New Square Chambers

Thomas is an extremely experienced specialist in commercial law, company law and insolvency law, with a wealth of court-room experience. Areas of particular expertise are: shareholder disputes, including unfair prejudice petitions and claims over beneficial ownership of shares; claims against company directors for breach of duty, contract and confidence; commercial disputes, and fraud. He has conducted High Court trials and/or arbitrations in all these areas. His cases often involve a number of areas of law. He appears regularly in the High Court, mainly in the Chancery Division and Commercial Court, and in the Court of Appeal. Recent cases have included: a long-running LCIA arbitration concerning the interpretation and enforcement of a commercial contract with a significant intellectual property content; a Chancery Division claim by a divorcee against her former husband for secret commission; a Commercial Court trial concerning bribes, governed by Sharia law (Al Qahtani); appearances in the JSC STA Bank v Ablyazov fraud litigation; an appeal to the Court of Appeal concerning inadequate judicial reasoning; and an appeal to the Court of Appeal challenging the conduct of the administrators of the holographic company Musion Systems. Other High Court trials and/or appeals to the Court of Appeal, of interest, have included: a dispute over the break-up of a London river-boat syndicate (Thames Cruises); a dispute over ownership of a vintage car collection (Neave); a dispute between rival porcelain manufacturers over confidential information and intellectual property; a commercial dispute over a film screenplay based on the life of Grace Jones (Artlamb v Goude); a claim on a guarantee which resulted in a non-party costs order against the claimant’s director, a practising solicitor who had suppressed documents (Goodwood Recoveries v Breen); several disputes over beneficial ownership of company shares; a director’s disqualification trial; and a commercial dispute over aircraft repairs in East Africa (Transafrik v Venus).

Called 1985; Middle Temple.

French, Spanish.

COMBAR; Chancery Bar Association; London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association.

Eton College; Cambridge University (1984 BA; 1985 MA).

Running, cycling, fishing, shooting, singing, history, contemporary art.