James Walmsley

Commercial CV

Much of James' work falls under the heading of general commercial litigation, whether in the Commercial Court, Mercantile Court or County Court, or other courts.

Recent and current examples of commercial litigation include:

• BC Capital v Societe Generale & Ors. Acting (with Thomas Lowe QC) for the claimant in large scale Commercial Court litigation relating the interpretation of and market practice in relation to structured hedge fund products and, amongst other things, termination and redemption rights thereunder. Listed for trial in November 2011, this has been referred to in The Lawyer as one of the top cases of 2011.
  
  
• Yukos v Rosneft & Ors [2011] 1 All ER (Comm) 172. Acting (with Michael Bloch QC) seeking to discharge a freezing order made against third parties, requiring construction of financial arrangements relating to the sale and purchase of oil. It is the most recent reported case on the Chabra jurisdiction for imposing freezing injunctions on third parties.
  
  
• Representing the Claimant in Mercantile Court litigation listed for a one-week trial involving the construction of a commission agreement between brick merchants and raising numerous issues of novation, termination rights and assessment of loss.
  
  
• Representing the counterclaimant in litigation involving the provision of plumbing services, successfully resisting an application to set aside default judgment on the basis that the expert evidence provided disclosed no realistic prospect of a successful defence.