Financial Services Disputes

The Commercial Disputes team is experienced in advising and representing consumers and companies in matters arising from complex banking and finance disputes.
They have a particularly strong focus on disputes arising from breach of finance agreements, confidentiality, fraud and statute. The team is one of the most experienced in this area and has the well-earned reputation as one of the leading claimant firms for claims relating to financial services companies and civil fraud, regularly acting in domestic institutional and multi-jurisdictional litigation.

The breadth and depth of knowledge of the team is well recognised by peers and market leading and brings the team against major City firms. Our banking and finance litigation lawyers also work with the firm’s clients to address regulatory concerns, investigations, and risk mitigation.

Our banking and finance litigation lawyers also work with the firm’s clients to address regulatory concerns, investigations, and risk mitigation.

What we do best:
  • Contractual Disputes

    Litigating complex financial contracts, including facility agreements, ISDA master agreements, investment management contracts, and financing structures, often involving multi-jurisdictional elements and urgent interim relief.

  • Corporate Governance

    Advising on governance disputes within financial institutions, asset managers, and fintech firms, including board-level conflicts, shareholder issues, and disputes arising from control, decision-making, or regulatory breaches.

  • Crypto & Digital Assets

    Acting in disputes involving token fraud, asset tracing, platform failures, mis-selling of crypto investment products, and regulatory enforcement linked to digital asset markets and blockchain-based financial services.

  • Financial Services & Markets Act and Banking

    Bringing and defending claims under the FSMA 2000, including mis-selling of financial products, market abuse, misleading financial promotions, and breaches of statutory duties; also advising on contentious banking matters involving payment disputes, security enforcement, and liability under lending frameworks.

  • Regulatory Investigations & Enforcement

    Advising clients on responses to investigations by UK and international regulators (FCA, PRA, SFO), including enforcement proceedings, skilled person reviews, and regulatory breach claims with reputational and cross-border implications.

  • Fraud & Asset Recovery

    Pursuing and defending fraud claims in financial services contexts, including insider fraud, Ponzi schemes, unauthorised trading, and investor deception, with experience in securing freezing injunctions and cross-border asset recovery.

  • Mergers & Acquisitions

    Litigating post-M&A disputes involving financial institutions, private equity buyers, and regulated entities, including warranty claims, earn-out provisions, regulatory misstatements, and integration-related breaches.

  • Professional Liability

    Bringing claims against financial professionals and advisers for negligent investment advice, regulatory failings, audit and compliance errors, and breaches of duty, particularly in complex or retail-facing transactions.

  • Trusts & Investment Structures

    Advising on disputes involving trusts and fiduciary structures used in investment and wealth management contexts, including breach of trust, trustee mismanagement, and disputes between beneficiaries, settlors, and fiduciaries.

Contact our team
Examples of our work include:
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, ongoing) – 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 were held on trust for our clients.
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).