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Banking & Finance

Chambers’ international team instructed in five appeals before the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development Administrative Tribunal

Alex Haines has recently been instructed in five appeals before the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development Administrative Tribunal (EBRDAT). The EBRDAT forms part of the grievance system of the EBRD – a multilateral development bank headquartered in London and established in 1991 to help build a new post-Cold War era in Central and Eastern Europe. The EBRDAT was set up in 2002 and is the final stage of appeal for the resolution of cases submitted by members of staff alleging the non-observance of their contracts of employment or terms of appointment, and concerning dismissals and disciplinary matters. The EBRDAT is composed of five judges, all of whom are nationals of different Member States of the EBRD. The Appeals Procedures of…

News 11 Jun, 2019

Alex Haines and Chloë Bell in the Court of Justice of the European Union, Luxembourg

Alex Haines, assisted by Chloë Bell has recently been instructed in a case before the EU’s General Court. The case involved the European Investment Bank based in Luxembourg. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) – the EU’s judiciary – consists of two separate courts: the General Court and the Court of Justice. The CJEU is based in Luxembourg. For more than a decade, the institutions of the EU benefited from a three-tier judicial system in institutional and employment matters: the EU Civil Service Tribunal (CST) and, thereafter, the General Court and the Court of Justice. The CST, a specialised court within the CJEU and the first of these three tiers, was established in December 2005 and ceased to exist…

News 14 May, 2019

Successful defence of Atlas Mara bank in immediate judgment application in the DIFC

H.E. Justice Ali Al Madhani today ordered a full trial of the claims and counterclaims in John Vitalo v Atlas Mara Management Services Limited [2018] CFI 018 (26 June 2018), having dismissed the claimant’s application for immediate judgment of two of his three claims. The claimant, the former CEO of the defendant bank, sued for breach of contract arising out of the termination of his employment, including for unpaid leave and a failure to index link his living allowance. The claims, if successful, will be subject to a considerable penalty under Article 18 of the DIFC Employment Law. His Excellency the Judge accepted the bank’s submissions that there was a serious issue to be tried including as to how much holiday…

News 26 Jun, 2018

Papadopoulos v Standard Chartered Bank

Deputy Chief Justice David Steel handed down the judgment of the DIFC Court in Papadopoulos v Standard Chartered Bank [CFI/004/2017] granting the Defendant Bank’s application for immediate judgment. The Claimant had sued the Bank for breach of a settlement agreement arising out of the compromise of his employment as Regional CEO of the Bank. The Claimant then sought damages for a failure to pay a bonus, it being an express term of the settlement agreement that the Bank would consider making an award. The Bank decided not to award a bonus due to the Claimant’s conduct in the relevant period. The Bank brought an immediate judgment application of the Claim, on the basis that, as a matter of construction of…

News 27 Feb, 2018

Robert Rhodes QC for Al Jazeera: “Barclays Bank at risk of losing its licence”

Last Monday, Al Jazeera interviewed Robert Rhodes QC about the Serious Fraud Office’s charging of Barclays Bank Ltd for unlawful financial assistance relating to transactions with Qatar in October 2008. The holding company, Barclays Bank plc, was also charged last summer, along with four former senior executives (Robert had an article published about that in Times). The charge relates to Barclays’ October 2008 loan of £2.3bn to Qatar Holdings, its payment to Qatar Holdings of £323m for advisory services, and the purchase by Qatar Holdings of c. £12bn Barclays shares. Robert pointed out that, during the banking crisis a decade ago, the British government had to invest over £1tn into UK banks. He said that Barclays managed to avoid going…

News 16 Feb, 2018

Outer Temple Chambers in first Abu Dhabi Global Markets case

The ADGM Court (Judge Sir Andrew Smith) handed down its first judgment in Afkar Capital Limited (C) v Fikry (D). C, an investment firm regulated by the FSRA, applied for an interim declaration that the minutes of a board meeting and resolutions made at the meeting purporting to appoint a new director and CEO were validly made. The ostensible purpose of the interim declaration was to persuade the regulatory authorities to approve the appointments. The application was made in reliance upon the ADGM companies Regulations 2015 (which closely follows the scheme of the 2006 act). D, a director and then CEO of C who had attended the board meeting, challenged the accuracy of the minutes and the validity of the resolutions.…

News 4 Dec, 2017

The British Legal Awards 2017: Finalists

We are delighted to have been shortlisted in Legal Week’s British Legal Awards 2017 – Chambers of the Year category. The British Legal Awards hosted by Legal Week in association with The City of London Law Society, takes place at the end of the LegalWeek Connect, and is due to be attended by 1,000 lawyers. All 29 categories have been carefully chosen to reflect the ever-complex and challenging work of business lawyers at law firms, within legal departments and at the Bar. Key awards this year include The City of London Law Society Lifetime Achievement Award, Chambers of the Year, Law Firm of the Year, General Counsel of the Year, Editor’s Award: Law Firm Leader of the Year and the Legal…

News 20 Oct, 2017

US regulators drop case against JP Morgan traders

US regulators have dropped their investigation into two former JP Morgan Chase traders accused of falsifying the bank’s books to hide its $6.2bn “London whale” losses. The Securities and Exchange Commission said in a court filing on Friday that it would end its probe into alleged mismarking by Javier Martín-Artajo and Julien Grout in 2012. The Spaniard and the French national had both worked for the bank in London with the trader dubbed the Whale. A filing on Friday in a New York court showed that the SEC had voluntarily dismissed the action. The SEC’s decision follows that of the US Department of Justice, which said earlier this summer that it could no longer rely on the testimony of its…

News 21 Aug, 2017

Andrew Spink QC appointed new chair of COMBAR

Andrew takes over the role from Laurie Rabinowitz QC and will serve for two years, having previously served as COMBAR’s Vice Chair as well as Chair of its International Committee, which is responsible for coordinating the Association’s activities in all non-UK jurisdictions. Before that, Andrew was Chair of COMBAR’s North American Committee and organised the annual North American Meetings for 2012 and 2013. Ranked by Chambers UK as a Leading Silk (Pensions) and by The Legal 500 as a Leading Individual, Andrew Spink QC is a highly respected advocate with 31 years’ experience at the Bar, of which 14 years have been as a successful QC. A registered advocate at the Dubai International Financial Centre, Andrew is also called to…

News 4 Jul, 2017

David Pope obtains summary judgment in interest-rate swap case

David Pope represented Barclays Bank Plc in its successful application for summary judgment in Marsden v Barclays Bank Plc [2016] EWHC 1601 (QB), an interest-rate swap mis-selling case. The Claimant alleged that Barclays had mis-sold two interest-rate swaps totalling £2.25 million and had failed properly to review the sales within the review process established by agreement between Barclays and the Financial Conduct Authority. Barclays denied the claim and applied for summary judgment primarily on the basis that any arguable cause of action against it had been compromised by a settlement agreement. Mr. Justice Phillips gave summary judgment in favour of Barclays and dismissed the claim. He held that the settlement agreement did cover all the Claimant’s arguable causes of action.…

News 23 Sep, 2016

Farhaz Khan appears in Grout v FCA

The Upper Tribunal (Judge Herrington) has handed down judgment in Julien Grout v FCA. The Tribunal (by way of preliminary issue) determined that Mr Grout was identified as one of the ‘traders on the SCP’ criticised in the Final Notice issued to his former employer JP Morgan, in connection with what has been referred to as the ‘Whale Trade’ matter. The Tribunal rejected the Authority’s argument that the requirement that there be a key or pointer to an individual was not satisifed because the term ‘traders on the SCP’ was a collective reference. Farhaz Khan acts for Mr Grout instructed by Graham Huntley and Rory Spillman of Signature Litigation. He was led by Richard Lissack QC. The Judgment can be…

News 8 Jul, 2016

Michael Bowes QC & Judy Krieg analyse DPA procedure

Through his article for this month’s IBA Anti-Corruption newsletter, Michael explores concerns about the DPA procedure and makes a detailed analysis of both the transparency of the DPA investigative process and the potential unfairness in the naming of third parties. As a starting point, Michael and the co-author remind the reader about the first DPA that has been approved by an UK Court, in a case related to the failure of Standard Bank PLC to prevent bribery in Tanzania. This case’s circumstances “give rise to two legitimate general concerns, namely the level of transparency in the investigative process leading to a DPA, and the fairness of naming a person as being guilty of bribery in circumstances where that person has…

News 16 Jun, 2016

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