Mr Nathaniel Bird > Chambers of Lord Grabiner KC > London, England > Barrister Profile
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Mr Nathaniel Bird
Position
Nathaniel is an established and in-demand junior for heavyweight commercial litigation, banking & finance disputes and civil fraud claims. He is regularly instructed in complex and high-value matters, and has significant experience of both High Court litigation and arbitral proceedings.
Recent experience includes:
- Acting for Ukrainian businessman Gennadiy Bogolyubov defending a USD 1.9 billion fraud claim brought by JSC Commercial Bank PrivatBank at trial over 13-weeks in the Chancery Division. The case was named by The Lawyer as one of its Top 20 cases of 2022.
- Successfully defending Mr Bogolyubov against a USD 300 fraud claim brought by Russian oil company PJSC Tatneft in a twelve-week Commercial Court trial.
- Defending a multi-billion dollar claim arising out of the Malaysian 1MDB scandal in parallel Commercial Court proceedings and a LCIA arbitration.
- Representing Dubai Islamic Bank in a significant dispute with the administrators of the NMC Group in parallel proceedings in the Abu Dhabi Global Market Court and an LCIA arbitration.
- Acting for litigation funder Vannin in a claim against the RBOS Shareholders Action Group (one of The Lawyer’s Top Cases of 2020).
Notable past instructions include representing Citibank in the successful defence of a £2.3bn fraud claim brought by the Terra Firma private equity fund (one of The Lawyer’s Top Cases of 2016) and acting for Société Générale defending claims that high-value investments were procured by bribery in Libya (one of The Lawyer’s Top Cases of 2017). In 2018 he was named as one of The Lawyer’s ‘Hot 100’.
Career
Called 2012, Lincoln’s Inn.
Before coming to the Bar, Nathaniel worked at the Law Commission where he was involved in the reform of commercial insurance law resulting in the Insurance Act 2015.
Memberships
COMBAR, LCLCBA.
Education
London School of Economics and Political Science (LLB 2009)
Hughs Hall, University of Cambridge (LLM 2010)
Mansfield College, University of Oxford (BCL 2011).
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Banking and finance (including consumer credit)
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 4Nathaniel Bird – One Essex Court ‘Excellent and solid commercial advice.’
One Essex Court is known for its ‘consistently high performing barristers‘ who have cemented their position as a preeminent set in banking and finance, with regular instructions received from all the major bank panel law firms. Some of the set’s recent highlights includes Philipp v Barclays, which dealt with the possible extension of Quincecare duties owed by banks to corporate clients to retail customers, which saw members such as Sonia Tolaney KC and James Ruddell acting for UK Finance in a Supreme Court appeal. Laurence Rabinowitz KC is regularly instructed in relation to commercial litigation and high profile disputes in overseas courts, while Lord David Wolfson KC has acted for a number of high profile banks like PrivatBank over the past year. Henry Forbes Smith KC and Marcos Dracos KC were both appointed as silk in 2023. Nathaniel Bird joined the team in October 2023.
London Bar > Fraud: civil
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 4Nathaniel Bird – One Essex Court ‘Incredibly smart, responsive and excellent drafting. A real star in the making.‘
‘One of the standout London commercial sets‘, One Essex Court fields ‘a great collection of top-end silks‘. The set’s members handle a sizeable number of cases that involve civil fraud elements, as well as allegations of bribery, conspiracy, deceit, misrepresentation, unlawful means, corruption or dishonesty. In one of the largest and most complex cases to come before the Commercial Court, Laurence Rabinowitz KC and Jamie Goldsmith KC represent SKAT, the Danish tax authority, in a high-profile £1.5bn claim against over 100 defendants, which concerns an alleged international conspiracy to deceive the Danish tax authority through “cum-ex” strategies. Sonia Tolaney KC‘s recent highlights include acting for Vale, a Brazilian multinational mining conglomerate, in a $2bn mining rights-related claim for fraudulent misrepresentation and conspiracy to defraud. Henry Forbes Smith KC, who is routinely instructed in major fraud disputes, is at silk level since March 2023; and rising star Alyssa Stansbury is currently part of the counsel team for a high-profile Ukrainian businessman, in PrivatBank v Kolomoisky, Bogolyubov & Ors, which concerns the allegation that approximately $2bn was misappropriated from Ukrainian bank PrivatBank. Nathaniel Bird joined the team in October 2023.