Biography
Steven specialises in international litigation, with a particular focus on private international law and cross border insolvency. He is particularly well-known in the financial services industry, having regularly acted for and against international banks and multinational companies on civil fraud, derivatives trading, and other matters.
Steven is now increasingly instructed to act over admiralty related claims, including disputes over maritime liens.
Steven is a member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in November 2008, and achieved an LLM International Commercial Law with the University of Nottingham in September 2009. Steven then joined PwC as Legal Counsel, with day-to-day responsibility over insolvency related appointments. In 2013 Steven returned to private practice, joining the litigation team of one of the biggest legal practices in Gibraltar.
Publications:
Experience
Insolvency
- Acting for a listed bank in connection with a court appointment receivership over shares. The receiver gained control over a multinational corporate group that owned German real estate worth €108m
- Acting for overseas consumers’ compensation scheme against insurer’s liquidator
- Acting for overseas liquidators in the recovery and realisation of real estate worth over €30m
Commercial Litigation
- Acting for a listed online betting company in connection with an anti-suit injunction prohibiting shareholders to continue with a multimillion negligence claim in the United States (one of the first cases to address the new lis alibi pendens provision in Article 33 of the Brussels Recast Regulation)
- Acting for a German owned oil and gas company in connection with the recovery over €80m of misapplied funds
Admiralty/Shipping
- Acting for a commodities company in connection with a multimillion claim involving loss of cargo under a C.I.F Port of Destination contract
Areas of Expertise
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Signature Partners
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”.
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 2020 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.
