3 Verulam Buildings is praised as ‘a go-to set for commercial litigation and civil fraud work’, and other areas of expertise for the members of the set include banking and finance, insolvency and restructuring, and insurance-related disputes. Freezing and disclosure orders, as well as injunctive relief mandates, are also areas of activity for the set. Among its strong roster of silks, Hodge Malek KC is a key name; called to the Bar in the BVI, he has also represented clients before courts in the Isle of Man and Gibraltar. David Quest KC is particularly skilled in handling contentious offshore mandates with financial elements, while Hefin Rees KC frequently appears before the BVI and Cayman Islands Privy Council and Courts of Appeal, as well as the Grand Court in Cayman. Matthew Hardwick KC represented a number of defendants in Joint Stock Company ’BTA Bank’ v 54 defendants, defeating allegations of fraud made by the Kazakh bank against, among others, members of its former leadership. Turning to the juniors, Philip Hinks is strong in commercial, civil fraud, financial services, and insolvency-related disputes. James Potts is reputable for his expertise in large fraud cases, and of recent note, he acted for the claimant in Morina v McAleavey, a dispute over the ownership of shares that requires expert evidence on the history of the BVI.
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Profile
Position
Barrister specialising in commercial law: banking; international trade and finance; insurance and reinsurance; international arbitration; professional negligence; IT disputes. Reported cases include: Royal Bank of Canada v Rabobank (2004, CA); Niru Battery Manufacturing Co v Milestone (2003, CA); Shiblaq v Sadikoglu (2003); Linklaters v HSBC Bank plc (2003); Customs & Excise Commissioners v National Westminster Bank plc (2003); Credit Industriel et Commercial v China Merchants Bank (Commercial Court) (2002); Prince Jefri Bolkiah v KPMG (1999 HL); Young (Syndicate 190) v Robson Rhodes (1999); Halifax Financial Services Ltd v Intuitive Systems Ltd (1999).
Career
Called 1993; Atkin Scholar, Gray’s Inn 1994; Pegasus Scholar at US law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Delaware, 1997; visiting fellow in law, London School of Economics, 1997; publications: co-author ‘Documentary Credits’ (2001); contributor to ’Banking Litigation’ (1999); contributor to ‘Capital Markets in the Age of the Euro’ (2002); legislation co-editor ’Encyclopedia of Insurance Law’.
Education
Cambridge University (MA).
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Shout out to Lucy Burrows, James Kelly, Jack Wheeler, Ed Tolfts and Florence Sharpe.'
- '3VB is a top-tier set of chambers with an outstanding reputation.'
- 'A very reputable set with talent that is both wide and deep.'
- '3VB are excellent. They are a go-to set for commercial litigation and civil fraud work.'
- '3VB have now firmly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in terms of offshore fraud and asset tracing matters. You see them popping up on all sorts of matters in this space and they have become a set to go to when you don't know what you want, but you know they will have someone. '