Rory Cochrane
Rory Cochrane is a leading commercial barrister with a broad commercial and chancery practice spanning commercial litigation and arbitration (particularly LCIA and ICC). Rory was nominated in the Legal 500 Bar Awards for Technology, Crypto and Data Junior of the Year in both 2023 and 2024.
His practice covers the entire breadth of commercial disputes, including:
Telecommunications: including commercial and regulatory disputes between communications providers, contractual disputes between CPs and end users, regulatory issues involving Ofcom under the Communications Act 2003, Communications Code disputes, artificial inflation of traffic, as well as a wide range of industry issues such as finance disputes and forward purchase contracts.
Technology: including disputes involving a range of online platforms, regulatory matters with Ofcom (including the Digital Markets Competition and Consumer Act and Online Safety Act), blockchain and crypto disputes, initial coin offerings, M&A, shareholder and investment disputes (typically disputes between founders and investors/VCs), regulatory matters restrictive covenant/management issues.
Insurance/reinsurance: acting for both insureds and insurers/reinsurers, including disputes as to coverage, notification, aggregation, jurisdiction/conflict of laws, insurance broker claims, in policies including D&O (securities litigation under s. 90/90A/Sch 10A of the Financial Services and Markets Act), product liability, business interruption insurance, Bermuda Form, contractors all risk, performance bonds, damage/defect cover, cyber risks, financial loss.
Banking and finance: including claims based on breaches of the FCA Handbook, regulatory and enforcement matters for banks and individuals, financial product mis-selling, professional negligence (particularly in wealth management advice), investment banking fees/success fees, securities and derivatives litigation (including ISDA), fraud claims, and Forex manipulation claims.
Insolvency and company/shareholder disputes: including winding up/statutory demand applications, s. 994/unfair prejudice petitions, derivative actions and M&A/share purchase agreement claims, acting for companies/office holders/directors and creditors.
International commercial arbitration: particularly LCIA and ICC, including IT, telecommunications, construction/infrastructure, energy, shareholder/partnership and banking disputes. Rory has particular expertise in conflict of laws and jurisdiction issues, having taught private international law at University College London. Rory is also available to accept instructions in the ADGM and DIAC.
Construction/infrastructure: including international arbitration and TCC litigation, as well as adjudication (including under the Fixed Fee Adjudication Scheme).
Professional negligence: including claims against financial advisers and brokers and financial advisors.
Competition law: including horizontal/vertical infringements, abuse of dominance cases, follow on damages claims, collective proceedings, and sector specific issues (particularly telecommunications, electricity and transport).
Private client: including private office and trusts disputes (particularly for international high net worth clients), and disputes with advisors.
Civil fraud: including claims for deceit, breach of fiduciary duty, and asset recovery, urgent injunctive relief (freezing/search orders/Norwich Pharmacal applications) and cross-border disputes involving tracing and third-party liability.
Rory is ranked as a leading junior in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 (where he is described as “brilliant at the detail”, “a fantastic barrister”, “excellent judgment and good creative ideas, is very on top of the detail, very smart and extremely hard-working”, “commercially minded”, “very good on his feet” and “a really strong all-rounder”).
Rory joined the Bar following a career as a solicitor advocate in the dispute resolution division of Herbert Smith Freehills in London and K&W Mallesons in Australia. He has spent time on secondment to Linklaters’ financial disputes team, and in-house with the Royal Bank of Scotland (Coutts), and as an associate in the Federal Court of Australia. He was a Teaching Fellow in private international law (conflict of laws) at University College London, and assisted on the Conflict of Laws chapter of McGillivray on Insurance Law.