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.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Profile
Position
James specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration, banking and financial services, civil fraud, energy, and regulatory & professional disciplinary law. He has substantial experience of high-value, complex commercial litigation and arbitration, and regularly appears unled in trials and interim applications as well as acting as a junior. Much of James' work is international, including arbitrations under DIFC, LCIA, ICC and GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre rules. He has significant experience of litigation and arbitration in the Caribbean, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and a number of Middle East jurisdictions (including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain).
Career
Called 2011, Gray’s Inn.
Publications of note:
- Contributing editor, Phipson on Evidence (20th edition)
- Contributing editor, Mithani on Directors’ Disqualification
- Contributing author, Jordans Disciplinary and Regulatory Proceedings (8th, 9th and 10th editions)
- Contributing editor, Atkins Court Forms: Financial Services
- Contributing author, Butterworth Financial Regulation Service
Memberships
COMBAR, Chancery Bar Association, FSLA, Bar Pro Bono Unit
Education
MA (English Literature), First Class, University of Oxford (2008)
MPhil (Eighteenth Century Literature), Distinction, University of Cambridge (2009)
GDL, City University (2010)
Content supplied by 3 Verulam Buildings
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. '