Disputes

on the Prudential Regulation Authority’s investigation of an historical balance sheet miscalculation predating Aviva’s acquisition of Direct Line Group. Described by the PRA as a ‘landmark enforcement outcome’, the case, which concluded in March 2026, represented the first occasion on which the PRA’s Early Account Scheme has been used to resolve an investigation.

on its successful appeal to the Supreme Court in Hopcraft regarding broker commissions in a motor finance context. The landmark decision from the Supreme Court determined that motor dealers acting as a credit broker do not owe fiduciary duties to their customers and dismissed the Hopcrafts’ claims against Close Brothers entirely, providing important legal and commercial clarity for the motor finance industry.

in relation to High Court litigation and proposed collective proceedings in the Competition Appeal Tribunal arising out of the foreign exchange investigations. In the collective proceedings, in December 2025 the Supreme Court handed down a landmark judgment providing important clarification on the test to be applied when determining whether collective proceedings may be certified on an opt-out or opt-in basis.

in relation to a mass tort group claim, following the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn the decision of the High Court in Limbu v Dyson.

in relation to proposed collective proceedings in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

in respect of the first standalone and first alleged abuse of dominance related collective proceedings brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal under the UK's competition class action regime.

and other entities who are defendants to claims arising out of the collapse of the Fundão Dam in Brazil. The case involves around 620,000 claimants advancing claims under Brazilian law.

in connection with its defence of the SFO’s investigation of suspicions of corruption in the conduct of business by BAT plc, its subsidiaries and associated persons in a number of jurisdictions including Africa.

in its defence of one of the largest ever competition law follow-on damages proceedings in the UK courts and Competition Appeals Tribunal which cover multiple individual claims, group actions and competing applications for Collective Proceedings Orders.

in complex, multiparty litigation in the English High Court arising out of the USD$2 billion financing of state tuna fishery and maritime security projects in the Republic of Mozambique between 2013 and 2016. Following settlements reported in October and November 2023, the litigation was successfully resolved so far as concerns Credit Suisse.

and its Board of Directors in respect of a derivative action brought by ClientEarth, a minority shareholder, based on allegations of breaches of directors’ duties in respect of the Board’s management of Shell’s climate change related risks and response.

in relation to investigations by US and Danish criminal and regulatory authorities regarding issues arising out of its former Estonian branch. This resulted in a USD$2 billion global resolution with the US Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Danish criminal authorities in December 2022.

on a collective proceedings claim brought by Mr Justin Gutmann in relation to an alleged abuse of dominance for charging so-called ‘loyalty penalties’.

former Executive Director and Board Member of Royal Dutch Shell, in relation to criminal investigations into allegations of bribery by the Milan Public Prosecutor and other criminal authorities, and subsequently defending him in an 18 month criminal trial in the Milan Court of Justice under Italian law. Mr Brinded (and Shell, Eni, and other individuals) have been charged with bribery offences in connection with the OPL245 oil deal in Nigeria. The Federal Government of Nigeria has also joined into the trial as a civil claimant seeking damages of approx. USD$1 billion. The trial has been described in the press as the largest ever bribery trial.

in the landmark financial markets test case brought by the Financial Conduct Authority on behalf of thousands of business interruption insurance policyholders as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a potential value of several hundreds of millions of pounds at stake and an impact on the wider insurance market far beyond the parties involved in the current case.

under investigation by the SFO and investigative agencies in the US, Switzerland and Brazil in respect of allegations of corrupt conduct.