Practice overview

Anna has a commercial chancery practice with a particular focus on civil fraud and insolvency disputes. She is recommended as a leading junior in several fields in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500.

As well as being instructed as a junior to leading counsel, Anna regularly appears as sole counsel on trials and interim applications (including freezing and ancillary orders). She also has substantial experience in dealing with cases involving conflict of laws and jurisdictional issues.

Anna undertakes work both in England & Wales and offshore and has recently acted in cases in Bermuda, the Isle of Man and the Caribbean.

Examples of cases in which she has acted include:

  • Libyan Investment Authority v JP Morgan and ors: a claim brought by the sovereign wealth fund of Libya, alleging that various transactions that it entered into during the Gaddafi-era were procured by corruption
  • JSC BTA Bank v Ablyazov: a series of multibillion-dollar fraud claims in the Commercial Court and Chancery Division
  • Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund Limited (in liquidation) v Ernst v Young: A claim against a Cayman fund’s auditors arising out of the large scale fraud of the fund’s founder, Magnus Peterson
  • X Trusts: a high value trusts dispute in the Bermudan High Court

Commercial disputes

Anna is recognised as a leading junior in the fields of Commercial Chancery and Offshore in Chambers and Partners. She acts in a variety of commercial disputes, in particular experience of cases involving allegations of fraud and asset preservation/disclosure (including relating to offshore trusts structures), as well as in contractual claims. She often acts on document-heavy cases involving significant disclosure exercises and related interim applications.

Anna has particular experience, both acting as junior to leading counsel and as sole counsel, in obtaining and resisting various forms of interim relief, including:

  • Norwich Pharmacal/third-party disclosure orders
  • Freezing and ancillary disclosure orders
  • Search orders (including against third-parties)
  • Summary judgment/strike out applications
  • Committal proceedings brought on the basis of allegations of contempt of court
  • Challenges to jurisdiction

Examples of her recent commercial work include:

  • acting as sole counsel for the purchaser of a company in relation to claims for breach of warranty against the seller in relation to the financial position of the company
  • acting as sole counsel for a technology company in its claim against its former finance officer for the fraudulent misappropriation of funds, successfully obtaining freezing and disclosure orders
  • acting as sole counsel for an individual defrauded through a bogus wine investment scheme and successfully obtaining freezing and disclosure orders.
  • acting as sole counsel for a technology company, successfully defending a contractual claim brought against it by a former consultant
  • acting as sole counsel for a luxury car company, defending a claim brought against it alleging breach of contract
  • acting for a provider of care services in its claim for breach of contract against a commercial client
  • acting in committal proceedings brought on the basis of allegations of contempt of court for failing to comply with an order for disclosure of information/assets
  • acting to resist the appointment of a receiver in proceedings in which freezing relief had been granted
  • acting as sole counsel in a claim by a shareholder alleging deceit in relation to their investment in a private company

Download Commercial disputes CV

  • Quote symbolVery wise and good at getting to the core of issues, she doesn't get bogged down in complexities. She's very commercial and on the ball, never missing a trick.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolHer output is incredibly high in terms of its quality and she has the technical aspects of a case down to a tee. All in all, she's a real role model for people in the industry.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna shows incredibly good judgement in picking out the winning points on the cases, and is persuasive in getting co-defendants on board with running those points.

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna is hard-working, technically brilliant, and provides hands-on support to leading counsel and instructing attorneys."

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolShe has built a contentious trusts specialism alongside her commercial litigation practice which makes her a formidable operator and one of the best juniors on the market.

    The Legal 500 2023

Commercial disputes insights & events View all thought leadership View all events

  1. Placeholder

    Events / Webinars

    Civil Fraud Conference 2023

    Thursday 8th June 2023 | 12.15pm - 5.55pm followed by drinks & canapés
    The View at The Royal College of Surgeons, Lincoln's Inn Fields, WC2A 3PE

    £130 + VAT | 4.0 CPD

    View more
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    Events / Webinars

    Wilberforce Fraud, Trusts & Asset Recovery Conference 2022

    Tuesday 8 November 2022 | 1pm - 5pm followed by drinks reception
    The Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch, London, EC1V 9LL

    £120 + VAT | 2.5 CPD

    View more
  3. Placeholder

    Recent Cases

    The Libyan Investment Authority v Credit Suisse and others [2021] EWHC 2684 (Comm)

    Commercial disputes, Banking and financial services, Civil fraud and asset recovery

    Alan Gourgey KC | Anna Littler
    Wednesday 8 December 2021

    View more
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    Events / Webinars

    Wilberforce Commercial Litigation Conference 2018: From contract to court

    Wednesday 18 April 2018 | 12.30pm - 5.30pm followed by drinks
    The Grange, 10 Godliman St, London EC4V 5AJ

    £120 + VAT | 3.5 CPD

    View more

View all thought leadership View all events

Civil fraud and asset recovery

Anna has particular experience of cases involving allegations of fraud and asset preservation/disclosure (including relating to offshore trusts structures). She is recognised in The Legal 500 as a leading junior in the fields of Commercial Chancery and Offshore.

She often acts on high value, document-heavy cases with international elements involving significant disclosure exercises and related interim applications.

Anna has particular experience, both acting as junior to leading counsel and as sole counsel, in obtaining and resisting various forms of interim relief, including:

  • Norwich Pharmacal/third-party disclosure orders
  • Freezing and ancillary disclosure orders
  • Search orders (including against third-parties)
  • Summary judgment/strike out applications
  • Committal proceedings brought on the basis of allegations of contempt of court
  • Challenges to jurisdiction

She has extensive experience in acting in large-scale and long running commercial fraud cases, including acting for the claimant bank in the high profile Ablyazov litigation: multibillion-dollar claims in the Chancery Division and Commercial Court by a Kazakh bank against its former chairman for misappropriation of funds, involving multiple freezing, search and ancillary orders.

She has recently acted for the liquidators of the Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund Limited in their claim in the Grand Court in Cayman against the former auditors of a Cayman hedge fund which collapsed in 2009 following a major fraud by its founder.

She is currently acting for one of the defendants in the Libyan Investment Authority v JP Morgan and ors litigation – claims brought by the sovereign wealth fund alleging corruption in relation to transactions that it entered into during the era of the Gaddafi regime in Libya.

Further examples of her recent civil fraud work include:

  • acting as sole counsel for a technology company in its claim against its former finance officer for the fraudulent misappropriation of funds. Anna successfully obtained freezing and disclosure orders against the defendant and the case settled before trial
  • acting as sole counsel for an individual defrauded through a bogus wine investment scheme and successfully obtaining freezing and disclosure orders
  • acting in committal proceedings brought on the basis of allegations of contempt of court for failing to comply with an order for disclosure of information/assets
  • acting to resist the appointment of a receiver in proceedings in which freezing relief had been granted
  • acting as sole counsel in a claim by a shareholder alleging deceit in relation to their investment in a private company
  • acting for a defendant to a fraud claim in challenging the jurisdiction of the English court

Download Civil fraud and asset recovery CV

  • Quote symbolVery wise and good at getting to the core of issues, she doesn't get bogged down in complexities. She's very commercial and on the ball, never missing a trick.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolHer output is incredibly high in terms of its quality and she has the technical aspects of a case down to a tee. All in all, she's a real role model for people in the industry.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna shows incredibly good judgement in picking out the winning points on the cases, and is persuasive in getting co-defendants on board with running those points.

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna is hard-working, technically brilliant, and provides hands-on support to leading counsel and instructing attorneys."

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna is fantastic. She is tirelessly hardworking – nothing is too much trouble and her attention to detail is fantastic.

    The Legal 500 2024

Civil fraud and asset recovery insights & events View all thought leadership View all events

  1. Placeholder

    Events / Webinars

    Civil Fraud Conference 2023

    Thursday 8th June 2023 | 12.15pm - 5.55pm followed by drinks & canapés
    The View at The Royal College of Surgeons, Lincoln's Inn Fields, WC2A 3PE

    £130 + VAT | 4.0 CPD

    View more
  2. Placeholder

    Events / Webinars

    Wilberforce Fraud, Trusts & Asset Recovery Conference 2022

    Tuesday 8 November 2022 | 1pm - 5pm followed by drinks reception
    The Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch, London, EC1V 9LL

    £120 + VAT | 2.5 CPD

    View more
  3. Placeholder

    Recent Cases

    The Libyan Investment Authority v Credit Suisse and others [2021] EWHC 2684 (Comm)

    Commercial disputes, Banking and financial services, Civil fraud and asset recovery

    Alan Gourgey KC | Anna Littler
    Wednesday 8 December 2021

    View more

View all thought leadership View all events

Anna's expertise

Download Company law CV

Company law

Anna undertakes a wide range of contentious company and insolvency work including:

  • bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings (including jurisdictional and service issues)
  • shareholder disputes (including s.994 petitions and just and equitable winding up petitions)
  • actions against directors for breach of duty by companies/liquidators
  • antecedent transactions
  • wrongful/fraudulent trading

Her recent work includes:

  • acting for the liquidators of a Caymanian hedge fund in their claim against its former auditors
  • acting for the liquidators of an English company in their claims relating to antecedent transactions and wrongful trading against the company’s former directors
  • acting for the former director of a company defending claims brought against him by the liquidators for alleged breach of his duties as director
  • acting as sole counsel for a minority shareholder pursuing a claim under s.994 of the Companies Act 2006 for unfair prejudice in which it is alleged that the business and assets of the company have been unfairly diverted/transferred out of the company by the majority shareholders/directors
  • acting as sole counsel for shareholders in a deadlocked company seeking s.994 relief/just and equitable winding up
  • acting as sole counsel for the liquidators of a company pursuing an action against its former directors in relation to an alleged fraud perpetrated against a third-party through the company

She is also a contributor to the 2018 addition of Kerr & Hunter, Receivers and Administrators (Sweet & Maxwell).

Download Company law CV

  • Quote symbolVery wise and good at getting to the core of issues, she doesn't get bogged down in complexities. She's very commercial and on the ball, never missing a trick.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolHer output is incredibly high in terms of its quality and she has the technical aspects of a case down to a tee. All in all, she's a real role model for people in the industry.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna shows incredibly good judgement in picking out the winning points on the cases, and is persuasive in getting co-defendants on board with running those points.

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna is hard-working, technically brilliant, and provides hands-on support to leading counsel and instructing attorneys."

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna is fantastic. She is tirelessly hardworking – nothing is too much trouble and her attention to detail is fantastic.

    The Legal 500 2024

International / offshore

Anna is recognised in The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as a leading junior in Offshore work.

A significant amount of Anna’s practice involves litigation in offshore jurisdictions, including in Bermuda, the Caribbean, Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Channel Islands.

She is currently acting in the high value X Trusts litigation in the Bermudian courts (led by Brian Green KC), involving issues of both company and trusts law.

She has recently acted in the Grand Court of Cayman in a claim brought by the liquidators of the Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund, a Cayman hedge fund which collapsed due to the multimillion-dollar fraud of its founder, Magnus Peterson, against the fund’s auditors.

She also acted in the largest case ever to have been litigated in the Isle of Man, Altimo Holdings v Kyrgyz Mobil Tel Ltd, a case involving allegations of fraudulent misappropriation in relation to a Kyrgyz telecoms operator and the corruption of foreign judiciary.

Download International / offshore CV

  • Quote symbolVery wise and good at getting to the core of issues, she doesn't get bogged down in complexities. She's very commercial and on the ball, never missing a trick.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolHer output is incredibly high in terms of its quality and she has the technical aspects of a case down to a tee. All in all, she's a real role model for people in the industry.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna shows incredibly good judgement in picking out the winning points on the cases, and is persuasive in getting co-defendants on board with running those points.

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna is hard-working, technically brilliant, and provides hands-on support to leading counsel and instructing attorneys."

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna is fantastic. She is tirelessly hardworking – nothing is too much trouble and her attention to detail is fantastic.

    The Legal 500 2024

International / offshore insights & events View all thought leadership View all events

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    Recent Cases

    Brian Green KC and Anna Littler successful in Bermuda Court of Appeal in decision on breadth of standard form consent powers of fiduciary protectors of trusts

    Trusts, probate and estates: contentious, International / offshore

    Brian Green KC | Anna Littler
    Wednesday 5 April 2023

    View more
  2. Placeholder

    Events / Webinars

    Wilberforce Trusts Litigation Day 2023

    Monday 23 January 2023 | 9am - 5.45pm followed by drinks and dinner
    InterContinental Hotel (and online via Zoom), InterContinental Hotel, One Hamilton Place, Park Lane, Mayfair, London W1J 7QY

    £360 + VAT/£299 + VAT | 6.0 CPD

    View more
  3. Placeholder

    Events / Webinars

    Wilberforce Fraud, Trusts & Asset Recovery Conference 2022

    Tuesday 8 November 2022 | 1pm - 5pm followed by drinks reception
    The Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch, London, EC1V 9LL

    £120 + VAT | 2.5 CPD

    View more
  4. Placeholder

    Events / Webinars

    WATCH: Trusts Conference 2021: Webinar 2

    Thursday 25 February 2021 | 5pm - 6.15pm (UK time) followed by virtual networking
    Online, Zoom

    1.0 CPD

    View more

View all thought leadership View all events

Anna's expertise

Download Insolvency CV

Insolvency

Anna undertakes a wide range of contentious company and insolvency work including:

  • bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings (including jurisdictional and service issues)
  • shareholder disputes (including s.994 petitions and just and equitable winding up petitions)
  • actions against directors for breach of duty by companies/liquidators
  • antecedent transactions
  • wrongful/fraudulent trading

Her recent work includes:

  • acting for the liquidators of a Caymanian hedge fund in their claim against its former auditors
  • acting for the liquidators of an English company in their claims relating to antecedent transactions and wrongful trading against the company’s former directors
  • acting for the former director of a company defending claims brought against him by the liquidators for alleged breach of his duties as director
  • acting as sole counsel for a minority shareholder pursuing a claim under s.994 of the Companies Act 2006 for unfair prejudice in which it is alleged that the business and assets of the company have been unfairly diverted/transferred out of the company by the majority shareholders/directors
  • acting as sole counsel for shareholders in a deadlocked company seeking s.994 relief/just and equitable winding up
  • acting as sole counsel for the liquidators of a company pursuing an action against its former directors in relation to an alleged fraud perpetrated against a third-party through the company

She is also a contributor to the 2018 addition of Kerr & Hunter, Receivers and Administrators (Sweet & Maxwell).

Download Insolvency CV

  • Quote symbolVery wise and good at getting to the core of issues, she doesn't get bogged down in complexities. She's very commercial and on the ball, never missing a trick.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolHer output is incredibly high in terms of its quality and she has the technical aspects of a case down to a tee. All in all, she's a real role model for people in the industry.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna shows incredibly good judgement in picking out the winning points on the cases, and is persuasive in getting co-defendants on board with running those points.

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna is hard-working, technically brilliant, and provides hands-on support to leading counsel and instructing attorneys."

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna is fantastic. She is tirelessly hardworking – nothing is too much trouble and her attention to detail is fantastic.

    The Legal 500 2024

Trusts, probate and estates: contentious

A substantial element of Anna’s current practice is offshore trusts work. She is recommended as a leading junior for offshore work in Legal 500 and has experience in long running cases in a number of jurisdictions, from Bermuda and the Caribbean to the Isle of Man.

Her recent trusts work has included acting in:

  • an application for removal of trustees of an offshore trust
  • Public Trustee v Cooper applications for court blessing in highly contentious circumstances
  • trust administration proceedings seeking a range of directions and other relief
  • trust disclosure proceedings
  • Beddoe applications

Her recent cases include acting with Brian Green KC in Bermuda in the X Trusts litigation, relating to a very high value discretionary trust and in a cross-jurisdictional dispute regarding a multibillion-dollar offshore trust.

Anna often acts in highly contested and complex multi-jurisdiction claims, frequently with elements of dishonesty and/or asset recovery and involving injunctive relief and other urgent Court applications. In this context, Anna has significant experience in dealing with complex offshore asset holding structures and finds that her fraud and insolvency work often ties in well with her offshore trust work.

Download Trusts, probate and estates: contentious CV

  • Quote symbolVery wise and good at getting to the core of issues, she doesn't get bogged down in complexities. She's very commercial and on the ball, never missing a trick.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolHer output is incredibly high in terms of its quality and she has the technical aspects of a case down to a tee. All in all, she's a real role model for people in the industry.

    Chambers & Partners 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna shows incredibly good judgement in picking out the winning points on the cases, and is persuasive in getting co-defendants on board with running those points.

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolAnna is hard-working, technically brilliant, and provides hands-on support to leading counsel and instructing attorneys."

    The Legal 500 2024

  • Quote symbolShe has built a contentious trusts specialism alongside her commercial litigation practice which makes her a formidable operator and one of the best juniors on the market.

    The Legal 500 2023

Trusts, probate and estates: contentious insights & events View all thought leadership View all events

  1. Placeholder

    Recent Cases

    Brian Green KC and Anna Littler successful in Bermuda Court of Appeal in decision on breadth of standard form consent powers of fiduciary protectors of trusts

    Trusts, probate and estates: contentious, International / offshore

    Brian Green KC | Anna Littler
    Wednesday 5 April 2023

    View more
  2. Placeholder

    Events / Webinars

    Wilberforce Trusts Litigation Day 2023

    Monday 23 January 2023 | 9am - 5.45pm followed by drinks and dinner
    InterContinental Hotel (and online via Zoom), InterContinental Hotel, One Hamilton Place, Park Lane, Mayfair, London W1J 7QY

    £360 + VAT/£299 + VAT | 6.0 CPD

    View more
  3. Placeholder

    Events / Webinars

    Wilberforce Fraud, Trusts & Asset Recovery Conference 2022

    Tuesday 8 November 2022 | 1pm - 5pm followed by drinks reception
    The Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch, London, EC1V 9LL

    £120 + VAT | 2.5 CPD

    View more
  4. Placeholder

    Events / Webinars

    WATCH: Trusts Conference 2021: Webinar 2

    Thursday 25 February 2021 | 5pm - 6.15pm (UK time) followed by virtual networking
    Online, Zoom

    1.0 CPD

    View more

View all thought leadership View all events

Anna's Details

BSB/VAT information

Registered name: Miss Anna Mary Halloway Littler
VAT number: 998078742

Privacy Notice pdf

Qualifications and Appointments

  • MA(Hons), Jurisprudence, Oxford University
  • Bar Vocational Course, BPP Law School, London
  • Levitt and Hardwicke Scholar of Lincoln’s Inn

Memberships

  • Chancery Bar Association
  • COMBAR
  • Commercial Fraud Lawyers Association
  • Young Fraud Lawyers Association

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