Commercial Litigation

4 Pump Court is a set renowned for its Commercial Litigation practice, as demonstrated by Legal 500 who say that we are ‘an excellent set to work with across a range of areas’ and ‘punches well above its weight in terms of quality and breadth of experience’.

Our barristers appear in all court and arbitration forums both domestically and internationally, including the Commercial Court and the Business & Property Courts, as well as the appellate courts. Recent high-profile cases include SKAT v. Solo Capital Partners, where SKAT, the Danish tax authority claims it is the victim of a sophisticated fraud between 2012 and 2015 by which it was induced to part with around £1.44 billion; Kestrel on Quartz Assets LLC and Others v Kestrel Coal Midco, a Commercial Court claim, in which Kestrel was being sued by lenders concerning the provision of mezzanine finance for the acquisition of mining assets from Rio Tinto for around USD2 billion and, Tata Consultancy Services and Barring Services which was a large-scale, high-value and technically complex dispute relating to the provision of IT implementation and business process transformation.

Complementing our chambers-wide expertise in fraud, shipping, technology & IT, energy, insurance and professional negligence, our members regularly deal with urgent injunctions and applications covering a wide variety of relief across the courts. These include anti-suit proceedings, applications for delivery-up, challenges to arbitration awards, Norwich Pharmacal and other disclosure applications, summary judgment and short notice/overnight injunctions.

Our barristers gain advocacy and case management experience from their second six months of pupillage and into the early stages of tenancy, giving them an unrivalled level of experience at the bar, giving them a commercial outlook on cases and also understanding how the judiciary might view a particular case.

Our practice management team have a deep understanding of the pressures involved in commercial disputes across all sectors, honed over many years, working closely with clients to find the right barrister or team of barristers for each dispute.

Our commercial team have particular expertise in the sectors of:

• Banking and financial services
• Civil fraud
• Commodities
• Construction and engineering
• Energy
• Insurance and reinsurance
• International arbitration
• Offshore
• Professional negligence 
• Shipping and shipbuilding
• Technology and telecommunications
• Transport

Our barristers provide pragmatic strategic advice on legal problems. Our focus is always on achieving the best commercial outcome for our clients, whether through a negotiated or mediated settlement or following a hard-fought trial.

Our commercial barristers have long been at the forefront of international work at the Commercial Bar, with members often acting in complex multi-jurisdictional disputes, including on business to business, shareholders, companies and trusts disputes.

Our team has a truly international reach with specific experience in: