Michael Bloch QC

Commercial CV

Over the last couple of years Michael has worked on a wide range of substantial commercial disputes such as such as the Lehamn Brothers US bankruptcy, Yukos v Rosneft and ICB v Akingbola relating to the obtaining of evidence from the FSA in support of foreign proceedings and other interlocutory matters such as the grant and setting aside of freezing orders and search and seizure orders, and jurisdictional, justiciability and forum issues, as well as trials in the Commercial Court and Chancery Division, ICC, LCIA and other arbitration hearings and appeals and challenges.

Recent cases in which Michael has advised and appeared include the easyGroup v easyJet brand licence dispute, an international private equity investment dispute, disputes relating to the winding up of off shore hedge funds, the restructuring of an Asian conglomerate, disputes raising acquiescence, estoppel, laches and waiver defences in connection with agreements governing commercial partnerships and joint ventures, as well as cases relating to banking, share options, energy infrastructure, breach of confidence, breach of fiduciary duties, proprietary claims to web based businesses and virtual subject matter, intellectual property licensing, publishing, regulation  and trust busting.

Michael has advised and appeared in the Star Wars and X Factor cases, a pharmaceutical patent licence dispute between GSK v Abbott, a confidentiality and breach of fiduciary duty case concerning interests in a social networking site, I-CD Publishing v Popkov, as well as Bankers Trust -v- The City of Moscow and Niru Battery v CAI. In addition, he was involved in advising bond holders in relation to a dispute relating to the acquisition of the Welcome Break Group; advising one of the principal utility providers in the UK in relation to contractual disputes relating to the provision of an integrated IT system; acting in Cayman Island proceedings for a hedge fund against the bank that set it up; acting on behalf of Deutsche Bank in Commercial Court proceedings against the Norwegian export guarantee department in relation to a dispute relating to ISDA form derivatives; acting as an expert witness on the English law of acquiescence, estoppel, illegality and laches in Norwegian proceedings concerning the State of Norway and, in relation to jurisdictional issues, in Celltech v Medimmune.

Other high-profile disputes in which he has appeared include Virgin Atlantic Airways v British Airways (anti-competitive practices); Co-Operative Wholesale Society v Green (breach of confidence in the course of an attempted takeover); Hyde Park Residence v Yelland (Al Fayed's action against a former employee relating to the use of photographs of Princess Diana which were sold to The Sun) and Lion Laboratories (the Intoximeter case).

Michael has been involved in several cases involving large-scale factual enquiries including the Jyske Bank and Canada Trust fraud cases, as well as the Pilkington v PPG Industries ad hoc arbitration in which he cross-examined one technical expert for 31 days. Lord Walker commented in United Biscuits v Asda Stores that he was "greatly impressed by [Michael's] intellectual ability and rigour".