Finance litigation

In any high-stakes financial dispute you want to be certain that you have legal specialists on your side with decades of experience in the field. Our award-winning finance litigation practice has acted on some of the most high-profile and complex banking disputes. Visit our finance litigation hub.
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Featuring leading litigation lawyers with Legal 500 and Chambers recognition, our team deals with many of the largest disputes of the day.

We advise clients on private and retail banking disputes; investment banking and structured finance disputes; trade finance disputes (including letters of credit, performance bonds, guarantees and bills of exchange); recovery strategies; asset finance disputes; and fraud and asset recovery matters.

We act for, and against, banks and other financial institutions; hedge funds, closed end funds, and other funds; corporates; insolvency practitioners; and individuals.

Our highly regarded financial regulatory and sanctions team represents institutions and individuals in a variety of investigations, with a particularly wide experience of advising on LIBOR and FX related investigations and sanctions issues.

We have litigators that can help you solve finance related disputes in High Court cases and arbitrations, as well as banking litigators in France, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore.

"The team is very committed. Its main strength is its proactive approach; it anticipates problems that will arise and prepares the line to be adopted well in advance. This has the advantage of avoiding any unpleasant surprises and  preparing positions with the benefit of time."

The Legal 500 UK 2020

Merrill Lynch International

Successfully defended Merrill Lynch International in a claim brought by CFH Clearing Limited in relation to algorithmic foreign exchange trading.

Natixis S.A.

Acting for Natixis in a successful US$35 million Commercial Court claim against Marex Financial relating to five nickel repo transactions.

Macdonald Hotels Ltd

Advising Macdonald Hotels in proceedings in the Commercial Court against the Bank of Scotland/Lloyds Banking Group following Macdonald Hotels' unwarranted placement in Lloyds Banking Group's Business Support Unit.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Acting for RBI in relation to claims arising out of the sale of shares and loans to an Indonesian oligarchical group.

Aggreko International Projects Limited

Representing Aggreko in its successful application for a without notice prohibitory injunction, which restrained payment from being made under a guarantee structure involving banks in London and Yemen, and representing Aggreko in the contested return date hearing in which the Court maintained the injunction.

Various Claimants v Visa Europe Ltd and others; Various Claimants v MasterCard Inc and others

Acting for over 1,000 claimants in 14 separate claims against Visa and MasterCard for the recovery of interchange fees that were imposed on the claimants by the card schemes in contravention of European and UK competition law. The claims are valued at over £500 million.

Euro-Asian Oil SA

Represented a major oil trader in Commercial Court proceedings against Credit Suisse resulting in an US$18 million judgment in our client's favour.

LIBOR and FX

Advising on a number of matters involving allegations of LIBOR manipulation and mis-selling. We have been involved in one of the major test cases on LIBOR issues and continue to advise on UK and international investigations. We are also advising on a number of matters involving allegations of misconduct and the use of anti-competitive devices in the FX market both in the UK and the US. We have advised on a number of recent high profile international spot fix manipulation investigations.

SPL Guernsey ICC Ltd

Acting for SPL Guernsey ICC Ltd and its underlying cells in respect of the board's investigation into the Arch-Cru affair involving substantial losses to investors in Arch-Cru funds.

GLAS Trust Corporation Limited

Instructed by the Note Trustee in relation to certain proceedings concerning a complex securitisation transaction, in which the Issuer had issued Class A and B Notes. Also advising on an on-going basis in relation to the Note Trustee’s role and obligations in the securitisation transaction, which are complex and wide-ranging, and include insolvency aspects.

British Arab Commercial Bank

A high profile claim against AHAB, a Saudi Arabian conglomerate, to recover sums loaned to one of its subsidiaries, ATS. Identified as one of The Lawyer's top 20 cases of recent years, the bank's claim was successful at trial.

Alpha Bank Cyprus Ltd, Bank of Cyprus Public Company Limited, Cyprus Popular Bank Public Co Ltd

Advising a number of major Cypriot banks in relation to a large number of claims based on alleged 'mis-selling' brought in the UK and Cyprus, in some cases in group actions involving hundreds of parties. The claimants in this matter are UK borrowers who entered into loans in order to purchase Cypriot off-plan properties.

Ministry of Defence and Support for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Advising Iran's Ministry of Defence, MODSAF, in a long-running commercial dispute with International Military Services, a subsidiary of the UK's Ministry of Defence. The dispute relates to the enforcement of two ICC awards in favour of MODSAF. The English proceedings are significant for their consideration of financial sanctions in the context of the enforcement of New York Convention awards and also have wider application to issues concerning financial sanctions in banking litigation in general.

Lawyer

Edward Davis Partner

T:  +44 20 7809 2327
M:  Email Edward | Vcard Office:  London

Lawyer

Sue Millar Partner

T:  + 44 20 7809 2329
M:  + 44 7825 625 898 Email Sue | Vcard Office:  London

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In Stanford International Bank Ltd v HSBC Bank PLC [2022] UKSC 34, the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal's decision striking out almost all of Stanford's claim ..

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07 Dec 2022

From Insights

Finance litigation update - December 2022

Welcome to the latest finance litigation update, in which we summarise some of the most significant cases and other developments relevant to banks and other financial ..

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02 Dec 2022

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What should an ISDA notice of default include? Macquarie Bank v Phelan

You enter into a foreign exchange swap under an ISDA Master Agreement with a party who later fails to pay amounts when due.

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01 Dec 2022

From Insights

Litigation privilege: Loreley v Credit Suisse

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30 Nov 2022

From Insights

Court of Appeal confirms reflective loss can't be recovered (Burnford v AA)

The scope of the rule against reflective loss is sufficiently certain for it to be determined on summary judgment.

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30 Nov 2022

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When an Event of Default is "continuing" is not defined or addressed in the ISDA Master Agreement. Until now it does not appear to have been expressly considered in ca..

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10 Nov 2022

From Insights

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10 Nov 2022

From Insights

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09 Nov 2022

From Insights

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This article looks at the recent Lombard North Central v European Skyjets Ltd (in liquidation) case, which provided a useful reminder that a lender's conduct following..

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08 Nov 2022

From Insights

Finance litigation podcast series 2022

Welcome to our 2022 finance litigation series of four short podcasts in which we take a bite-sized look at some of the key themes emerging in financial disputes over t..

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Finance litigation podcast

Welcome to our finance litigation podcast series.

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27 Oct 2022

From Insights

Moving money: Bitar v Bank of Beirut and Manoukian v SGBL

In Bitar v Bank of Beirut S.A.L [2022] EWHC 2163 (QB), the High Court ordered the Bank of Beirut to effect an international transfer to its customer, Mr Bitar.

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12 Jul 2022

From Insights

Finance litigation update - July 2022

Welcome to the latest finance litigation update, in which we summarise some of the most significant cases and other developments relevant to banks and other financial ..

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© Stephenson Harwood LLP 2016. Any reference to Stephenson Harwood in this document means Stephenson Harwood LLP and/or its affiliated undertakings. Any reference to a partner is used to refer to a member of Stephenson Harwood LLP.