Biography
Ioannis specialises in commercial litigation and international arbitration, including banking disputes, particularly those involving financial products, investment banking and derivatives, and also in commercial and business disputes with an emphasis on joint venture and shareholder disputes, shareholder protection, business break-ups and fraud.
His key industry sectors are financial services, energy/oil & gas, shipping/international trade, telecoms, IT and infrastructure projects. He often advises in circumstances where these sectors overlap. The key geographies for Ioannis’s practice are Greece, the Balkans, Russia, the Middle East, Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa. He also has considerable experience of regulatory and internal investigations.
His cases often involve an international element, usually with competing multiple jurisdictions and laws. His clients include banks, insurers, intermediaries, venture capitalists and equity investors and large corporates in England and internationally.
Ioannis is recognised in The Legal 500 UK 2019 as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for his international arbitration, banking litigation and commercial litigation expertise, and is 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.”
Experience
- Advising a natural gas exploration company on a dispute with its ENRON J. V. partner, in the High Court, Court of Appeal and ICC Arbitration.
- Acting for banks and customers in relation to trade finance and documentary credit disputes in connection with commodity trades, including oil, metals and soft commodities.
- Advising a US listed R.E.I.T. in connection with disputes about the financing of a J.V. concerning a major Spanish real estate development.
- Advising depositors on 2013’s Cyprus bank collapses and actions against the government in attempts to recover damages.
- Acted for the Greek partner in a JV with Magyar Telecom in relation to a dispute with Macedonian Telecom arising out of the privatisation of the Macedonian telecoms sector, where Ioannis had advised on the initial successful bid on privatisation as well.
- Acting for various companies belonging to a major advertising and media group in relation to joint venture disputes and other business litigation, as well as employee fraud.
- Advising several clients in connection with the break-up of partnerships or joint ventures or the aftermath of failed common business ventures.
Areas of Expertise
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Ioannis Alexopoulos
Ioannis is recognised in The Legal 500 UK 2019 as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for his international arbitration, banking litigation and commercial litigation expertise, and is 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.
Simon Bushell
Simon is regarded as a ‘Leading Individual’ in The Legal 500 UK 2019 for his civil fraud and commercial litigation expertise, and is recognised as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for his banking litigation work. The Legal 500 notes Simon is “an excellent litigator, constantly striving for ways to improve a case or undermine his opponents”. Chambers UK describes him as a “truly exceptional lawyer” and he has also been ranked as a Foreign Expert for his Russian dispute resolution work in Chambers Global. Recognised for being “very clear-sighted and capable of identifying clear strategies for his clients to pursue”, Simon has been consistently ranked in Bands 1 and 2 for his civil fraud expertise in Chambers UK over many years.
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 is ranked in Chambers for Civil Fraud and is recommended in The Legal 500 UK 2019 for his civil fraud, banking litigation, commercial litigation and insurance and reinsurance litigation expertise. The Legal 500 notes that Julian is a “highly rated” litigator and an “extremely experienced operator”.
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”.
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”.
Abdulali Jiwaji
The Legal 500 UK has noted that Abdulali is recommended for commercial litigation, financial disputes and professional negligence issues. 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’s practice focuses on insurance and reinsurance litigation and claims management. She advises leading insurance companies both regarding policy wording and coverage issues. She is also regularly involved in reinsurance litigation. She is regarded as a ‘thought leader’ in Who’s Who Thought Leaders 2018.
Hermès Marangos
Hermès is recognised as a ‘Leading Individual’ in The Legal 500 UK 2019 for his insurance and reinsurance litigation practice, and is also regarded as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for his banking litigation and commercial litigation expertise. Hermès is ranked as a Band 3 expert in Chambers Global 2019 and Chambers Latin America 2019 for his Insurance expertise in the region.
Elliott Phillips
Elliott is recognised in The Legal 500 2016 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.
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 recognises Thomas as a ‘Leading Individual’ for his aviation and commercial litigation practices, and he is regarded as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for his insurance experience. Who’s Who Legal regards Thomas as the “finest product liability lawyer in the country and one of the very best on the continent.”
Daniel Spendlove
Daniel is highly ranked in The Legal 500 UK 2019 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”.
Josh Wong
Josh is recognised as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in The Legal 500 UK 2019 for his civil fraud, banking litigation, commercial litigation and international arbitration expertise, and is 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.
