertising & marketing
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Digital content & social
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Film & TV
- Employment > Pensions (non-contentious)
- Employment > Pensions: dispute resolution
- Dispute resolution > Professional discipline
- Real estate > Property finance
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Dispute resolution > Public international law
- Finance > Securitisation
- Corporate and commercial > VAT and indirect tax
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- Finance > Derivatives and structured products
- Real estate > Environment
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: non-contentious/regulatory
- Insurance > Personal injury: defendant
- Investment fund formation and management > Real estate funds
- Finance > Trade finance
- Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions - mid-market deals (up to £250m)
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Industry focus > Retail and consumer
- Finance > Acquisition finance
- Investment fund formation and management > Private funds
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital