Commercial Disputes

“One of the firm’s most outstanding qualities is their ability to handle complex issues at the intersection of various fields of law (e.g., corporate and finance) and to use their vast collective experience in solving complex multi-jurisdictional problems.”
The Legal 500 UK 2024

The firm’s Commercial Disputes team forms part of Edwin Coe’s leading litigation practice, recognised for its excellence in the Times Best Law Firms Guide 2024 and recommended in the Legal 500 and Chambers. Senior Partner and Head of Team, David Greene, is the Past President of the Law Society of England and Wales and ranked in the Hall of Fame, “one of the best litigation solicitors practising in the City”. Together with its associates, the team also retains employed barristers to provide an end-to-end service.

Members of the Commercial Disputes team are regularly instructed on a range of complex disputes, in the UK and internationally, and are experienced in both claimant and defendant work, acting for and against large corporates, financial institutions, private companies, and high-net worth individuals. They are skilled in efficiently navigating successful outcomes for each type of client across various sectors by tailoring their approach to the business and commercial needs bespoke to each case. For domestic litigation, they appear in the London High Court, Commercial Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court.

For their arbitration and international work, the Commercial Disputes team represents UK and international clients in the world’s foremost dispute resolution centres, from the Americas and the Caribbean to Europe (including the Court Justice of the European Union), Africa and the Middle East (see Arbitration & International Disputes for further information).

As part of providing a “full package” to clients, the firm also has excellent links to ATE insurers, and litigation funders for appropriate matters. In addition, they have a particular expertise in co-ordinating large class actions.

Areas of expertise of the Commercial Disputes team include:

• Banking and finance
• Contract
• Corporate governance
• Fraud
• Interim relief such as injunctions and Norwich Pharmacal Orders
• Partnership
• Professional negligence
• Regulatory compliance
• Securities
• Trusts

Recent and ongoing representative work includes:

• Advising a group of 140 Claimants in relation to their claim for damages and interest against various truck manufacturers, following a finding by the European Commission of a price-fixing cartel.
• Upham & Others v HSBC UK Bank PLC (Commercial Court) – acting the claimants in a £1.3 billion claim in deceit, conspiracy, dishonest assistance and breach of FSMA 2000 against HSBC for its part in structuring partnerships to invest in Disney films. The proceedings are one of the Lawyers’ The Top 20 cases of 2024.
• Investors v Clydesdale Financial Services (Barclays Partner Finance) (Business List (ChD), ongoing) – acting for a claimant group arising from the mis-selling of finance products and pursuing claims for misrepresentation and under consumer credit legislation.
• Crown Holdings (London) Limited (In Liquidation) – acting for creditors of the collapsed Ponzi scheme, Crown Currency Exchange, in pursuing their claims. Instruction entailed advice in relation the ways creditors may recover funds form the company, its directors and third parties, culminating in declaration that monies where held on trust for our clients.
• Richards v Harvey [2021] EWHC 21 (Ch) – acting for the claimant in a claim for breach of agreement arising from a complex luxury hotel development in Barbados, and seeking pre-trial specific disclosure following the Defendant’s waiver of privilege.
• Carmo v Raciel (Business List (ChD) – acting and settling proceedings seeking specific performance of a share purchase agreement and related intellectual property rights.
• R (Miller) v The Prime Minister – acting for Jess Phillips MP and others arising from the Prime Minister’s prorogation of Parliament which was said to violate the applicants’ A10 rights. Proofing witnesses and compiling detailed evidence on the exceptional facts of the case.
• The team is further instructed to investigate commercial claims against Google and Facebook, as well as Visa and Mastercard, and acted in a landmark case on VAT charges in the gig-economy for the well-known social media platform ‘OnlyFans’ in the Court of Justice of the European Union (Fenix International Ltd v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Case C-695/20).