Richard Coleman KC > Fountain Court Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile
Fountain Court Chambers Offices
FOUNTAIN COURT, TEMPLE
LONDON
EC4Y 9DH
England
- Set Profile
- Go to...
Richard Coleman KC
Position
Richard Coleman KC’s practice spans commercial dispute resolution, banking, financial services, administrative and public law and professional discipline. He has been instructed in some of the most significant disputes in these areas, such as the FCA’s test case concerning COVID-19 related insurance business interruption insurance claims; the Ingenious litigation concerning advice and lending provided by banks in relation to film schemes promoted to investors on the basis that they would have tax advantages; the disciplinary proceedings brought by the SRA against Baker McKenzie and others in respect of the handling of a complaint; the Bank Charges litigation concerning whether charges levied on current account customers whose account goes overdrawn may be assessed for fairness under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations; the PPI judicial review concerning the guidance issued by the Financial Services Authority in respect of the misselling of Payment Protection Insurance; the Financial Conduct Authority’s investigation into LIBOR manipulation; and the misselling of interest rate hedging products. He frequently advises on the FCA’s duties and powers and on solicitors’ obligations under the Code of Conduct.
Career
Practised at the English Bar since 1994; Queen’s Counsel 2012; Attorney General’s A Panel 2007-12; member of the New York Bar since 1995.
Publications:
Contributor to Law of Bank Payments (Brindle and Cox, 5th ed.)
Languages
French (working knowledge).
Education
Auckland Grammar School; Cambridge University (MA; Double First Class Hons in the law tripos); Yale University (LLM); Inns of Court Studentship; Hardwicke and Mansfield Scholarships (Lincoln’s Inn); Pegasus Scholarship.
Leisure
Family, books, theatre, travel, rugby.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Professional disciplinary and regulatory law
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Richard Coleman KC – Fountain Court Chambers ‘Richard knows regulatory law inside out and quickly masters the factual intricacies of a case. He provides wise advice and makes sound tactical judgements.‘
Fountain Court Chambers is characterized for having ‘several very experienced and effective leading counsel for professional discipline cases involving solicitors‘. In recent work highlights, Richard Coleman KC led Marianne Butler in representing a former law firm partner before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, in relation to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s allegation that she had allowed the firm to provide banking facilities through its client account. In another matter, Nicholas Medcroft KC represented the FRC in its proceedings against KPMG in relation to its audits of Carillion.
London Bar > Financial services regulation
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Richard Coleman KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Richard is extremely intelligent, always a pleasure to work with and has great attention to detail. He is a measured, clear and conscientious advocate.’
Fountain Court Chambers is ‘one of the top, if not the top, financial services set’, drawing upon the exceptional broader expertise in the banking and regulatory practices to act for regulators, regulated entities and high-net-worth individuals. In HSBC v Stanford International Bank, Patricia Robertson KC secured a dismissal in the Supreme Court for HSBC for all but £2.4 million of a £118.5m fine for liability stemming the bank’s operation of accounts for Stanford International Bank, a Ponzi scheme for which sometime cricket sponsor Allen Stanford was stripped of his knighthood by the Antiguan government and sentenced to over a century in prison by the US courts. Richard Coleman KC has been acting for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking, which seeks to challenge the FCA by judicial review for their failure to compensate SMEs who were mis-sold interest rate hedging products.
London Bar > Banking and finance (including consumer credit)
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Richard Coleman KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Richard is razor-sharp, able to succinctly summarise very complex points with ease. Highly recommended.’
Being ‘packed full of some brilliant and incredibly intelligent lawyers,’ Fountain Court Chambers has been at the forefront of some of the recent substantial banking and finance litigation, both domestically and internationally. The set specialises in managing disputes that have a significant impact on the financial sector, with one such example being cases related to the Quincecare duty when banks suspect fraud: these include Federal Republic of Nigeria v JP Morgan Chase NA which saw Rosalind Phelps KC, David Murray and Aaron Taylor instructed in a successful defence of a $1.5bn claim against the bank. Alongside this, Patricia Robertson KC and Christopher Langley were instructed to act for HSBC in defence of a claim in relation to an alleged breach of the Quincecare duty, brought by the liquidators of Allen Stanford’s Ponzi scheme (Stanford International Bank Ltd (in liquidation) v HSBC Plc). Richard Coleman KC has a diverse practice, including acting in a number of cases involving judicial review in the banking space, while Nico Leslie is a standout junior for his work on high-profile banking disputes.
London Bar > Professional negligence
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 4Richard Coleman KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Richard is razor-sharp and able to succinctly summarise very complex points with ease. Highly recommended.’
London Bar > Commercial litigation
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 4Richard Coleman KC –Fountain Court Chambers
‘Richard is a supremely intelligent barrister with an enormous grasp of the law and an ability to distill a complex case to its essentials. He is a powerful advocate, who understands and deploys all of the skills of an accomplished advocate, whether that be in written or oral submissions, or during cross-examination.‘