Faisal Saifee > Chambers of Sir Geoffrey Cox KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

Faisal Saifee

Position

Faisal has considerable breadth of experience across several areas of practice, bringing particular depth of knowledge and expertise to bear in each. He is often instructed in the High Court and specialist tribunals. He has extensive experience of working on document heavy, long-running and complex disputes; and is often involved in cases from their inception through until trial. He has been involved in cases at appellate levels, including appearances in the Privy Council, several appearances in the Court of Appeal and cases before the ECHR and UNHRC. His practice covers a wide breadth of work including the areas listed below. Faisal is a pupil supervisor, school governor and rugby coach.

Commercial law:
Faisal represents clients in a range of commercial disputes, including high net worth individuals and companies. He has experience in ICC, LCIA and PCA arbitrations. Recently, he has acted in several cases concerning allegations of commercial fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. He has recently appeared on television discussing these kinds of issues. He has particular expertise in injunction applications, including freezing orders and enforcement issues. His practice covers all the key areas of construction, joint venture, franchising, finance, agency and shareholder disputes. Company disputes he is regularly instructed in include unfair prejudice claims, and derivative claims against directors. He also has considerable experience in disputes concerning the theatre industry, particularly disputes between artists, production companies and agents.

Examples of recent cases include:

• Fraud proceedings relating to a dishonest lawyer.
• Acting in proceedings to have a multi-million pound commercial judgment set aside.
• Acting for an accountant caught up in a EUR 100 million fraud.
• Counsel in a high value investment arbitration involving an allegation of expropriation.
• Advising and bringing a claim of malicious falsehood in the media industry.
• Successfully defending a billionaire in a long-running breach of trust claim.
• Advising in one of the largest ever tax fraud cases, with a value in excess of £1 billion.

Public and Human Rights:
His cases include several involving secret evidence before both the Administrative Court and SIAC. He has particular expertise in relation to civil liberties, and takes on some of the most difficult cases in that field. He has advised a sovereign country in respect of fundamental changes to its election laws and the law on corruption.

Recent or current cases in which Faisal has been instructed include:

• Acting for an exiled MP facing serious allegations relating to his character.
• Acting for the former premier of a country in appellate proceedings.
• Human rights issues arising from communications interceptions
• Secret evidence cases.
• Damages arising from deprivation of liberty, following proceedings in the House of Lords.

Property:
He has considerable experience and expertise in most areas of property, including trusts, proprietary estoppel, restrictive covenants and rent reviews. In Tim Martin Interiors Ltd v Akin Gump LLP, concerning the liability of mortgagors in substituted claims, Lord Justice Lloyd said at [4] “the appeal was argued admirably well for the appellant by Mr Faisal Saifee” and paid “special tribute to Mr Saifee for the excellence of his clear and sustained oral submissions”.

Information Technology:
Faisal has a broad and in-depth understanding of information technology issues including data protection, cryptocurrency and electronic contracts and regulation. He is frequently instructed to advise and act in such matters.

Publications and seminars:
He has published in several law journals, including: The European Private Company (2009) 30 Company Lawyer 227; In terrorem appeals to the Crown Court [2007] Cambridge Law Journal 53; Prawo pracy Polaków zatrudnionych w Zjednoczonym Królestwie Wielkiej Brytanii, July 2006, Monitor Prawa Pracy; UK Bribery Act Update [2015] Comply (Fachmagazin for Compliance-Verantwortliche)

Faisal is a regular speaker at both in-house and external seminars.

Selected cases:

Confidential investment arbitration (2017 – 2023)

Abu Seedo v El Gamal [2023] EWCA Civ 330

Partington v Rossiter [2022] Ch 43

Syed v Shah [2020] EWHC 319 (Ch)

Group Seven and others v Notable [2019] EWCA Civ 614 (with Philip Hackett QC)

AS v SSHD [2018] EWHC Admin (with Hugh Southey QC)

Confidential ICC dispute in the oil and gas sector (2018)

L2 v SSHD (SIAC, 31 May 2017) (with Hugh Southey QC)

Care London Ltd v Nationwide BS [2016] EWHC 3890 (QB)

Hashi v SSHD [2016] EWCA Civ 1136 (with Baroness Kennedy QC)

Dhooharika v DPP of Mauritius [2015] AC 875 (with Rt Hon Geoffrey Cox QC)

Memberships

COMBAR

Education

English and German Laws (LLB, First Class)