XXIV Old Buildings

xxiv.co.uk

Adam has a broad commercial chancery practice acting in and advising on commercial and private wealth disputes both at home and abroad. He is “a top-notch advocate”, “great on his feet and on paper”, who “impresses sources with his courtroom advocacy skills”. Adam’s cross-disciplinary approach across Chambers’ main fields of practice means his commercial nous is frequently brought to bear in the private wealth sphere, while his deep knowledge of equitable, trust and corporate principles is widely sought out in commercial matters.

Alex Peplow

Alex has a broad commercial chancery practice, including insolvency and commercial disputes, civil fraud, company law, trusts, and probate litigation. He appears regularly in the High Court and the County Court, and welcomes instructions across all of Chambers’ core practice areas. Before coming to the Bar in 2019, Alex practised as a solicitor in the Commercial Litigation team at Blake Morgan LLP. He has a number of years’ experience working in law firms and was admitted to the roll in 2017. His first-hand experience of the demands placed on solicitors, and their clients’ need for clear advice which is focused on achieving the desired practical outcome, enables him to work effectively with those who instruct him.

Alexander Pelling

Alexander Pelling has very substantial experience in commercial and business disputes of all kinds. His cases frequently have an international and/or offshore element and have been before the courts and arbitrators. Alex has particular expertise in banking and bank payment cases (including debt factoring cases), in civil frauds and asset-recovery, and in cases involving the breach of fiduciary obligations. He is regularly involved in obtaining freezing orders and related disclosure orders against banks and other third parties. He has also for many years acted in cases involving financial/capital markets. He has substantial experience of cases that turn on the contractual, fiduciary and regulatory duties relevant to firms and individuals operating in them. Another major area of expertise is financial derivatives (including spread bets and other contracts for differences), foreign exchange and hedge funds. He has drafted terms and conditions for spread betting and forex trading businesses. His other areas of expertise include insolvency and related property disputes, product liability cases and all kinds of contractual disputes.

Andrew Holden

Andrew is a chancery and commercial specialist, whose highly-regarded practice encompasses trusts, fraud and asset tracing, probate and estate administration, and commercial litigation and arbitration. In the United Kingdom, Andrew enjoys a busy and broad-based commercial and chancery practice. He is well known for his trusts, probate and estates work. Andrew is also a sought-after practitioner in relation to complex fraud, asset-tracing and commercial and company/shareholder disputes, particularly where they engage principles of equity. Andrew also has an extensive international practice. He has deep international trusts expertise, including acting for the settlors, trustees, beneficiaries and protectors of private trusts, as well as for the institutional custodians, directors and professional advisers of trusts, funds and companies. Andrew also enjoys a highly-regarded practice in the field of international commercial litigation and arbitration, including international fraud and asset-tracing and connected matters engaging principles of international jurisdiction and enforcement. His briefs in this area demonstrate that he is well equipped to navigate clients through the legal and factual complexities inherent in high value international litigation and arbitration.

Arshad Ghaffar

Arshad Ghaffar is a highly regarded and trusted commercial dispute resolution lawyer. His experience encompasses the full spectrum of the business cycle. His clients are based in numerous jurisdictions, earning him unrivalled experience of cross-jurisdictional matters as well as different, and often challenging, bodies of law. He represents his clients in a broad array of resolution forums, from the English commercial chancery high court and appellate courts through to domestic and international arbitrations, and frequently receives nominations to sit as an arbitrator and as a mediator in areas of his expertise. In addition to his persuasive oral advocacy skills, Arshad is renowned for his commendable written advocacy. His pen is said to be mightier than a sword, and he uses it precisely to state in writing the basis of his arguments, subsequently to be brought to life before a court or arbitration panel. His clients regard him as “exceptionally proactive” during the life of a dispute resolution process and “remarkable” in his ability to identify and present solutions that are intellectually creative, legally robust and commercially sound. Whilst maintaining a firm grasp of the strict legal aspects of a case, Arshad ensures he also works to achieve his clients’ ancillary commercial and strategic objectives. The disputes in which he is instructed often involve the interplay between the interpretation of complex commercial contracts and their technical underpinnings, such as is the case with large infrastructure projects, and involve the laws of multiple jurisdictions. With arbitration becoming the prevailing forum to address such disputes, his more recent instructions have built up a catalogue of experience in international and domestic commercial and corporate disputes through the process of arbitration at both institutional and ad hoc levels. He has conducted arbitrations under most of the most frequently used institutional rules, including those of the ICC and the LCIA and is also familiar with the UNCITRAL rules. Arshad also has a non-contentious branch to his practise in which he is often called upon to opine on questions concerning the interpretation of laws and regulations in various jurisdictions and the application of treaties and laws with extra-territorial reach such as trade treaties, AML and sanctions. Arshad’s international practice is incredibly wide-ranging and diverse. It has ranged from advising on anti-corruption legislation internationally to questions concerning sanctions against individuals in Zimbabwe. He has been instructed by lawyers from a variety of jurisdictions, including Nigeria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Oman, the UAE, India and Pakistan. The range of Arshad’s work and the number of jurisdictions he has worked in truly reflect him to be a global citizen comfortable wherever he is and sensitive to issues of cultural and geographical diversity.

Ben Waistell

Ben is an experienced commercial and chancery junior with particular experience in civil fraud and asset recovery exercises, commercial litigation (including aviation, telecoms, international sale of goods, and energy), shareholder and partnership disputes, international arbitration, and financial services. In recent years Ben has also developed a strong media practice in music, entertainment, and related IP disputes. A large proportion of Ben’s work has an international or offshore element, and he has a particular interest in the conflict of laws and enforcement issues these raise. Notably he acted in Ivanishvili & Ors v Credit Suisse Life (Bermuda) Limited [2023] CA (Bda) 13 Civ (led by Lord Falconer KC, Steven Thompson KC, and Sebastian Isaac KC), a leading common law authority addressing the applicable law for misrepresentation claims and various aspects of the doctrine of renvoi. He has been instructed to advise and/or act in relation to the DIFC, the Astana International Financial Centre, the Abu Dhabi Global Markets Court, Bermuda, Cayman, Jersey, Guernsey, BVI, the Singapore International Commercial Court, and LCIA, DIFC, LMAA, ICC, ICSID, and ad hoc arbitrations. Ben is a robust advocate who relishes trials and heavy interlocutory applications, both led and unled. He is regularly instructed against far more senior opponents. Ben has repeatedly succeeded in crafting and obtaining unusual or ambitious relief, where required by the client. This has included unusual orders for interim declarations of beneficial ownership, an order for immediate repayment of the fruits of a fraud on an interim injunction application, bespoke injunctive relief in relation to social and digital assets, and the recent obtaining of summary judgment on the issues in a US$3.8m unjust enrichment claim where a set-off was found to be the only viable defence. Adept at suiting his advocacy style to the situation and the tribunal, Ben is known for fearlessly representing his clients’ interests and presenting bold submissions as straightforward solutions.

Bethanie Chambers

Bethanie has a busy commercial chancery practice, both domestically and offshore, across the full spectrum of Chambers’ practice areas. Her interests include commercial disputes, civil fraud, aviation, company, insolvency and trust litigation. Before coming to the Bar, Bethanie was a judicial assistant to Lord Justice McCombe and the Lady Chief Justice in the Court of Appeal. Most notably, she assisted in the case of Dargamo Holdings Limited v Avonwick Holdings Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1149 in which the Court addressed the interaction between the law of contract and the law of unjust enrichment as well as the operation of the ‘failure of basis’ ground of restitution. Bethanie maintains an academic interest in the law. She is co-author (alongside Oliver Assersohn KC) of the forthcoming commentary in Butterworths Financial Service Regulation on the Decision Procedure and Penalties Manual (“DEPP”).

Catherine Hartson

Catherine maintains a busy practice across Chambers’ core practice areas, with particular expertise in trust law, civil fraud, aviation, commercial disputes, financial services, insolvency and company law. Catherine appears regularly in the High Court and the County Court as sole counsel and as part of larger counsel teams, and she is frequently instructed in complex and high-value disputes. She has considerable international experience and has acted in proceedings concerning various Caribbean and other offshore jurisdictions and she has spent time on secondment at a leading offshore law firm in Guernsey.

Charles Strachan

Charles Strachan has a busy commercial chancery practice that covers the range of Chambers’ core areas of specialism in particular civil fraud and commercial disputes, both domestic and international. He is a co-author of the disputes chapter in Crypto and Digital Assets Law and Regulation. The international element of Charles’ practice extends from Singapore to the Middle East and the Caribbean and he has particular experience of disputes in the DIFC, ADGM and QIFC having spent six months seconded to a large international law firm's Dubai office. Charles is often instructed to appear as a sole advocate in multi-day trials. In addition to being instructed as sole counsel he is very happy to (and regularly does) work as part of a wider team.

Daniel Warents

Daniel specialises in most areas of chancery and commercial work both in England and in a number of off-shore jurisdictions. He has a particular interest in shareholder and joint venture disputes, as well as trust matters, and insolvency. Daniel has appeared in some of the most significant cases in his areas of expertise in recent years including Investec v Glenalla [2019] AC 271 (the leading case on trustee liability to third party creditors), and Chu v Lau [2020] 1 WLR 4656 (the leading case on just and equitable winding up on the ‘deadlock’ ground), and Invest Bank PSC v El-Husseini [2023] EWCA Civ 555 (a leading case on the interpretation of s.423 of the Insolvency Act 1986). Daniel is also a barrister member of the Insolvency Rules Committee. As well as trial advocacy, Daniel has substantial experience in dealing with applications raising complex legal and factual issues including jurisdiction and forum challenges, applications for injunctive relief, and summary judgment and strike-out applications. He also has significant experience working on cases in the BVI, Cayman, Bermuda, Isle of Man, Jersey, and Guernsey. Daniel is one of only a small number of junior barristers called to the BVI bar so that his fees are recoverable as a disbursement following the decision of the BVI Court of Appeal Shrimpton v Scriven & Ors BVIHCMAP 2016/0031.

David Brownbill KC

David Brownbill KC specialises in international trust, company and financial services disputes and advice. His experience covers international trust, corporate and commercial structuring; investment funds, commercial trusts and pensions; political risks, international sanctions, investment disputes and bilateral investment treaties. David’s litigation work covers all matters within these fields, in both the English and the Commonwealth courts. David has been called to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, has appeared in the courts of the British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Gibraltar, and the Isle of Man and regularly advises on cases in Anguilla, Antigua, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Jersey, Guernsey, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Singapore. Clients value his ability to manage cases whose size, complexity and profile make them extremely difficult to handle. David has, accordingly, acted in numerous international and offshore trust, company and commercial disputes, including substantial fraud and asset recovery claims, both in England and overseas. David has also acted in various disputes concerning investment funds including a number of Madoff related matters. David advises on the transactional as well as the litigation aspects of investments funds and commercial trusts generally and is regularly instructed to advise on complex trust and corporate documentation. David is well known for his ability to devise innovative solutions to problems, particularly in cases where tax and other transactions have gone awry. David has for many years been concerned in the planning of international estates and family enterprise succession, including devising complex family governance and control structures. David has also assisted various jurisdictions on the drafting of trust and company legislation and, most recently, has been retained in the Bahamas to advise on and draft legislation to provide for the arbitration of trust disputes, to introduce new features to its trust law and to abolish perpetuities. David is an editor of International Trust Laws, and a member of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

Edward Knight

Edward is a specialist commercial barrister with particular experience of company and insolvency disputes, both in litigation and arbitration. He has particular skill in dealing with fraud cases and financial issues, having formerly qualified as a chartered accountant in 1995. His expertise enables him to approach matters with an understanding of the practical realities of business and is applicable to a wide range of commercial disputes. Legal 500 recommends Edward for commercial litigation, fraud, insolvency and professional negligence calling him “very bright”, “with a keen eye for detail and … able to marshal a morass of evidence” and “a formidable cross-examiner”. In addition to appearing in the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, Edward has appeared in the High Court in Anguilla, the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and the Privy Council and in the DIFC Courts in Dubai. He has also been involved in litigation in other offshore jurisdictions and in Africa. Edward is a DIFC (Dubai) Part II registered practitioner and is ranked as a leading junior in The Legal 500 EMEA Guide for commercial. Edward has also acted as lead counsel in an ICSID Investor-State arbitration in Paris and previously in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, both in claims relating to the expropriation of foreign investments by state organs.

Edward Cumming KC

Edward is a barrister specialising in most areas of chancery and commercial litigation. He particularly relishes advocacy, appearing frequently before a range of courts and tribunals, and has extensive experience of international and multi-jurisdictional disputes. This particular international emphasis was further enhanced when he was retained for a substantial period to advise a leading offshore firm on a number of business and trust matters involving Guernsey and the BVI. Edward’s breadth of expertise is recognised by the leading directories. He is not only recommended in the chancery sphere for traditional chancery litigation, private client disputes (trust and probate), company disputes and insolvency disputes, but also for commercial dispute resolution, banking and finance, and aviation.

Elizabeth Weaver

Elizabeth Weaver is an “eminent junior” with a broad commercial Chancery practice focusing on private wealth and business disputes. Her range of work and wealth of experience means that she has the technical knowledge needed to analyse cases where corporate and equitable principles overlap and the ability to give commercial and strategic advice and ensure the effective and efficient presentation of a client’s case. Described as “a very articulate and impressively persuasive barrister” Elizabeth is frequently instructed to appear unled against silks and also to work as a part of a team in large-scale private wealth disputes and commercial claims (both High Court litigation and arbitration).

Elspeth Talbot Rice KC

Elspeth Talbot Rice KC has a broad commercial Chancery practice and an extremely loyal client base. Clients comment especially on her meticulous eye for detail, particularly well-used in cross examination, her clear and robust advocacy in Court and her practical approachable style outside court. She is highly sought after for her incisive legal analysis, the depth of her experience, her ability to present complicated law and facts in a simple and clear way, the energy and zest she brings to the cases with which she deals, her strong court presence and her superb advocacy. She has strength and depth right across the spectrum of commercial chancery matters: her expertise and experience straddles large scale trust, succession and probate litigation, both domestically and internationally, and business-based litigation and arbitration including fraud, company, partnership, insolvency and contractual disputes. She is particularly well regarded for international trust and succession disputes. Many of her cases have overseas and international elements. She has been called to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean, and has appeared in the British Virgin Islands on a number of occasions. She has also been licensed to appear, and has appeared a number of times, as an advocate in the Courts of the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. Additionally she has advised on many cases being fought in Guernsey, Jersey, the USA, the Bahamas, other islands of the Caribbean, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Erin Hitchens

Erin has a broad commercial chancery practice and welcomes instructions in all of the areas of work in which Chambers specialises. She has advised, drafted proceedings and appeared in court, both as sole counsel and as part of a counsel team, on a range of matters including business and contractual disputes, aviation, fraud and asset tracing, trusts and probate, shareholder disputes, insolvency and financial services disputes. She regularly appears in the High Court on applications, interlocutory hearings, petitions and trials. She has also been instructed in relation to proceedings in several offshore jurisdictions including the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Jersey, the BVI, Anguilla and the DIFC. Erin has twice undertaken secondments with solicitors’ practices advising on contentious trusts and succession. Prior to being called to the Bar, Erin was a solicitor in the corporate department of leading international law firm Herbert Smith.

Francis Tregear KC

Francis Tregear KC is valued for his comprehensive and detailed understanding of the commercial and financial issues and realities affecting his clients. He is acknowledged as an extremely effective advocate in court as well as on paper. This has made him a popular choice for all types of business disputes and civil fraud claims involving complex issues of fact, law and forensic accountancy. A very significant proportion of his work is international in nature and he has a sterling reputation for his international expertise. He has acted and advised in many offshore jurisdictions including the Cayman Islands, BVI, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Cyprus and the Isle of Man. He is called to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean. His pre-eminence in multi-jurisdictional disputes involves him in strategy, interim remedies including freezing injunctions, conflicts of law, asset tracing and recovery.

Graham Virgo KC

Graham read Law as an undergraduate at Downing College, Cambridge and the BCL at Christ Church, Oxford. He is Professor of English Private Law at the University of Cambridge. He is also the 19th Master of Downing College, Cambridge and an Academic Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn. His academic interests include the law of restitution, equity and trusts, contract law and criminal law. Graham was appointed Queen’s Counsel honoris causa in 2017 for service to legal education and private law. His work has been frequently cited in the English courts, including in the Supreme Court, and has shaped the direction of the law of unjust enrichment, mistake, and other related areas of restitution, as well as the law of trusts and Equity.

Harry Samuels

Described by a partner in a Tier 1 Legal 500 firm as “a superstar in the making”, Harry has a busy practice specialising in commercial, corporate and private client disputes both domestically and offshore. Harry has experience of trial advocacy, interim applications, costs proceedings, appeals and enforcement before all levels of court. Instructing solicitors have described him as “fluent and passionate” in court, and he has been praised for “getting on top of the detail quickly” and for having “excellent and helpful” written work. On the private client side, Harry has extensive experience of trusts, estates and probate disputes, regularly appearing in the High Court both led and as sole counsel, acting for trustees, executors and beneficiaries alike in complex and high-value litigation. As a supervisor in land law at the University of Cambridge, Harry is also well-equipped to deal with real estate disputes. On the commercial side, Harry is regularly instructed on commercial disputes across all sectors, and is rapidly developing a specialism in civil fraud and company claims. As a supervisor in company law at the University of Cambridge, and as an editor of the forthcoming edition of a major company law practitioners’ text, Harry is particularly comfortable with shareholder and corporate disputes.

Heather Murphy

Heather is an experienced advocate with a rich and varied commercial chancery practice. Her core areas of practice are commercial disputes and private wealth litigation. She appears regularly in the High Court as sole counsel.

Helen Galley

Helen has built up a reputation as a well-respected commercial Chancery practitioner with an emphasis on property and trusts related issues. She has built up extensive and wide-ranging expertise in both non contentious and contentious property matters ranging from small scale cases to multi-million pound developments. Helen has also acted in a wide range of commercial and business disputes in areas as diverse as travel, hire purchase, the media, entertainment, IPR, IT and e-commerce. Contentious and non-contentious trusts matters, both on and offshore, are a regular feature of her caseload.

Hugh Miall

Described as a “a star in the making”, Hugh is a specialist commercial chancery barrister who acts as an advocate and adviser in complex civil fraud and asset tracing, commercial litigation and arbitration, insolvency, company law and contentious trust disputes. Praised as being a “terrific advocate” with “superb strategic judgment” and “immaculate written work”, Hugh is recommended as a leading junior across his core practice areas of Commercial Dispute Resolution, Chancery: Commercial, Civil Fraud, Company, Partnership and Insolvency. Hugh is renowned for his technical skill, his robust advocacy and his straightforward and astute advice. Frequently instructed in relation to oﬀshore cases or in litigation involving other international elements, Hugh has worked on matters across the globe and is called to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands.

Ian Meakin

Ian L. Meakin has extensive experience in dispute resolution, international business law, including fraud, and trusts and estates. Ian acts as an advocate in international commercial arbitration as well as before the English courts. He also sits as an arbitrator. Ian has been involved in some of the largest and most high profile arbitrations around (e.g. IPOC). He is also known as an expert in sports law, advising and appearing in sports arbitrations, including the International Court of the Appeal of the FIA (Formula One) as well as FIFA, CAS and other arbitral tribunals where he has acted for teams, athletes and drivers, sponsors and sporting federations. Ian is based in Geneva where he has practiced for the last twenty four years. He is available for English and off-shore court and advisory work. He accepts instructions both in English and in French.

James Fennemore

James specialises in commercial and private client litigation. His practice encompasses commercial disputes, civil fraud, art and cultural property, banking and financial services, company disputes, insolvency, trust disputes, and will and estates disputes. James is experienced in acting as sole counsel in cases across his areas of specialism, and regularly appears in court, both at interim hearings and at trial. James also very frequently acts as part of a counsel team in substantial and complex disputes. Many of his cases involve working with lawyers and clients from other jurisdictions, in matters involving international and conflict of laws elements. He has particular recent experience of disputes taking place in Guernsey, Jersey, The Bahamas, Bermuda, and Hong Kong.

James Kane

James regularly appears in the High Court and the County Court and has developed a busy commercial chancery practice, in particular in company and insolvency, real property and trust, estates and probate disputes. He welcomes instructions across Chambers’ areas of specialism and is happy to work both as sole counsel and as part of a wider team. James has built a strong company and insolvency law practice. He has acted in a long-running multi-million pound unfair prejudice petition under section 994 of the Companies Act involving the responsibility of directors to scrutinise their co-directors’ actions (Re Solid Star [2023] EWHC 93 (Ch); [2023] EWHC 2277 (Ch); [2024] EWHC 1816 (Ch); [2024] EWHC 2139 (Ch)). He also acted as junior counsel for a solicitor in a novel claim for breach of partnership duties. He regularly acts for both creditors and debtors in company and personal insolvency proceedings and appeared recently as sole counsel at the three-day hearing of a bankruptcy petition involving complex questions of law and contested factual evidence. James’s real property practice is also extensive. He has recently advised on a novel and interesting case involving the liability of trustees facing a claim for a cladding remediation order under the Building Safety Act 2022. He appears for both claimants and defendants in possession claims, ranging from acting for a commercial landlord seeking to forfeit a tenancy for breach of covenant to representing a homeowner in a claim based on an allegedly forged mortgage deed. James also has a busy practice in the trusts and probate ﬁeld, where his current and recent work includes acting for the administrators of an intestate estate in an interest claim involving assets situated in multiple jurisdictions and complex questions of foreign adoption law, as well as acting (with Elspeth Talbot Rice KC) for beneﬁciaries bringing a claim for breach of trust against current and former trustees in multiple jurisdictions. He regularly advises on claims in relation to testamentary capacity, undue influence and under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.

James Bradford

James is a busy junior with a broad commercial chancery practice, which focuses on domestic and international commercial disputes, arbitration, trusts & offshore litigation. He has a breadth of experience of very high-profile commercial litigation: he is regularly instructed in the Chancery Division and Commercial Court and has appeared (led) in the Court of Appeal, Privy Council and Supreme Court. He also has experience on matters relating to a number of different offshore jurisdictions including The Bahamas, Guernsey, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands.

Jessica Lavelle

Jessica is a commercial chancery barrister whose busy practice spans chambers’ core areas, with interests in civil fraud and asset tracing, commercial disputes, trusts litigation, company law, and insolvency law. She is instructed regularly in both domestic and offshore matters. Jessica has appeared unled in the High Court and appears regularly in the County Courts as well as working as part of a larger team on complex multi-national disputes. She has been described by instructing solicitors as “extremely bright” and “very responsive”. Prior to beginning her pupillage, Jessica undertook a six-month secondment to Walkers (Guernsey) and spent the first six months of her practice on secondment to Mishcon de Reya, sitting within the Private Wealth Disputes team. Jessica was listed as a Pro Bono Champion for her work with CLIPS (Chancery Litigant in Person Scheme) throughout 2023

Jessica Hughes

Jessica has a broad commercial chancery practice encompassing domestic and international litigation, arbitration and mediation of business and private client disputes. Jessica was called to the bar in 1997 and since then she has gained considerable experience of large scale, complex cases led by leading silks and on her own account. In addition to the core areas of her practice which have historically focused on commercial and trust litigation, a number of her cases have involved aspects of insolvency and company and partnership law and she has experience of ﬁnancial services and hedge funds litigation as well as professional negligence. In addition, in 2017 Jessica qualiﬁed as an accredited mediator. She balances her litigation and advisory practice alongside a growing mediation practice. Jessica’s cases have often had an international or oﬀshore element and she has had experience of litigation in USA, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, and China, and arbitration in Nigeria, South Africa, Denmark, Sweden, India and Kazakhstan. In addition her trust cases have involved her in the following oﬀshore jurisdictions: British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Gibraltar and the Bahamas. Although she has good experience of international and oﬀshore jurisdictions, her mainstream practice remains based in London.

John Carl Townsend

John Carl is recognised for his particular expertise in complex financial and reputational disputes where there is the potential for civil, regulatory and criminal liability and is frequently instructed for his ability to advise and represent corporate clients in all three forums. His practice encompasses a variety of commercial chancery disputes, with a particular focus on claims that derive from allegations of financial misconduct and misrepresentation (including claims for breach of fiduciary duty, unlawful means conspiracy, deceit, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt). John Carl’s practice in asset forfeiture and seizure includes applications for international freezing orders, search orders and applications for Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust relief in civil fraud claims and all proceedings connected to the freezing and forfeiture of assets under the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (including High Court Asset Forfeiture under Part 5 and Tax Proceedings under Part 6).

Lyndsey De Mestre KC

Lyndsey has been practising at the business and property Bar for over 20 years and was appointed a KC in February 2018. She is a full-time arbitrator and mediator works both domestically and in offshore jurisdictions (notably the BVI and the DIFC). Her expertise is in business related disputes of all types (including shareholder disputes, joint ventures (in both a corporate and partnership context), breaches of NDAs and SHAs, unfair prejudice, quasi-partnerships, material non-disclosure, misrepresentation, rescission of subscription agreements, forfeiture of leases) with particular experience in insolvency, company and contract related disputes. As a result of over 15 years’ appointment representing the UK government (primarily the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) for the Attorney General and appointment as standing counsel to the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants in insolvency matters, she developed a specialisation in a range of work involving public interest aspects, corporate governance, directors’ fiduciary and non-fiduciary duties and responsibilities to shareholders and stakeholders. Lyndsey has experience under the rules of UNCITRAL, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA and ad-hoc arbitrations.

Marcus Staff

Marcus works on a broad range of commercial and chancery matters. Prior to coming to London Marcus worked in Switzerland in private practice and for a leading Geneva-Zurich business law firm, engaged by ultra-high net worth individuals and families on establishing and maintaining international asset holding structures. This experience has enabled him to develop particular expertise in cross-border disputes concerning private and commercial funds involving the duties of investment managers, trustees, banks and other financial intermediaries, and the rights of investors and beneficiaries in specific assets and funds of property.

Max Archer

Max is recognised as a leading aviation, commercial, private international law and group litigation practitioner. Max is consistently involved in high profile, complex litigation across his fields of practice. He has appeared in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and often appears unled against silks in the higher courts. He is known for his excellent client care, robust advocacy and pragmatic approach to litigation. He is described in the directories as having ‘great confidence’ and as having ‘a palpable interest in aviation and punches above his weight’. Max has unparalleled knowledge of aviation disputes and has become a go-to junior in this area with aviation work occupying a significant portion of his practice. He has a substantial commercial practice, acting in a wide range of commercial disputes across various industries and fields. He has experienced in international arbitrations and has acted in a number of offshore jurisdictions. His work often has an international dimension, he has expertise in jurisdiction and conflicts of laws as well as public international law and human rights issues. Max often acts in group actions, both led and unled. He is adept at handling group cases including consumer actions, shareholder disputes, mass tort cases and environmental actions.

Michael Black KC

Michael Black KC is an advocate and arbitrator in international commercial disputes. While his practice is truly global, Michael is well known for his Middle East practice having acted throughout his career in cases concerning the Region. Michael’s expertise encompasses: Arbitration; Construction & Projects; Energy, Oil & Gas; Commercial Litigation; Civil Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery; Banking and Financial Services; Hedge Funds and Structured Investment Vehicles; Insolvency; Company.

Michael King

Michael is an accredited mediator and has mediated over 200 disputes. He regularly sits as the appointed mediator and has received recognition for his contribution in mediations concerning business, partnership and commercial issues. In addition the legal he is recognized directories have also picked up on the excellent reputation he has developed as mediator in the complicated and specialist area of trust, probate and estates disputes. Until 2017 Michael was an experienced commercial and traditional chancery barrister, whose expertise is recognised by the legal directories. His main areas of practice included commercial disputes, partnership disputes, trusts, probate and estates, property litigation and advice, and charity law. Michael also dealt with cases within his core expertise that involve claims for professional negligence.

Niamh Davis

Niamh has a broad commercial chancery practice, both domestically and offshore, across all of Chambers’ core practice areas, appearing on behalf of clients in the Supreme Court, High Court, and County Courts. Her interests include, insolvency and commercial disputes, civil fraud, probate and estate claims, company law, aviation, and trust litigation. Recently she has assisted with appeals in the Supreme Court concerning the interpretation of s.423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (Invest Bank v El-Husseini [2023] EWCA Civ 555) and an aviation dispute involving claims for breaches of redelivery conditions (GASL Ireland Leasing A-1 Limited v SpiceJet Limited [2023] EWHC 1107 (Comm)).

Nicole Langlois

Nicole has a flourishing international practice and is regularly instructed in cases which have a multi-jurisdictional aspect. Her recent and on-going cases involve jurisdictions as diverse as Jersey, Guernsey, New York, Hong Kong and Nigeria. Nicole’s main areas of specialisation are commercial disputes, trust and company litigation and fraud and asset tracing. She is recommended in Legal 500 as leading junior in the area of commercial litigation and offshore. Recent commercial disputes in which she has been involved include acting on behalf of a UK company in connection with allegations that a former director and shareholder had infringed patents and disclosed confidential information, and acting on behalf of a multi-national company which had been defrauded of substantial sums by one of its employees. Nicole also regularly acts on behalf of insurers, trustees and beneficiaries in connection with high value claims for breach of trust, as well as advising in relation to complex and often sensitive applications for directions. She has particular experience of cases concerning the scope of a Court’s powers to give directions, disclosure of trust documentation and the setting aside of dispositions on the grounds of mistake, a topic on which she has also written and lectured extensively. Given the largely multi-jurisdictional nature of her practice, she is often instructed to advise in relation to complex issues of conflicts of laws, including the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and the use of evidence in foreign proceedings. Nicole is also one of only a handful of lawyers practising in London who is dual qualified to practice both in England and in Jersey.

Oliver Assersohn KC

Oliver is a “truly excellent barrister” and “skilled advocate” who relishes trial advocacy, particularly cross-examination. He is regularly instructed to appear against silks and “will work tirelessly in support of the client’s case”. He specialises in commercial matters and particularly in financial services, including regulation.

Owen Curry

Owen specialises in commercial and traditional chancery litigation. He has regularly appeared in trials and interlocutory matters in the High Court and County Court. He has also been involved in off-shore litigation in both the Caribbean and the Channel Islands and has spent time assisting law firms in London and the Channel Islands. As a result he has gained a broad experience of contentious probate trust and estate disputes and well as document heavy commercial litigation and commercial litigation involving the application of traditional equitable principles in modern contexts.

Rachel Carver

Described as “a star” by a client, Rachel is building a broad commercial chancery practice across the full spectrum of Chambers’ practice areas. Her interests include trusts, probate and estates litigation, company law and commercial dispute resolution. Clients comment that Rachel is “[s]uch a help and a pleasure to have in the team”. She is also comfortable acting as sole counsel and welcomes instructions in any of her areas of expertise. Rachel has particular experience in offshore trust matters and has spent five months on secondment in Jersey, during which she worked on several complex, multimillion-pound trust cases.

Sarah Bayliss

Sarah has a well-established commercial and modern chancery practice and takes a particular interest in domestic trust/estate work, fraud - including in relation to cryptoassets - and company/insolvency cases. She also has a niche practice in art and media disputes. Sarah also has extensive experience of complex oﬀshore disputes in jurisdictions including Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the BVI, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and the DIFC.

Stephen Moverley Smith KC

Stephen specialises in litigation and arbitration in the fields of commercial, company, trusts and business law. With a background of high profile work for the DTI and Inland Revenue as junior counsel to the Crown (Chancery) prior to taking silk in 2002, Stephen has developed an extensive practice in the fields of hostile corporate and trust litigation, insolvency, civil fraud and joint venture disputes (in both a corporate and partnership context), often for private clients. Stephen has practiced in the regulatory field for many years and was appointed a Joint Inspector by the DTI (now BERR) to investigate allegations of market abuse. His on-going regulatory work includes cases is in the area of collective Investment schemes and land banking. Stephen has an extensive off-shore practice, particularly in the British Virgin Islands (since 1995) and Cayman Islands. He is regularly involved in multi-jurisdictional disputes, advising on global strategy, interim remedies, conflicts of law and asset recovery and appearing before courts and arbitral tribunals in a wide variety of jurisdictions. Recent notable cases include acting for the successful claimants in Papadimitriou v Credit Agricole, a seminal decision of the Privy Council establishing a new test for constructive notice of beneficial interests; Re: China Shanshui, acting for the majority shareholders in successfully challenging the ability of directors to institute winding up proceedings without shareholder approval; Re Fairfield Sentry, acting for members seeking to establish distribution entitlements in the liquidation of Madoff’s largest investor; TMSF v Merrill Lynch, a ground breaking decision of the Privy Council that a judgment creditor, for whom Stephen acted, could obtain the appointment of receivers over a power of revocation of a Cayman trust and for the Moscow patriachate in a dispute as to the ownership of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in London.

Steven Reed

Steven has a substantial, heavyweight commercial and chancery practice in line with Chambers specialist areas and regularly appears in the Business and Property Courts dealing with everything from procedural and interim applications, including freezing injunctions, search and seize orders, interim injunctions, strike outs and disclosure issues, to multi-day trials.

Steven Thompson KC

Steven is an experienced commercial barrister who specialises in civil fraud, company/joint venture, insolvency and aviation disputes. He has notable expertise in handling technically complex, high-value matters. Steven regularly appears in the Business and Property Courts in the Rolls Building (primarily in the Chancery lists and the Commercial Court) as well as overseas and on appeals in this jurisdiction and oﬀshore. Steven has extensive international and offshore experience. He is called to the BVI and is Part II DIFC Registered. Steven has particular experience in the ﬁrst instance and appellate courts of the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the Dubai International Financial Centre. He appears in and advises on disputes in the courts of many other common law jurisdictions particularly on large shareholder, company and fraud disputes, including Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Turks & Caicos Islands, Hong Kong and Northern Ireland. Steven is also regularly instructed on international arbitrations and associated Court hearings, in the Far East and in Dubai as well as in London. He has been nominated, appointed and sat as an arbitrator in LCIA arbitrations. For over a decade Steven served on the International Committee of the Bar Council, including as its Chair in 2019-21. He was also formerly Chair of the Bar’s China Interest Group.

Stuart Adair

Stuart has an extremely successful commercial chancery practice which focuses on commercial litigation, company law, insolvency, fraud, breach of trust and asset tracing. He is a specialist advocate who is particularly effective in the context of highly contentious litigation. It is here that his excellent cross-examination skills prove most valuable and effective. Stuart is recommended by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for his work in the field of company law. He practises in all areas of contentious company law, but has particular expertise in relation to minority shareholder actions (including unfair prejudice petitions and derivative claims) and claims against directors. He was one of the authors of Blackstone's Guide to the Companies Act 2006 (he wrote the chapter on derivative claims) and has lectured extensively on company law. He gave expert evidence on English company law in derivative proceedings brought against the directors of BP in the United States. Stuart is also recommended for his work in the field of insolvency, where his expertise extends to all areas of corporate and personal insolvency. In addition to acting for private clients in this area, he has advised the DTI and appeared in the High Court and before Insolvency Practitioners Tribunals on behalf of the Insolvency Service. Stuart has particular expertise in the most contentious areas of insolvency litigation, including fraudulent trading, misfeasance and setting aside prior transactions. Stuart’s impressive court room skills are balanced by a clear understanding of the business context of litigation and the commercial imperatives of his clients. In addition to appearing in the English courts, Stuart has been called to the bar of the British Virgin Islands and regularly appears in international arbitrations.

Tim Koch

Tim specialises in commercial and private client disputes. He has experience in all of Chambers’ core practice areas, including trusts, civil fraud, insolvency, art and cultural property, and offshore disputes. He welcomes instructions as sole counsel or as part of a wider team.

Timothy Sherwin

Timothy is a chancery barrister with a practice in private client and business litigation. He has detailed experience of contentious trusts, probate and succession cases, Court of Protection matters, art & cultural property litigation, company cases, insolvency disputes, civil fraud, as well as banking and general commercial litigation. He is very frequently instructed on cases which involve a number of overlapping areas of law.

Tom Stewart Coats

Tom’s experience includes general commercial disputes (both litigation and arbitration), banking and financial services disputes, aviation, trusts and estates litigation, company and insolvency law, and public international law. Tom has a particular interest in complex multi-jurisdictional disputes, whether for companies, private clients or states, which involve multiple forums and different systems of law. Tom appears in both court proceedings (in the UK and offshore) and in arbitration. He is happy to be instructed on his own or as part of a larger team. Tom has recently appeared unled against KCs in eight significant hearings in the English High Court and in the DIFC Courts. Tom regularly appears in applications for urgent injunctive relief, including for pre and post-judgment freezing orders, proprietary injunctions, Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust orders, and passport orders. Prior to joining XXIV, Tom was an associate at a boutique law firm, Omnia Strategy LLP, where he specialised in arbitration (both investment treaty and commercial) and public international law. Tom is registered to appear as an advocate before the DIFC Courts and has a busy practice before those courts. He has also recently acted or advised in relation to matters in Jersey, Guernsey, Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Hong Kong, the onshore UAE courts, and in ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA and ICSID arbitrations.

Legal 500

Our Team

FAQs

Marketing Resources

Newsletters

Contact us