Lauded as a ‘a leading commercial set’, Fountain Court Chambers’s members are highly adept at handling a wide range of commercial and corporate disputes, banking and finance matters, civil fraud cases, and professional negligence mandates. Anneliese Day KC has been recently active in the Cayman Islands and Trinidad, and both she and Nico Leslie are representing the defendants in a case surrounding a $440m conspiracy claim in the Cayman Islands (Equis Special LP, Equis Special GP v George Allen Cowan). Ben Valentin KC has a focus on the Western hemisphere's offshore jurisdictions, and is acting for the defendants in a case that is challenging the jurisdiction of the Bermuda Court to hear a claim that relates to a Sierra Leone-based mine (AML v Madison Pacific and Others). Stephen Rubin KC is another key name at the set specialising in offshore commercial fraud.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Profile
Position
Ben is a commercial disputes specialist, with acknowledged expertise in disputes involving banking and finance, civil fraud, corporate transactions and company law, and insolvency and restructuring. He has extensive experience as a trial and appellate advocate, regularly appearing before the higher English courts, at all stages of proceedings. His English practice is diverse in subject-matter and often international in nature.
He is also an acknowledged specialist advocate in international arbitration, and acts as an expert on English law in civil litigation overseas.
Beyond his London practice, Ben also has significant experience as an advocate in complex offshore litigation (notably in the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands).
Career
England and Wales (1995), QC (2016); New York (1998); British Virgin Islands (2007).
Memberships
Commercial Bar Association, Chancery Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, LCIA, CEDR Accredited Mediator.
Education
Bedford School; Worcester College, Oxford (MA, BCL); Cornell (LLM).
Content supplied by Fountain Court Chambers
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Very responsive. Alex Taylor and Katie Szewczyk are first-rate senior clerks.'
- 'Alex Taylor is a superb senior clerk who delivers exactly what instructing solicitors want. Trustworthy, loyal and easy to deal with.'
- 'The clerks are responsive, accommodating and approachable. Adam Collins and Alfie Sweeney were particularly helpful.'
- 'A go-to set. Fountain Court covers nearly every base you would want.'
- 'Fountain Court is a leading commercial set in London, with several barristers who practice regularly in the Caribbean, notably in BVI and the Cayman Islands.'