Contempt of Court

James Counsell KC specialises in contempt of court cases arising out of alleged breaches of disclosure and freezing orders and in financial regulatory work in the UK and in the Middle East.  Within the past year, he has represented three alleged contemnors in the B&P Courts for alleged breaches of disclosure and freezing orders, all three of which involved lengthy trials in the B&P Courts and appeals to the CA (BMF v Hussain (Miles J and CA), Isbilen v Turk (Sir Anthony Mann and CA) and Barclays Bank v Mason & others (Rajah J and CA), leading Alex Haines, Helen Pugh and Michael Uberoi respectively.

Fiona Horlick KC specialises in contempt of court, regulatory, specialist crime and civil litigation.  She recently acted for the defendant in the Court of Appeal contempt case of Ahmed v Rehman [2023] EWCA Civ 1504. Fiona is currently instructed in several contempt cases including Commerzbank AG v Damilare Ajao and the (confidential) case of Major class action claimants v Major global company.

John McKendrick KC practises in public and commercial law, and has a strong international element to his practice. John has acted on behalf of defendants in cases concerning contempt for breach of worldwide freezing orders. He also recently advised a Central American corporation on the enforcement of an arbitration award, service out of the jurisdiction and contempt.

James Leonard KC has a considerable background in complex fraud and corruption cases, financial services and multi-jurisdictional confiscation proceedings. James is regularly instructed in relation to disobeying court orders related to assets and disclosure thereof. He is instructed both to defend allegations of contempt of court and in bringing committal proceedings in the KBD and Chancery Divisions of the High Court.

Paul Rogers has a proven track record in handling complex investigations, trials and appeals as lead counsel, at both domestic and international level. He advised in the recent contempt proceedings of Aviareps PLC v Kiani [2022].

Michael Uberoi specialises in contentious financial services litigation. He frequently advises upon and acts in contempt proceedings and has recently acted for the claimant, Cardiff City Football Club, in contempt applications arising out of the transfer of the footballer Emilano Sala, and in the nine day contempt trial of Barclays Bank v Mason [2024] EWHC 1994 (Ch).

Ben Bradley is a Band 1 listed Junior, practising primarily in the fields of high-value clinical negligence and personal injury work. He is regularly instructed to defend in contempt matters, particularly where the case requires expertise in medical issues that commonly arise in complex PI/CN litigation.

Robert Dickason has extensive experience of clinical negligence and personal injury litigation including contempt of court proceedings arising where injury claims have been tainted by dishonesty. He acted in (Muyepa v MOD [2002] EWHC 2648 (KB)); a successful defence of contempt proceedings brought by the Ministry of Defence against a former soldier whose non-freezing cold injury claim – the largest ever advanced against MOD – had been dismissed as fundamentally dishonest.

Alex Haines is called to both the English and Irish Bars, and a US-qualified attorney admitted to the Bars of New York and Washington DC. He is an international fraud and corruption specialist with an intricate understanding of MDBs/IFIs and their debarment frameworks. His practice consists of advocacy, litigation, investigations and advisory work. Alex is often instructed in contempt cases in this field.

Helen Pugh is a commercial barrister and has acted in a number of leading and high profile contempt cases in recent years, with a particular focus on contempt proceedings arising out of breaches of freezing orders, proprietary injunctions or ancillary disclosure orders. Recent cases include: Commercial Bank of Dubai SC & Ors v Al Sari [2024] EWCA Civ 643 (sole counsel) which clarified the law on alternative service in contempt proceedings, Isbilen v Turk [2024] EWHC 505 (Ch) (led by James Counsell KC) a 10-day trial over a 5 week period arising out of a breach of the disclosure of information provisions in a proprietary injunction, followed by a successful appeal [2024] EWCA Civ 568; and Milsom & Standish v Thomas, a complex set of allegations in a decades-long dispute between the SFO and Dr Gerald Smith relating to alleged interference with a receivership order in respect of shares in overseas companies; and A v B (confidential) (sole counsel) advising on contempt in the context of alleged non-disclosure of digital assets.

Sophie O’Sullivan’s contempt of court work forms part of her civil fraud, business crime and financial regulation practice. Over recent years, Sophie has appeared in the High Court (Chancery Division) in £28m contempt of court proceedings arising from the fraudulent appropriation of assets and has been instructed by the SFO, FCA and NCA in relation to multi-million-pound fraud investigations, asset tracing and asset recovery proceedings.  Sophie acts for companies and individuals facing myriad allegations of fraud, often involving interlocutory applications for injunctive relief and asset tracing.

Stephen Doherty and Patrick Tomison recently successfully resisted proceedings for contempt of court in the DIFC Courts heard over four days with seven live witnesses. The contempt proceedings concerned alleged breaches of an interim injunction obtained against their client, restraining four of their employees from passing confidential information to them. The issues included whether retained contacts and LinkedIn connections could constitute confidential information caught by the injunction.

Alex Cisneros is a specialist public law and private client barrister. He is instructed in contempt proceedings in the Court of Protection involving individuals who lack capacity to make decisions for themselves. Applications usually involve breaches of confidentiality orders or injunctions.

Josh Hitchens practices in commercial and public law. He has extensive experience in bringing and defending contempt applications in a wide range of contexts. He has brought two contempt applications against the Home Secretary, acted in many contempt applications arising out of commercial litigation, defended criminal contempt applications and acted in cases concerning freedom of expression in a contempt of court context.

Jeremy Scott-Joynt has advised and represented claimants and defendants (both led and unled) in multiple contempt proceedings issued in both the High Court and County Court. He has also appeared unled before the Court of Appeal twice in the past 12 months: one of these cases – Westrop v Harrath [2023] EWCA Civ 1566 – elicited definitive judicial guidance from Coulson LJ as to the interplay between Parts 71 and 81 of the CPR, and is cited in the 2024 White Book.

Charlotte Elves has been instructed in Contempt Proceedings in the County Court, High Court and Court of Appeal (in Al Sari v Commercial Bank of Dubai [2024] EWCA Civ 643). She acts for both claimants and defendants and is particularly knowledgeable when it comes to applications brought by, or against, public bodies.

Joshua Cainer, Courtney Step-Marsden and many others also have experience in applications for permission to commence committal proceedings or acting in appeals against findings of contempt.