Mr Nicholas Leah > Chambers of Howard Stevens KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

Nicholas has a broad commercial and civil practice, encompassing commercial litigation, international arbitration, insolvency and company, civil fraud, cryptoassets, banking and financial services, professional negligence, property, aviation, travel, sports and public law.

He regularly appears in trials, interim applications, and costs and case management conferences alongside managing a busy written practice. Despite his recent year of call, he has successfully appeared as sole counsel in the High Court on multiple occasions against opponents many years more senior.

His recent and ongoing case highlights include:

Civil Fraud

• Loudmila Bourlakova & Ors v Oleg Bourlakov & Ors (BL-2020-001050) (High Court (Ch/Bus) – representing a respondent to a freezing and proprietary injunction applications in a $3.7 billion fraud case (led by Graham Dunning KC and Alexander Milner KC). See, Bourlakova & Ors v Bourlakov & Ors [2024] EWHC 765 (Ch)

Commercial Litigation & International Arbitration

• $300 million ICSID arbitration between a construction and engineering company and a national government.
• Essar Projects Limited v Y – CIJE Kuwait (2023) – successfully applied for an anti-suit injunction to restrain foreign proceedings in Kuwait (supported Simon Davenport KC as a pupil).

Cryptoassets & Blockchain Technology

• Representing three Gibraltar-based defendants in a multi-million pound claim concerning the development of a fiat to cryptocurrency exchange and digital wallet application (led by Rowan Pennington-Benton).
• Co-drafted the Network Access Rules for the BSV Association – part of an 18-month collaborative project with D2 Legal Technology to draft an innovative multilateral contract in the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology sphere (led by Jeff Golden KC (Hon) and James Gale).

Insolvency & Company

• Frost & Anor v The Good Box Co Labs Ltd & Ors [2024] EWHC 422 (Ch) – successfully dismissed an application by former administrators to increase their remuneration (as sole counsel).
• Wilson & Anor v Frost & Anor [2024] EWHC 573 (Ch) – successfully applied to adjourn an insolvency trial for a long period on mental health grounds (as sole counsel).

Public & Appeals to the Privy Council

• Representing a claimant in a High Court misfeasance in public office claim (led by Malcolm Bishop KC).
• Michel Lafresière v New Mauritius Hotels Ltd (Mauritius) [2023] UKPC 38 – assisted Hervé Duval SC and Nicolas Henry successfully dismiss an appeal from the Supreme Court of Mauritius concerning wrongful dismissal proceedings.

Before joining Chambers, Nicholas taught law as a Visiting Lecturer at City, University of London, where he received the Law School’s Teaching Excellence Award. He previously studied at UCL, the University of Oxford, City University, the University of Cambridge, and The Hague Academy of International Law, during which time he was awarded multiple scholarships and prizes. He was also part of the Gray’s Inn team which won the UK National Championship in the Jessup International Law Moot.