Cecilia Xu Lindsey > Chambers of Adrian Keeling KC and Jonathan Jones KC > Birmingham, England > Barrister Profile

Cecilia Xu Lindsey

Work Department

Business and Property

Position

Cecilia has a spectrum of Commercial practice in both dispute resolution and advice with an emphasis on Commercial Law (contract, e-commerce, sports, and construction), Company Law, Fraud and Economic Crimes, Banking and Financial Services, Insurance/Reinsurance, and International Law (international trade, arbitration, FDI and investment treaty, international sanctions). She also acts as Counsel in arbitrations and accepts appointments as Arbitrator.

Her practice has a strong international aspect and often relates to foreign jurisdictions such as the Asia Pacific, the Caribbean, Isle of Man, Europe, Africa and America. In dispute resolution, she has extensive experience in litigation, arbitration and ADR, including litigation at all stages in the County Courts, High Court, Court of Appeal, Privy Counsel and the Senior Courts Costs Office. Clients comment highly on her being “always on top of the proceedings”. In advisory work, she is regarded by clients as being “very thorough and diligent”. Cecilia also acts as Counsel for investors/buyers or otherwise sellers in Merger and Acquisition transactions. She brings a unique contribution to clients’ legal matters, particularly relating to the Asia-Pacific region, thanks to her extensive knowledge and connection with this region and her Chinese Mandarin language and cultural skills. Before joining the independent Bar of England and Wales, she worked for several years in law firms in London, predominantly in Commercial Litigation and Arbitration. Prior to her legal career, she developed more than ten years’ experience in industries, commerce and international development.

She brings a unique contribution to clients’ legal matters, thanks to her Chinese Mandarin language and cultural skills and extensive knowledge and experience in commerce and industries. Before joining the independent Bar of England and Wales, Cecilia worked for several years in law firms predominantly in Commercial Litigation and Arbitration. Prior to her legal career, she developed more than ten years’ non-law experience.

Practice Profile

• Regularly representing clients in trials and arbitral proceedings, and making applications for interim remedies and enforcement of foreign judgment and arbitral award;
• Frequently advising clients on shareholders’ disputes, directors’ duties and services, conduct of the board, partnerships, cross-border transactions including mergers and acquisitions (M and A) and joint adventures (JV), financial services (including regulations of FSMA, FCA, PRA, non-admitted business and captive insurance), letter of credit (including UCP 600), refund guarantee, international trade and commodities, (international) sale of goods, investment-related matters such as sovereign lending, performance bond, investor protection and investment treaty related matters;
• Very experienced in drafting a wide range of commercial agreements, such as shareholders’ agreement, share purchase agreement (SPA), agency agreement, distribution agreement, deed of variation, loan facility agreement, JV agreement, distribution agreement, settlement agreement, refund guarantee, etc.;
• Acting as Arbitrator in commercial disputes arising from a range of commercial agreements.

Practice Areas

Arbitration and Mediation

Cecilia acts as Counsel, and advises and represents clients in arbitration and mediation. She also accepts appointments as Arbitrator, being listed on a number of international and regional arbitration institutions’ list of panel arbitrators.

She has gained experience of challenging appointment of arbitrators for alleged bias and lacking independence and impartiality and acting for clients in making appeals against first-instance decisions.

She has been appointed by LCIA as Sole Arbitrator and Arbitrator of three-arbitrator tribunal to arbitrate a number of cases concerning disputes arising from loan agreements, financial services, and shareholders’ disputes and breach of contract in the light of international sanctions.

She has also been appointed as Mediator for international disputes by ICC International Centre for ADR and China Belt and Road International Mediation Centre.

Banking Law and Financial Services

Cecilia regularly advises on financial regulations relating to the technology industry on business structure and regulatory compliance in respect of blockchain, cryptocurrency, NFT and digital economy.

She also regularly advises commercial banks on issues and risks arising from bond, guarantee and letter of credit. Many of these transactions relate to construction projects, investment projects, shipbuilding projects, infrastructure projects and others, and relate to parties located in different jurisdictions and markets.

She is currently advises clients on issues relating to commodities trading, ship-building finance, performance bond, and letter of credit in particular in relation to UCP 600 (the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, 2007 Revision, ICC Publication no. 600 (“UCP 600”).

Commercial Law/Contract

Cecilia has extensive experience in Commercial Dispute Resolution, including applications for interim remedies (such as freezing injunctions, summary judgment, default judgment, disclosure, security for costs), enforcement of foreign judgments and awards in England and Wales, and trials. She has acted in Multi-Track cases as well as the Fast Track proceedings and Small Claims.

She advises on issues including agency, consumer law, sale of goods, unjust enrichment, fraud, misrepresentation, guarantee, covenants restricting trade, injunctions, sports, and cross-border enforcement related matter. She acts for clients of a wide range of sectors such as regulatory, banking, companies and partnerships, art and culture, design, fashion, blockchain and crypto currency / NFT, technology, cyber, media and entertainment, import and export, international and offshore, automobile, infrastructure and construction

She has extensive experience in advising on construction projects, including general construction including FIDIC and EPC contracts, and specific construction projects such as power station projects and shipbuilding projects. In these projects, she acted as the lead contact in counsel’s team from the stage of key-components discussions through technical design and build negotiations to completion.

She worked on procurement and development of projects with lawyers in the Middle East and Far East for plants construction, risk management and advising on resolution to disputes arising from construction contracts and financing agreements. She had also advised on enforcing arbitral awards against a construction company for African owners under English law.

She has recently acted for the client successfully in a trial for disputes arising from a collateral agreement in respect of property investment and obtained compensation and full legal costs for the clients.

Company Law

Cecilia specialises in all aspects of Company Law including shareholders’ disputes, directors’ conduct, service and disqualification, derivative claims, share capital, resolutions, merges and acquisitions, takeover, IPO, partnerships, and joint adventures.

She also has increasing workload in relation to investment-related matters and related dispute resolution. Her recent cases include:

• Regularly advises on capital investment, share purchase, asset sale, merges and acquisitions (M and A) and joint ventures (JV) as well as drafting a wide range of agreements including shareholders’ agreement, share purchase agreement, deed of variation, loan facility agreement, JV agreement, and acts for the relevant parties
• Regularly advises on shareholders’ dispute including s.994 petition, directors’ duties and services and conduct, and acts for the relevant parties
• Regularly advises on shareholders’ dispute including s.994 petition, directors’ duties and services and conduct, and acts for the relevant parties
• Successfully represented clients in summary judgment proceedings and corporate insolvency and personal insolvency (bankruptcy) proceedings
• Successfully defended clients in statutory demand proceedings arising from alleged partnership agreements

Insurance/Re-insurance

Cecilia acts for clients on Insurance and Re-Insurance related disputes. She has worked as part of counsel’s teams in high-value insurance and re-insurance litigation proceedings in the High Court and Court of Appeal.

She also regularly advises matters relating to insurance activities and regulatory compliance. She has recently advised on regulations of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA of the Bank of England) on activities in the UK and provided divers opinions on non-admitted business, captive insurance and Solvency II, with clients including underwriters, brokerage companies and energy companies.

International

Cecilia regularly practises in private and public International Law.

Her practice has developed particularly in the areas of sovereign lending, investment related matters including Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), investor protection and investment treaty, international sanctions, international trade, international banking, international sale of goods and commodity trading (such as GAFTA standard contracts), import and export, customs clearance, other cross-border transactions, and conflict of laws across jurisdictions.

She regularly acts as counsel and advises on these areas and represents clients in related disputes and proceedings. She has recently assisted clients in enforcing overseas arbitral awards and having obtained freezing injunction in support of the enforcement in England.

She has gained substantial experience in relation to international sanctions. She has recently assisted clients in making applications to release frozen assets concerning a regime that has been targeted by international financial sanctions. She is current advising clients on international arbitration and on matters concerning trade and potential disputes in relation to another regime which has been restricted by international sanctions.

Publications

• “Challenge Jurisdiction of GAFTA Arbitral Tribunal under s.67 of the Arbitration Act 1996” – April 2021, Lexology
• “Retail industry financial restructuring during the Covid19 pandemic” – October 2020, LexisPSL
• “Invoking Force Majeure on the Outbreak of Coronavirus – Will the English Court Recognise the Approach of the Chinese court?” – March 2020, Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law
• “What to Consider When Terminating a Contract under English Law?” – March 2019, Lexology

 

Career

• The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) – Arbitrator
• China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) – Arbitrator
• China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC) – Arbitrator
• China Qingdao Arbitration Commission – Arbitrator
• China Weihai Arbitration Commission – Arbitrator
• China Belt and Road International Commercial Mediation Centre – Mediator (International)
• China Law Ascertainment Centre for Belt and Road Services – Expert in English Law
• Visiting Professor, Shandong University of Science and Technology School of Law, China

Languages

Chinese Mandarin (native – speaking, reading and writing)

Memberships

• The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn – Member

Education

• LLM (in International Commercial Law): Nottingham, UK, 1998
• Special Excellence Award of Alumni Laureate Awards, 2018 by the University of Nottingham, for being the First Chinese (incl. Hong Kong and Macau) female national who obtained a Practising Certificate to practice in the independent Bar of England and Wales
• BA (Hons) (in International Trade): Beijing, China, 1996