Aaron Taylor > Fountain Court Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

Aaron Taylor

+44 (0)20 7583 3335 clerks7@fountaincourt.co.uk View profile

Position

Barrister with a broad commercial practice including art law, banking and finance, aviation, media and entertainment, energy, crypto, civil fraud, and commercial crime.

Aaron has a particular interest in art and cultural property. He is currently working on a book about financial crime in the art market, the proposal for which was shortlisted for the FT Bracken Bower Prize 2021. He was awarded a 2023 Churchill Fellowship to support his research.

Notable recent cases include:

Federal Republic of Nigeria v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA [2022] EWHC 1447 (Comm)

Acting (with Rosalind Phelps KC and David Murray) for the successful defendant in a high-profile $1.5 billion+ claim for breach of Quincecare duty. The background to the claim was an alleged “fraudulent and corrupt scheme” perpetrated by former government ministers, concerning the proceeds of an oil prospecting licence. The judgment of Cockerill J, following a seven-week trial, contains a valuable discussion of the nature of the Quincecare duty, the meaning of gross negligence in private law, and the scope of the Foreign Act of State doctrine.

FTAI AirOpCo UK Ltd v Olympus Airways SA [2022] EWHC 1362 (Comm)

Acting (as sole counsel) for the successful claimant in a $5 million+ aviation claim in the London Circuit Commercial Court. The claimant lessor was awarded unpaid rent, various costs and expenses incurred in the recovery of the aircraft, and damages for the aircraft’s diminution in value. The claim gave rise to questions of interpretation of a standard commercial aircraft lease, including the provisions on termination, indemnitees, and relief. It also involved disputed issues of fact as to the condition and return of the Aircraft, and expert evidence as to valuation. Aaron also acted as sole counsel at the CCMC, DGH, and two full-day application hearings (including FTAI AirOpCo UK Limited v Olympus Airways [2021] EWHC 2614 (Ch)).

$20 million+ art dispute

Acting (with James Willan KC) for the claimant investors in a dispute concerning a joint venture for the fabrication and sale of iconic LOVE sculptures and other works by the American artist Robert Indiana. The claim settled on confidential terms in July 2021.

Zhao Long & Anr v Endushantum Investments Co Ltd BVIHC (Com) 2017/0151

Acting (with Stephen Rubin KC) for the Fifth Defendant, in a claim concerning the ownership of a very substantial parcel of shares in the Fifth Defendant, a major PRC-based pharmaceuticals company held through BVI entities, involving allegations of fraudulent misappropriation. The judgment includes significant discussion of the law governing the drawing of adverse inferences, and as to the recognition of foreign judgments.

$150 million+ crypto claim

Acting (with Nik Yeo) for the claimant crypto trader, obtaining injunctive relief, in support of foreign proceedings against persons unknown, in respect of a pool of crypto assets representing the traceable proceeds of a high-profile hack of a blockchain bridge.

Career

Call 2017 (England & Wales); 2019 (BVI).

Appointed to the SFO C Panel of Counsel for Proceeds of Crime – International Assistance.

Judicial Assistant, Commercial Court (Teare and Butcher JJ), 2018-19, including for the trials of Danilina v Chernukhin [2019] EWHC 173 (Comm) and TGTL v CATS North Sea [2019] EWHC 1220 (Comm)

Visiting lecturer in art law, London School of Economics (from 2023); Associate Lecturer and Visiting Research Fellow in Law, Goldsmiths, University of London (2019-2023); Tutor in law, St Edmund’s College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (2017-19); Teaching Fellow in law, University College London (2016-17).

Aaron has published widely in leading academic and practitioner journals, including ‘Resale Restrictions in the Contemporary Art Market’, AAL (2023, forthcoming); ‘Civil claims for secret commissions’ (2022) 80 CLJ 452; ‘Concurrent Duties’ (2019) 82:1 MLR 17; ‘Interpretation of Industry-Standard Contracts’ (2017) LMCLQ 261; ‘In search of the ratio decidendi’ (2019) 135 LQR 556.

Memberships

• Institute of Art & Law
• Art Lawyers Association
• COMBAR
• Young Fraud Lawyers’ Association
• Financial Services Lawyers Association

Education

Keble College, Oxford, BCL (Distinction)

St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, BA Law (accelerated) (Double First Class)

University of Bristol, BA History (First Class, top of cohort in each year; starred first final year)

Lincoln’s Inn: Lord Mansfield Scholarship, Sunley Scholarship, and Hardwicke Entrance Scholarship

Leisure

Art; classical music; running; squash; coffee.