Alexander Shirtcliff

PARTNER
Alexander is a partner in our Commercial Disputes & Class Actions Team. He has extensive experience of cross border litigation and leads our contentious Crypto Currency & Digital Assets practice.

Alexander joined the firm as a partner in 2025.

 

Alexander advises domestic and global businesses, entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals in complex disputes, almost always with an international dimension. He has conducted cases involving USD $billions across the common law and civil law world and has been admitted in the BVI.

 

Commercial Disputes: Identifying risks and opportunities arising out of disputes between businesses, entrepreneurs and investors. Protecting commercial interests through litigation, arbitration and ADR.

 

Civil Fraud and asset recovery: Preventing or mitigating the effects of fraud on business or private assets. Pursuing the recovery of assets and damages against wrongdoers.

 

Crypto and Digital Assets: Driven by multiple client engagements, developing legal strategies required to protect or pursue crypto currency and digital asset interests.

 

Business Ownership and Corporate Governance: Acting for business owners and officers in disputes concerning ownership, stakeholder deadlock and corporate mismanagement.

EXPERIENCE
Alexander’s experience includes:
Acting for a global energy major opposing USD $9bn fraudulent judgment enforcement campaign.
Acting for the claimant in a market leading crypto asset case against “Kraken” under the UK’s financial service legislation, FSMA. Successfully held jurisdiction over the dispute (Chechetkin v Payward Ltd & Ors [2022] EWHC 3057 (Ch) Financial List) and then resisted enforcement of New York convention arbitration award against a client, which would otherwise have blocked further proceedings in this jurisdiction (Payward, Inc. & Ors v Chechetkin [2023] EWHC 1780 (Comm)).
Acting for financial services entrepreneur dispute over ownership of Italian based global business.
Acting for an investor in a fraudulent energy sector cryptocurrency token scheme.
Acting for an investor following multi USD $50m blockchain hack in pursuing an alleged Distributed Autonomous Organisation (DAO)
Acting for a European telecoms major in multiple debt enforcement campaigns in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Acting for a Caribbean real estate investment fund in a multi-million-pound judgment enforcement campaign.
Conducting domestic evidence gathering campaign in support of USD $80m U.S. financial services fraud litigation.
Acting for European bank in USD$100m multi jurisdiction judgment enforcement campaign.
Acting for global software major in dispute with state owned entity concerning commodities trading platform.
Alex Shirtcliff is an amazing practitioner who always offers clients every possible solution and provides the most comprehensive advice possible.
The Legal 500 UK 2024
Alex Shirtcliff is a joy to work with.
The Legal 500 UK 2023
Alex Shirtcliff is superb with clients and tactics.
The Legal 500 UK 2022
View all insights & events
26/06/2025
Success in business asset ownership dispute
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29/05/2025
Major set back in the Court of Appeal for some Bitcoin Satoshi Vision holders
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01/05/2025
Edwin Coe strengthens Commercial Disputes team
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