Banking and finance disputes
‘Derivative swaps, Islamic finance and structured finance litigation continue to be areas where the firm excels. The team is “excellent at getting to grips with the tricky legal issues at stake” and is commended for its “strong level of partner involvement.”’
Chambers UK, 2013
Our team works for a number of the most prominent banks and financial institutions across the globe, advising on all types of banking and finance disputes. As a key part of the firm’s dedicated banking and finance team, we handle both domestic and cross-border disputes throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Central Asia.
We have extensive experience of handling high-profile and commercially sensitive cases across all of the main global financial centres as well as in offshore and emerging markets.
In addition to traditional retail and commercial banking litigation, we have particular experience in technically sophisticated and fast-developing specialist areas such as Islamic finance, derivatives and structured financial products (including securitisations, conduits, CDOs, and SIVs). We regularly act for corporate trustees, issuers and investors in respect of defaults and disputes arising out of debt capital markets transactions.
Our areas of work include:
- debt capital market disputes
- derivatives disputes
- enforcement of ship and aircraft mortgages
- insolvency disputes
- insurance coverage disputes
- intellectual property disputes
- Islamic finance disputes
- lending disputes
- professional negligence claims relating to finance transactions
- structured financial product disputes (including securitisations, conduits, CDOs, and SIVs)
- trade finance disputes
Our recent work:
- Acting for The Royal Bank of Scotland as defendant to a £30 million claim brought by two funds which participated in a syndicated loan at the junior mezzanine level to a commercial property business, which subsequently collapsed. This matter was included in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2013.
- Advising the US Trustee of the Liquidation of Lehman Brothers Inc on English law issues arising in the liquidation.
- Advising Citibank N.A. on its rights and obligations as super senior hedge provider to Reliance Rail with respect to litigation in the New South Wales Supreme Court relating to alleged events of default and proposals for a capital restructure of Reliance Rail.
- Achieving a significant judgment in the first part of a split trial in favour of our clients, the joint liquidators of Britannia Bulk plc. The decision confirmed market understanding of the meaning of close out netting provisions used in the vast majority of over-the-counter derivatives contracts.
- Advising HSBC Investment Bank (and other banks) in the largest mortgage enforcement case in France, in relation to the auction sale of the Mistral, for €130 million.