Biography
Graham Huntley is a founding partner of Signature Litigation and a specialist commercial and banking litigator. With his time at Signature and previously as a partner in a major international law firm, Graham has 30 years’ experience in commercial litigation.
Graham is consistently recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers as one of the UK’s highest ranked commercial and banking litigators and has been involved in some of the most significant cases of recent years. Chambers UK describes him as “an intense and effective solicitor with an incredibly client-focused approach” and he has previously been described as “very bright, very hard-working, a good tactician” and “very committed and driven”. Graham is also ranked Band 1 in Chambers Global 2018 for Dispute Resolution: Litigation – UK, and is noted as being “a real force of nature” and a “real straight shooter who is supportive of the staff working with him”.
The Legal 500 UK 2020 recognises Graham as a ‘Leading Individual’ for his banking litigation, commercial litigation and civil fraud expertise. Graham is considered “a leading figure in commercial dispute resolution and widely regarded as a rainmaker” and “a force of nature, a very impressive litigator with a deeply commercial intelligence and a willingness to go more than the extra mile for his clients.” The Guide has also noted Graham is an “extremely creative and lateral lawyer“. The Legal 500 UK 2017 regards Graham as “one of the doyens of the London litigation market” who is “an excellent and careful strategist with unparalleled knowledge of judges, barristers and arbitrators” and also includes him in ‘The Legal 500 Hall of Fame’. In The Legal 500 UK 2016, Graham is commended as a litigator “you would not want to have on the other side” and “one of the most experienced litigators in London”. Graham is praised for his ability to bring “huge experience” to cases. He has also been recognised by Citywealth as a Leading Lawyer, as part of the ‘Citywealth Leaders List’.
Graham acts for banks, fund managers and life assurers in relation to M&A disputes, public and private investigations, shareholder and joint venture disputes as well as a range of economic tort claims. Graham also has extensive experience of warranty claims and professional indemnity work for a range of corporate and financial institutions as well as for professionals. His experience of ADR includes three of the UK’s most significant mediations involving financial institutions.
Graham Huntley is a Trustee and past President of the London Solicitors Litigation Association and has served as a member of several judicial and professional working parties including the Commercial Court Users’ Group. He has rights of audience in the Higher Courts of England and Wales.
Graham also has a long standing commitment to pro-bono work. He served as International Pro-Bono Partner for ten years at his previous firm and is currently a Director of the London Legal Support Trust as well as Chairman of the Capital Cases Charitable Trust.
Experience
- Advising an investment bank based in London and the CIS in relation to several fee and market practice issues arising under banking mandates and totalling $140 million in unpaid fees and damages.
- Conducting heavy Commercial Court proceedings in relation to a range of financial transactions in respect of which allegations of conspiracy, fraud, breach of tortious duty, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty under English and Luxembourg laws are all in issue.
- Advising authorised persons in relation to an ongoing investigation by US regulators (the SEC and the DOJ) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority into the obligations and practices regarding the mark-to-market of a complex book of credit default swaps involving detailed and expert analysis of the marking of tranche trades and index trades.
Areas of Expertise
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Signature Partners
Ioannis Alexopoulos
Ioannis is recognised in The Legal 500 UK 2020 as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for his international arbitration and commercial litigation expertise, and has been noted as a “highly rated litigator”. Ioannis has also been ranked in Chambers Global as a ‘Foreign Expert Based in UK’ and a ‘Foreign Expert for Greece’ for his dispute resolution expertise and is commended for his ability to “see right to the heart of sprawling banking disputes.”
Nicolas Brooke
Nicolas has deep experience in the management of complex and international high stakes litigations. He receives high praise within the industry; his team at Société Générale was awarded the “Trophée d’or Direction Juridique Contentieux” by Décideurs/Leaders League and most recently Nicolas won the “Outstanding In-house Counsel” award at the Global Investigations Review Awards in 2018. The Legal 500 EMEA Guide recognises Nicolas as a ‘Leading Individual’ for compliance, and notes he has “outstanding professional skills and shows a good sense of strategy.”
Natalia Chumak
Natalia is ranked in the Chambers UK and The Legal 500 UK Guides for her International Arbitration expertise. She has previously been praised by The Legal 500 and Chambers UK for her “fantastic experience and responsiveness”, for being an “extremely good tactical mind”, a “steely litigator with excellent litigation instincts” and she has been praised for her ability to “remain incredibly calm under pressure”.
Julian Connerty
Julian has been ranked in Chambers for Civil Fraud and the Guide notes he “has considerable expertise in international fraud cases.” Julian is recommended in The Legal 500 UK 2020 for his civil fraud and banking litigation expertise. The Legal 500 notes that Julian is a “highly rated” litigator and an “extremely experienced operator“.
Steven De Lara
Steven practices in both London and Gibraltar. A multi-faceted lawyer, Steven is used to concurrently manage complex contentious and non-contentious commercial, corporate and regulatory mandates. He enjoys a wide corporate and commercial practice, often acting on joint venture and shareholder disputes, contentious asset management, professional negligence claims and Fintech claims. Steven is ranked in the Chambers Europe 2020 Guide for General Business Law: Dispute Resolution. The Guide notes he is an “insightful, dedicated lawyer with great attention to detail” and adds that Steven is “extremely hard-working, client-focused and very knowledgeable.” The Legal 500 EMEA Guide also recognises Steven as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for dispute resolution in Gibraltar.
Sylvie Gallage-Alwis
Sylvie is described by Who’s Who Legal as a “dynamic and determined litigator”, who is “a firm favourite among clients” as “she always goes the extra mile to support her clients, and is proactive in seeking commercial solutions to disputes” and is “analytical, intelligent and responsive”. The Legal 500 EMEA Guide ranks Sylvie as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ for Product Liability Litigation in France and she is recognised for her work on “high-profile toxic tort and product liability cases, handing a number of asbestos claims.”
Graham Huntley
Graham is consistently recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers as one of the UK’s highest ranked commercial and banking litigators and has been involved in some of the most significant cases of recent years. Chambers UK describes him as “an intense and effective solicitor with an incredibly client-focused approach” and he has previously been described as “very bright, very hard-working, a good tactician” and “very committed and driven”. The Legal 500 recognises Graham for being a “a leading figure in commercial dispute resolution and widely regarded as a rainmaker.”
Abdulali Jiwaji
The Legal 500 UK has noted that Abdulali is recommended for commercial litigation and financial disputes. The Legal 500 praises him for his ‘ability to analyse difficult issues and provide concise and clear advice’, whilst Chambers Global has described Abdulali as a “technically sound, sensible and robust litigator who always finds practical solutions”.
Emmanuèle Lutfalla
Emmanuèle is recognised as a ‘Thought Leader’ in Who’s Who Legal’s France 2020 Guide. She is also ranked as both a ‘National’ (in France) and ‘Global’ Leader for Product Liability Defence in Who’s Who Legal. The Guide notes Emmanuèle “excels in handling disputes at the intersection of product liability and insurance matters, representing clients from the life sciences sector in litigation and product risk management.” The Legal 500 EMEA Guide ranks Emmanuèle as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for commercial litigation.
Hermès Marangos
Hermès is recognised as a ‘Leading Individual’ in The Legal 500 UK 2020 for his insurance and reinsurance litigation practice. Hermès is ranked as a Band 3 expert in Chambers Global 2020 and Chambers Latin America 2020 for his Insurance expertise in the region.
Elliott Phillips
Elliott is an internationally recognised barrister and specialises in global commercial litigation and international contentious trusts disputes. He has been recognised in The Legal 500 for his experience in dispute resolution work and is also ranked as a Band 2 individual in both Chambers Global and Chambers Europe for General Business Law: Dispute Resolution — Gibraltar. In 2019 Elliott was recognised as one of the world’s leading private client lawyers and trusts and estates litigators, and was listed in the Private Client Global Elite community. The Legal 500 EMEA Guide recognises Elliott as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for dispute resolution in Gibraltar, and notes he “is a specialist in international trusts and estates disputes.”
Thomas Rouhette
Thomas is ranked Band 2 by both Chambers Global and Europe for his litigation and aviation law expertise, with sources praising him for his “invaluable” advice, experience and knowledge. The Legal 500 EMEA Guide consistently recognises Thomas as a ‘Leading Individual’ for his aviation and commercial litigation practices. Who’s Who Legal regards Thomas as the “finest product liability lawyer in the country and one of the very best on the continent.”
Tom Snelling
Highly ranked in the Chambers UK Guide for his commercial litigation expertise, Tom Snelling is described in the 2020 Guide as “extraordinarily good” and an “utter pleasure to work with and enormously talented, with a sixth sense for where a case is going and very sound judgement”. The Guides have also noted that Tom is “amazingly dedicated with strong credentials in international litigation” and that he is both “practical and commercial”.
Daniel Spendlove
Daniel has been highly ranked in The Legal 500 UK Guide for his expertise in banking litigation, commercial litigation and professional negligence. The Guide describes him as “very smart, client focused and details-oriented” and a “highly rated litigator”. He receives praise for being “a strategic thinker” who “brings real energy to cases”. He was recently described, by Commercial Dispute Resolution magazine, as “one of a new breed of independent and forceful commercial litigation partners”.
Josh Wong
Josh is recognised as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in The Legal 500 UK 2020 for his international arbitration expertise, and is praised for being “an excellent lawyer, who is hardworking and has a clear vision.” He is also ranked in Chambers Global as a ‘Foreign Expert Based in UK’ for his Chinese dispute resolution, arbitration expertise, and as a ‘Foreign Expert for China’ for UK dispute resolution.
