As 'a top class chambers in commercial litigation', Fountain Court Chambers continues to impress with its routine involvement in prominent commercial disputes. The team regularly appears before the Commercial Court, the Chancery Division, and in international commercial arbitration cases. Notably, multiple members of the set represented various parties in the longrunning Russian Aircraft litigation, regarding whether aircraft expropriated by the Russian Federation, following its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent imposition of sanctions on the country, are considered permanently lost, and whether the loss is attributable to a war risk or an all-risk insured policy. The case included David Railton KC, Simon Atrill KC, Adam Sher, Ian Bergson and others appeared for Lloyds Insurance Company, and Akhil Shah KC leading the advice to Tokio Marine and HDI. The Commercial Court ruled that the aircraft were lost on 10 March 2022, and the proximate cause of the loss was Russian Government Resolution 311, which banned the return from Russia of leased aircraft and engines to Western lessors. The ban qualified as 'restraint' and/or 'detention' within the meaning of war risks perils, meaning the loss is covered under the war risk insurance and excluded under the all-risk insurance. In March 2025, Alex Barden KC and Rupert Allen KC were appointed to silk.
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Profile
Position
Rupert is regularly instructed in heavy and high-profile commercial and banking cases, both as part of a larger counsel team and as sole counsel. These cases often have an international dimension and raise complex jurisdiction and choice of law issues and difficult questions of English and foreign law.
His recent experience includes:
- acting for VTBC in the 3 month Commercial Court trial of the state immunity issues arising on its claims against the Republic of Mozambique in the ‘tuna bonds’ litigation;
- acting for Airbus in high-profile proceedings brought against it by Qatar Airways relating to surface degradation on the A350 aircraft;
- advising an aircraft lessor in relation to the disputes with Russian lessees arising out of the grounding of aircraft in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine;
- acting for Dexia and Deutsche Bank in a number if different sets of English proceedings concerning the validity and enforceability of interest rate swaps entered into by Italian local authorities (including Dexia v Prato in the Court of Appeal and in 2021 the trial in the Financial List of Deutsche Bank’s claims against the Comune di Busto Arsizio);
- defending HSBC against an application for disclosure of documents under the Bankers’ Book Evidence Act 1879 brought by the Chief Financial Officer of Huawei for use in extradition proceedings in Canada;
- representing the Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV at one of the first fully remote Commercial Court trials in March 2020 in proceedings brought by the National Bank of Kazakhstan regarding its entitlement to US$22 billion of custody assets;
- defending Goldman Sachs International against a US$1.2 billion claim brought by the Libyan Investment Authority in relation to the sale of equity derivatives;
- important Court of Appeal decisions of considerable market significance on the correct interpretation of standard form ISDA documentation in Deutsche Bank v Netherlands (negative interest on cash collateral posted under the ISDA Credit Support Annex) and Deutsche Bank v Savona (the scope of the ISDA Master Agreement jurisdiction clause); and
- cases concerning alleged LIBOR misconduct by UK banks.
In addition to his commercial and banking practice, Rupert also has extensive experience in the fields of professional discipline and regulatory law (including, in particular, the law relating to solicitors, accountants, financial services and aviation). His growing professional discipline and regulatory practice has seen him instructed by the SRA, the FRC, the FCA, the CAA and other regulators.
Recent disciplinary tribunal experience includes acting for the SRA in the high profile prosecutions of Mark Lewis, Ryan Beckwith and Sophie Khan in the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and for the FRC in enforcement proceedings against KPMG in relation to its CASS audits of the Bank of New York Mellon. Rupert also acted for the SRA in recent High Court proceedings arising from its intervention into the practice of Sophie Khan, including committal proceedings for contempt of court.
Rupert has also appeared in a number of important judicial reviews including R (Lewin) v FRC (in relation to procedural rights of third parties to disciplinary proceedings) and R (Donegan) v FSCS (concerning claims for compensation arising out of the collapse of London Capital & Finance).
Career
Research assistant in the property and trust law team at the Law Commission 2003-04; called 2005, Lincoln’s Inn.
Languages
French (working knowledge).
Memberships
COMBAR, BASL.
Education
MA (Law), Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (First Class, Top of Year); BCL, Merton College, Oxford (Distinction, Proxime Accessit to Vinerian Scholarship); BVC, Inns of Court School of Law (Outstanding).
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- 'Alex Taylor is a legend; he is sublime in his handling of complex and urgent issues.'
- 'First class. Alex Taylor is everything you look for in a senior clerk.'
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- 'First-class set.'