Biography
Tom has over 20 years’ experience in complex and high value commercial litigation and arbitration, spanning many business sectors and often involving multiple jurisdictions.
He has a wide-ranging practice based on managing high value, commercial disputes in sectors such as infrastructure, financial services, automotive, consumer products and retail.
Tom acts on some of the most high-value and complex mandates being brought before the English High Court, including acting for Privinvest in the US$2bn claim brought against Credit Suisse and Privinvest by the Republic of Mozambique, also known as the “Tuna Bonds” litigation. The claim relates to supply agreements and supporting financial instruments and guarantees entered into by state-owned enterprises dedicated to the development of Mozambique’s offshore Exclusive Economic Zone and supporting international investment into its oil and gas reserves. The claim engages allegations of bribery of Mozambican government officials. Tom acted for Privinvest companies in their successful March 2021 appeal of the question of whether claims against them were in the scope of arbitration agreements.
In relation to advising consumer facing companies, Tom has advised a UK client on food safety issues, including Natasha’s law, and is representing an iconic UK luxury fashion and accessories retailer. He is also one of the lead partners at Signature advising a worldwide automotive manufacturer on diesel emissions-related litigation proceedings in the UK. Tom is an expert at predicting when problems are likely to come to the boil and using innovative and legal tech solutions to solve them when they do. He is a market leader in applying e-disclosure to complex commercial litigation, having trained a group of High Court judges on this issue. Recently, he advised a client on content to allow third party users to create and manage comprehensive, legally binding smart contracts, and associated liability exposure.
Additionally, Tom has also been advising a major international consumer products manufacturer on third party disclosure obligations in England and Wales and in connection with a 6 week €150 million High Court trial.
Tom also represents clients in relation to financial services litigation, including advising a UK client on a potential dispute with one of the largest banking and financial services institutions in the world and the related FCA and the FOS regulatory regimes, as well as representing a UK-based financial advisory investment firm on a potential contractual dispute and debt recovery steps as regards one of Africa’s leading agri-fintech companies. Tom is also acting for two UK companies on the entitlement to specific performance from the English Courts against two non-UK financial services bodies.
Tom’s work is also often international in scope. For example, he has been advising on requests under the UK Freedom of Information Act regime and in the making of related requests under legislation of an EU Member State and of an international organisation that aims to promote global financial stability. He is also advising a client on a potential bilateral investment treaty claim in an extractives industry context.
Tom works in our London offices, but spent time on secondment to our Gibraltar offices in 2021 and works closely with our team in Paris. At Signature, Tom has worked with legal counsel throughout the EU, Switzerland, the Middle East, in sub-Saharan Africa and in the US.
Tom is recognised as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in The Legal 500 UK 2023 for Commercial Litigation. He has also been recognised for Banking Litigation: Investment and Retail. The Guide notes he “has a breadth of experience” and previous guides have also commended his “breadth of litigation and contentious regulatory experience including in the banking and financial services sector” and praises his “experience in private equity, consumer products and retail sector disputes”.
He has also been ranked in the Chambers UK Guide for his commercial litigation expertise, and was described 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”.
Prior to joining Signature Litigation, Tom was Head of the Commercial Disputes Group at Freshfields. He has represented clients in high-profile, strategic negotiations, successfully managed their most reputationally sensitive risk issues and litigation, and run complex disputes in the UK’s senior appellate courts and the CJEU. In 2015, he was invited by the Commercial Court to sit on the Court’s Users’ Committee. Since then, Tom has played an active role in discussions around procedural reforms and the potential impacts on the UK Courts of Brexit.
During his time at Signature, Tom has written articles and has been featured in the media, including the Financial Times and The New York Times, on pertinent judicial review and dispute resolution topics, such as post-M&A disputes, audit failings and high-profile commercial disputes.
Tom is also well-known for his longstanding commitment to pro bono work, having represented Save the Children, someone seriously injured in the London 7/7 bombings and the family of one of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing victims. In 2016, Tom brought a successful intervention in the UK Supreme Court on behalf of both the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.
Experience
Commercial Litigation
- Advising a worldwide automotive manufacturer on emissions issues in the UK.
- Advising a California-based tech company on a potential dispute with a developer of one of the top ten most popular entertainment apps in the US.
- Advising Cargill in its long running dispute against one of the largest steel manufacturers in India. In 2019, Tom successfully obtained summary judgment in favour of Cargill and an award of default compensation at a rate of LIBOR plus 12%. This was one of the first cases to apply the UK Supreme Court’s seminal decision in Cavendish Square v Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67, which redefined English law as to when contractual obligations are an unenforceable penalty.
- Acting for a major bank in one of the most significant pieces of post-credit crunch litigation in the English Courts and then obtaining one of the largest non-party costs orders ever made. To enforce the resulting judgment debt, Tom successfully had equitable receivers appointed and defeated a subsequent attempt to set aside their appointment. Related proceedings include obtaining Norwich Pharmacal relief in England and Wales and Guernsey, litigation in the Turks and Caicos Islands, proceedings in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales determining the UK’s contempt of court jurisdiction against foreign defendants, successful enforcement action in the Norwegian Supreme Court (leading to the sale of a key asset in 2020), and a US trial in late 2019.
- Acting for Deutsche Bank in its dispute with Unitech, one of the first cases to consider the civil consequences of alleged LIBOR manipulation. This case had been to the Court of Appeal on a number of interlocutory points (including LIBOR) and at trial in 2019, the Court entered judgment (on the first day of the trial) against Unitech for approximately USD $315m.
- Advising Accenture in its multi-million pound dispute with Centrica (British Gas) over the design and implementation of the largest billing system ever installed for a major utility company.
- Acting for Hutchison 3G in a dispute with its network software supplier concerning delays in production and quality.
- Representing a multinational in its successful defence of English High Court group litigation proceedings brought by a group of landowners, claiming for environmental damage allegedly caused by the construction of an oil pipeline.
- Acting for a global feed business on litigation strategy issues in the context of a potential dispute with a leading private equity house.
EU Law and Judicial Review
- Advising a high profile body in the insurance sector in connection with public law issues engaged by the UK Government’s position on a contentious EU directive and in connection with potential UK Supreme Court proceedings and related contribution claims.
- Obtaining a reference from the English High Court and then bringing proceedings in the CJEU to challenge the legality of the EU’s revised Tobacco Products Directive.
- Bringing judicial review/constitutional challenge proceedings in the English High Court, Court of Appeal, the UK Supreme Court, the Australian High Court and the Irish Courts against bans on the branding of certain consumer products.
- Acting for the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants in the 2016 UK Supreme Court hearing of R (on the application of MM (Lebanon) v Secretary of State for the Home Department.
- Advising a global product manufacturer on complex challenges to UK and EU food law.
- Advising clients on requests under the UK Freedom of Information Act regime and in the making of related requests under legislation of an EU Member State and of an international organisation that aims to promote global financial stability.
International Arbitration, Civil Fraud and Risk Management
- Representing Privinvest in connection with a US$2bn claim brought against Credit Suisse by the Republic of Mozambique. The claim relates to supply agreements and supporting financial instruments and guarantees entered into by state-owned enterprises dedicated to the development of Mozambique’s offshore Exclusive Economic Zone and supporting international investment into its oil and gas reserves. The claim engages allegations of bribery of Mozambican government officials. Tom acted for Privinvest companies in their successful March 2021 appeal of the question of whether claims against them were in the scope of arbitration agreements.
- Advising a major multinational in relation to complex and high value ICC arbitration proceedings involving a six-week hearing in 2019.
- Advising a UK plc in the energy sector in connection with complex LCIA arbitration proceedings.
- Leading a team advising in complex cross border litigation involving allegations of fraud, conspiracy and breach of directors’ duties. The litigation involved freezing and asset disclosure injunctions being granted in favour of an entity connected to an ultra high net worth individual and a related jurisdictional dispute being appealed to the UK Supreme Court and a successful preliminary reference to the CJEU.
- Advising manufacturers and retailers of food, feed and consumer products in connection with numerous safety issues, including global product recalls and an investigation into the cause of a multi-million dollar food contamination crisis.
- Advising a major international consumer products manufacturer on third party disclosure obligations in England and Wales and in connection with a six week €150m High Court trial.
- Advising clients on appearances before UK Parliamentary Select Committees.
- Advising a client on a potential bilateral investment treaty claim in an extractives industry context.
- Advising a UK-based client on content to allow third party users to create and manage comprehensive, legally binding smart contracts, and associated liability exposure.
Publications
Delay Plan To Phase Out EU Regulation, Law Group Urges – Law360 – 18 January 2023
Bitar, Beirut and bank transfers – Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence – 16 September 2022
Letter: Curtailing judges risks an overly powerful executive – Financial Times – 9 December 2021
Judicial review reform: A risk to the courts’ post-Brexit standing – Litigation Futures – 30 March 2021
Swiss arbitration stalls Mozambique’s Tuna Bonds bribery claim against Privinvest – Global Investigations Review – 11 March 2021
Shipbuilder wins stay of Mozambique bribery suit – Global Arbitration Review – 11 March 2021
Privinvest Forces $2B Mozambique Fraud Suit To Arbitration – Law360 – 11 March 2021
Wex Deal Leaves Questions On UK Approach To M&A Suits – Law360 – 21 December 2020
Auditor regulation and litigation – down to the wire(card)? – Finance Digest – 6 August 2020
Mortgage arrears-handling failures cost Lloyds dearly – Compliance Monitor – July 2020
Warranty Claims Litigation May Surge Due To COVID-19, Brexit – Law360 – 31 July 2020
The UK Government Has Refused to Compensate Dealers Affected by Its Ivory-Trading Ban. Here’s Why That Has Big Implications – Artnet – 24 July 2020
Auditor regulation and litigation – down to the wire(card)? – Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence – 16 July 2020
Deloitte faces record £15m fine for Autonomy audit failings – London Loves Business – 10 July 2020
The Angelic Grace of judicial pragmatism – Litigation Futures – 15 June 2020
Witness statements – evolving or endangered? – The Law Society Gazette – 15 June 2020
FCA fines Lloyds $80M for mistreating mortgage customers – Compliance Week – 12 June 1010
Priti Patel insists ‘it’s not MY plan’ after Ryanair boss vows to ‘block travel quarantine’ by the end of THIS WEEK as airlines and businesses join legal fight – Daily Mail – 8 June 2020
Comments in relation to UK airlines calling for a judicial review of Government COVID-19 quarantine rules for international arrivals to the UK – The New York Times – 8 June 2020
Comments in relation to UK airlines calling for a judicial review of Government COVID-19 quarantine rules for international arrivals to the UK – Reuters – 8 June 2020
APPOINTMENT OF THE WEEK – TOM SNELLING AT SIGNATURE LITIGATION – Edward Fennell’s Legal Diary – 4 June 2020
Signature Litigation snaps up Snelling – New Law Journal – 31 May 2020
Signature signs up Snelling – CDR – 28 May 2020
Areas of Expertise
Latest news
@SignatureLitLLP
We are pleased to announce that Ela Barda has been promoted to Counsel - many congratulations, Ela! Read more here: bit.ly/3XMqd7A #Litigation #CommercialLitigation pic.twitter.com/JxZLKh1qN2
Sylvie Gallage-Alwis and Gaëtan de Robillard assess the impact of the Conseil national de la consommation’s new practical guide in Le Monde du Droit
28 September 2023
Sylvie Gallage-Alwis and Gaëtan de Robillard assess the impact of the Conseil national de la consommation’s new practical guide in Le Monde du Droit
28 September 2023
Signature Partners
Ioannis Alexopoulos
Ioannis is ranked in the Chambers UK 2022 Guide for international arbitration, which notes that he “consistently produces extraordinary, excellent work and he fills the client with great confidence and comfort”. He is further described as “adept at handling BIT claims” and “is very experienced and brings a wealth of knowledge to the field.” He is also recognised in The Legal 500 UK 2023 as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for civil fraud, international arbitration, commercial litigation and banking litigation, and he is praised for his “superb commercial and practical sense.” Ioannis is also recognised in Who’s Who Legal 2022 Arbitration Guide. He has been described as “well recognised for his top-notch arbitration practice among peers who say he is “very experienced and engaging with the tribunal”.”
Paul Brehony
Paul is recognised for his commercial litigation expertise in The Legal 500 UK 2023 Guide. He has also been recommended for civil fraud and banking litigation and is commended as “a highly accomplished insolvency litigator“, who “is fantastic in highly complex insolvency cases where his knowledge and experience put him head and shoulders above others“. Previous guides have described Paul as a “notable practitioner” for banking litigation and “highly recommended” for commercial litigation. He is further praised as “charming, well organised and a pleasure to litigate with.”
Natalia Chumak
Natalia has been 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 2022 for his civil fraud expertise. The Legal 500 has noted that Julian is an “extremely experienced practitioner” and “a specialist in international fraud and asset recovery actions”. Julian is also described as “subtle and meticulous” and “inspires great confidence in all around him”.
Simon Fawell
Simon has been recognised as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in The Legal 500 UK for his litigation and arbitration expertise and is commended as “a strong strategic thinker”, “a real team player” and “very good to work with”. He is also Recommended for insurance and reinsurance litigation.
Jérémie Fierville
Jérémie’s practice focuses on shareholders, governance, and M&A disputes, as well as general commercial and civil litigation. Having practised in both Paris and London, Jérémie acts for a broad range of French and international companies. He represents his clients in strategic pre-litigations, litigations and arbitrations, as well as mediation proceedings.
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 ‘Leading Individual’ 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.”
Becca Hogan
Becca is recognised as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ by The Legal 500 UK 2023 for banking litigation. Becca is described as “exceptional“, with an “excellent grasp of the detail”. She is further praised as a “safe and skilled pair of hands.” She has been described, by previous editions of the Guide, as “stellar“, “calm and strategic“. She has also been praised for her “good instincts” and “commercial approach”.
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 UK 2023 recognises Graham as a ‘Hall of Fame’ lawyer for both banking litigation and commercial litigation, and a ‘Leading Individual’ for his civil fraud expertise. He is described as “a doyen of London banking litigation” and a “master tactician“.
Abdulali Jiwaji
Abdul is regarded as a ‘Leading Individual’ in The Legal 500 UK 2023 for Commercial Litigation and a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for Banking Litigation: Investment and Retail. The Guide notes he is “absolutely unflappable” and that he “inspires confidence“. A commentator notes that: “One of the best litigators I have had the privilege of working with is Abdulali Jiwaji.” Abdul is further described as having “a grip of the big picture and the detail; very deft in client handling; tenacious and determined; swift, responsive and clear-thinking“. Previous Guides have noted Abdul “is always on the ball and has a good tactical brain” and recognises he “has always provided sound and very considered advice”. He is also praised for being “a steady hand during turbulent times”. Chambers Global has described him as a “technically sound, sensible and robust litigator who always finds practical solutions”.
Tsegaye Laurendeau
Tsegaye Laurendeau is recognised as a ‘future leader’ in the Who’s Who Legal Arbitration Guide. Peers and clients say he is a “brilliant arbitration lawyer” and “very adept at steering cases and handling experts”. Previous editions of this Guide note that Tsegaye is “one of the best arbitration lawyers of his generation”, “a top-notch attorney” who is “rapidly establishing himself as one of the leading practitioners, notably in Africa-related disputes”. Tsegaye also features in The Legal 500 International Arbitration Powerlist UK, which showcases the UK’s leading arbitration practitioners.
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 insurance and notes she is “very renowned in the insurance sector“. The Legal 500 also ranks the insurance and reinsurance litigation practice very highly in Paris, and also notes the department “unites an impressive bench of stellar litigators“. The Chambers Europe 2022 Guide notes that Emmanuèle noted as “the key point of contact” for insurance at the firm. Chambers ranks Signature Paris’ insurance practice as a leading firm in its Europe Guide and highlights the team’s “knowledge and ability to handle complex and difficult matters“.
Hermès Marangos
Hermès is recognised as a ‘Leading Individual’ in The Legal 500 UK 2023 for his insurance and reinsurance litigation practice. Hermès has been ranked as an expert in Chambers Global and Chambers Latin America for his Insurance expertise in the region.
Neil Newing
Neil is regarded as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in The Legal 500 UK 2023 for international arbitration and banking litigation. He is for his “excellent arbitration experience, and excellent appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of cases.” Previous Guides have described Neil as “a strong lawyer who stands out for the quality and thoroughness of his analysis” and noted for managing “major cross-border disputes“. The Legal 500 UK 2021 recognised him as “an outstandingly clever counsel who will go very far”. Neil is also described as being “an exceptionally talented lawyer, a strategic thinker and a pleasure to work with. The depth and breadth of his experience in international commercial arbitrations is a huge asset to the firm”. He is also ranked in the Who’s Who Legal Arbitration Guide as a ‘future leader’.
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. Elliott is also recognised as one of the world’s leading private client lawyers and trusts and estates litigators, and is 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.” A referee in the Guide described Elliott as “an accomplished litigator, highly experienced, knowledgeable and great to have on your side” and another praised his “vast knowledge and experience across an array of different areas” and noted he is “the stand-out practitioner in a hugely talented team.“
Flore Poloni
Ranked in the Who’s Who Legal Arbitration Guide, Flore is described as “the most dynamic young arbitration practitioner in Paris“, “a very dynamic and multi-skilled lawyer” and praised for her “excellent communication skills and perfect knowledge of arbitration“. The Legal 500 EMEA 2021 Guide ranks Flore as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ for dispute resolution and has been recognised as a ‘Rising Star’ lawyer for International Arbitration. Flore has been praised for her “extensive expertise in international arbitration” and described as “extremely capable”.
Thomas Rouhette
Thomas is ranked as a leading expert 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 ‘Hall of Fame’ lawyer 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”. Tom is recognised as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in The Legal 500 UK 2022 for Banking Litigation: Investment and Retail and Commercial Litigation.
Daniel Spendlove
The Legal 500 UK Guide describes Daniel as “hugely talented“, “with a really creative eye for litigation strategy“, “an exceptionally committed, exceptionally hard working lawyer, with a careful and thorough approach to issues” and “a really effective litigator“. He has also been described as “very smart, client focused and details-oriented” and “excellent, with great attention to detail, wide experience and excellent client care’“. He has also been praised as “highly professional”, and “a strategic thinker” who “brings real energy to cases”. He is highly ranked across the Commercial Litigation, Banking Litigation and International Arbitration categories. He was recently described, by Commercial Dispute Resolution magazine, as “one of a new breed of independent and forceful commercial litigation partners”.
Rory Spillman
Rory is recognised as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ by The Legal 500 UK 2023 for banking litigation and a commentator notes that Rory has “tremendous judgement” is “very hard-working“, and comes “highly recommended for banking disputes.” He has also been described by previous Guides as “impressive“, “excellent” and a “real authority“.
Josh Wong
Described as a “a highly experienced commercial international arbitration expert“, Josh is recognised as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in The Legal 500 UK 2023 for international arbitration and banking litigation. A commentator remarks: “Josh Wong and his colleagues are a highly knowledgeable and intellectually-focused team that fully appreciates and acts upon all the levers within complex litigation, taking full account of the strengths and weakness of all components.” Past guides have also noted that he is “an expert in security, asset tracing and enforcement actions involving multiple jurisdictions”. He has also been 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.
