Edward Davies KC KC > Erskine Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile
Erskine Chambers Offices
1, Paper Buildings
London
EC4Y 7EP
England
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Edward Davies KC KC
Position
Edward Davies KC is an experienced commercial litigator, with a strong grounding in company law and corporate insolvency.
He has acted in some of the most significant recent actions in these areas, including ClientEarth v Shell Plc (an application for permission to continue a derivative claim against the directors of Shell plc on grounds of failure to manage climate change risks); Autonomy Corporation Ltd v Lynch (claims concerning the US$11 billion takeover of Autonomy by Hewlett Packard); BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana, (the leading case on the duties of directors in the context of insolvent companies); and Re Coroin Ltd (unfair prejudice and conspiracy claims concerning the Barclay brothers and control of Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley).
Edward has particular expertise in shareholder disputes, including unfair prejudice petitions and derivative claims. Edward also regularly advises on non-contentious and transactional matters, including schemes of arrangement, reductions of capital, transfers under Part VII FSMA 2000 and company meetings. He appeared on the contested scheme in respect of Dee Valley plc.
Edward frequently acts in overseas matters, including in Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and Jersey; he is called to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Bar. In the case of IsZo v Nam Tai, Edward recently represented a US investor in successfully reversing a $170m placement in a BVI company and, in the insolvency context, he appeared in the leading case on the operation of the segregated accounts regime in Bermuda, Re Northstar Financial Services.
A list of Edward’s reported cases is at www.erskinechambers.com.
Career
Called 1998; Silk 2017.
PUBLICATIONS:
Company Directors: Law and Liability; PLC Law: Freezing injunctions case study; FromCounsel.com
Memberships
COMBAR. Chancery Bar Association.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Company
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Edward Davies KC – Erskine Chambers ‘His advocacy is robust and effective, and his cross-examination is first-class, putting the client on the front foot throughout.’
Erskine Chambers stands out as ‘the leading company law set’, with ‘deep knowledge of this area of law‘ and ‘the best range of counsel in the market, with excellent strength in depth‘. Shareholder disputes are a core area of strength for the team, which is regularly sought after to advise on a wide range of complex contentious and non-contentious company law work. David Chivers KC is a highly regarded practitioner in the space, with an excellent track record in handling restructuring and insolvency work in the corporate field as well as offshore matters. Edward Davies KC and Jack Rivett appeared in ClientEarth v Shell, involving a derivative claim brought against the directors of Shell for alleged breaches of directors’ duties in relation to Shell’s climate change risk management strategy.
London Bar > Commercial litigation
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 5Edward Davies KC –Erskine Chambers ‘Edward is incredibly good on his feet and is robust and adaptable. He’s very commercial.’
The English Bar Offshore > Commercial disputes
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Edward Davies KC – Erskine Chambers ‘Edward is extremely commercial, and has an exceptional ability to distill to the smallest detail on which the case often rests.’
Praised as a ‘very strong commercial’ chambers, Erskine Chambers is a ‘go-to set for complex company law and insolvency and restructuring matters’. Other areas of expertise for its members include corporate transactions and the financial services sector. Michael Todd KC is a notable silk at the set with expertise in company law mandates, as well as corporate finance, capital markets, and corporate insolvency disputes. Todd KC is acting for the defendant in Athene Ltd v Siddiqui, a case concerning allegations of misusing confidential information, which will be heard before the Supreme Court of Bermuda. For David Chivers KC BVI restructuring and insolvency form key areas of practice, while Edward Davies KC is also called to the Bar in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Turning to the juniors, Andrew Blake is acting for Jardine Strategic Limited in a case surrounding a $5.5bn restructuring, in which more than 80 plaintiffs are seeking compensation. Anna Scharnetzky is another key junior in this case.