Partner

Dispute Resolution

Expertise

Simon is an extremely versatile and experienced commercial litigator, having worked in the London market for thirty years where he has been recognised by Chambers as a notable practitioner in litigation and dispute resolution. He is also listed in the Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers 2021 list, having been nominated by clients.

Simon originally qualified in Scotland and having been a partner in the London office of one of Scotland’s leading commercial firms for many years, has strong connections with the Scottish legal community and frequently works on ‘cross border’ matters.

He uses his wealth of experience to guide clients towards cost-effective and practical solutions which align the client’s attitude to risk and cost with their commercial objectives to determine the best strategy. He is a proponent of well-timed ADR, without diluting his rigorous and committed approach to formal litigation.

Simon has handled a wide variety of cases for clients ranging from large multinational corporations to private individuals. He often works closely with in-house counsel in an advisory capacity and believes strongly that early intervention is better than crisis response. In addition to his general commercial practice, particular areas of expertise include contentious insolvency, professional negligence and fraud.

Simon Advises

  • Corporates and in-house counsel
  • Directors, shareholders, partners/LLP members, investors and other stakeholders
  • Insolvency practitioners
  • Litigation funders
  • Financial institutions
  • Private individuals

Experience highlights

Recent Highlights

  • Acting on a number of recent warranty claims including tax indemnity claims arising out of the acquisition of an oil and gas service company with tax liabilities in 5 jurisdictions, claims arising from a private equity acquisition of a retail software provider against vendors and the warranty and indemnity insurers and claims for a household-name storage company arising from their acquisition of a data storage company
  • Advising the UK’s largest farmer-owned milk cooperative wholesaler on many disputes over the last 10 years, most recently in respect of a joint venture with a biogas producer at one of its creameries, which entered administration and where the client ultimately acquired the business from the administrators
  • Obtaining Norwich Pharmacal relief from a UK bank for a Saudi corporate the victim, of a malicious misdirection push-payment fraud
  • Representing a national logistics provider in a longstanding dispute with a household-name national supermarket chain relating to the distribution of newspapers and magazines to its stores in the UK and Ireland
  • Advising a London Hospital PFI company in respect of a number of complex disputes with the hospital NHS Trust, including through contractual adjudication
  • Acting as part of a substantial team advising the Official Receiver and PWC as Special Managers on the Carillion liquidation including applications to liquidate group companies and appoint Special Managers, retention of title and set-off issues, termination and transitioning of substantial overseas debt recovery issues
  • Acting for a furniture manufacturing company facing a winding-up petition from HMRC, applying for administration leading ultimately to the rescue and successful restructuring of the business
  • Advising and representing creditors faced with insolvent counterparties (eg Acer computers in the Comet insolvency)
  • Acting for liquidators of telecoms company used as a vehicle for the directors’ fraud which involved obtaining freezing injunctions and subsequent recoveries through their bankruptcies over a six-year period with multiple contested hearings
  • Acting for a litigation funder which acquires claims from insolvency officeholders in a claim relating to a disputed trust arrangement over a bankrupt’s properties

Other Highlights

  • Acting for secured lenders and their mortgage indemnity insurers in numerous professional negligence claims against surveyors and solicitors, including a number of the major reported cases in the field.
  • Acting for individual defendants in major fraud cases including Versailles Trade Finance and Cadogan Petroleum

Career History

Previous Law firms

  • Dentons, London Partner 2017–20
  • Maclay Murray & Spens (later merged with Dentons), London Partner 2006–17
  • Orchard, London Partner 1999–2006
  • Rosling King, London Partner 1995–99, Associate 1990–95
  • J&A Hastie, Edinburgh Trainee 1987–89, Associate 1989–90

Memberships

  • Law Societies of Scotland and England and Wales
  • R3, Professional Negligence Lawyers Association

Education

  • The University of Edinburgh, LLB Honours and Diploma in Legal Practice
  • Fettes College, Edinburgh

Expertise

Back to top

Simon is an extremely versatile and experienced commercial litigator, having worked in the London market for thirty years where he has been recognised by Chambers as a notable practitioner in litigation and dispute resolution. He is also listed in the Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers 2021 list, having been nominated by clients.

Simon originally qualified in Scotland and having been a partner in the London office of one of Scotland’s leading commercial firms for many years, has strong connections with the Scottish legal community and frequently works on ‘cross border’ matters.

He uses his wealth of experience to guide clients towards cost-effective and practical solutions which align the client’s attitude to risk and cost with their commercial objectives to determine the best strategy. He is a proponent of well-timed ADR, without diluting his rigorous and committed approach to formal litigation.

Simon has handled a wide variety of cases for clients ranging from large multinational corporations to private individuals. He often works closely with in-house counsel in an advisory capacity and believes strongly that early intervention is better than crisis response. In addition to his general commercial practice, particular areas of expertise include contentious insolvency, professional negligence and fraud.

Simon Advises

Back to top

  • Corporates and in-house counsel
  • Directors, shareholders, partners/LLP members, investors and other stakeholders
  • Insolvency practitioners
  • Litigation funders
  • Financial institutions
  • Private individuals

Experience highlights

Back to top

Recent Highlights

  • Acting on a number of recent warranty claims including tax indemnity claims arising out of the acquisition of an oil and gas service company with tax liabilities in 5 jurisdictions, claims arising from a private equity acquisition of a retail software provider against vendors and the warranty and indemnity insurers and claims for a household-name storage company arising from their acquisition of a data storage company
  • Advising the UK’s largest farmer-owned milk cooperative wholesaler on many disputes over the last 10 years, most recently in respect of a joint venture with a biogas producer at one of its creameries, which entered administration and where the client ultimately acquired the business from the administrators
  • Obtaining Norwich Pharmacal relief from a UK bank for a Saudi corporate the victim, of a malicious misdirection push-payment fraud
  • Representing a national logistics provider in a longstanding dispute with a household-name national supermarket chain relating to the distribution of newspapers and magazines to its stores in the UK and Ireland
  • Advising a London Hospital PFI company in respect of a number of complex disputes with the hospital NHS Trust, including through contractual adjudication
  • Acting as part of a substantial team advising the Official Receiver and PWC as Special Managers on the Carillion liquidation including applications to liquidate group companies and appoint Special Managers, retention of title and set-off issues, termination and transitioning of substantial overseas debt recovery issues
  • Acting for a furniture manufacturing company facing a winding-up petition from HMRC, applying for administration leading ultimately to the rescue and successful restructuring of the business
  • Advising and representing creditors faced with insolvent counterparties (eg Acer computers in the Comet insolvency)
  • Acting for liquidators of telecoms company used as a vehicle for the directors’ fraud which involved obtaining freezing injunctions and subsequent recoveries through their bankruptcies over a six-year period with multiple contested hearings
  • Acting for a litigation funder which acquires claims from insolvency officeholders in a claim relating to a disputed trust arrangement over a bankrupt’s properties

Other Highlights

  • Acting for secured lenders and their mortgage indemnity insurers in numerous professional negligence claims against surveyors and solicitors, including a number of the major reported cases in the field.
  • Acting for individual defendants in major fraud cases including Versailles Trade Finance and Cadogan Petroleum

Career History

Back to top

Previous Law firms

  • Dentons, London Partner 2017–20
  • Maclay Murray & Spens (later merged with Dentons), London Partner 2006–17
  • Orchard, London Partner 1999–2006
  • Rosling King, London Partner 1995–99, Associate 1990–95
  • J&A Hastie, Edinburgh Trainee 1987–89, Associate 1989–90

Memberships

  • Law Societies of Scotland and England and Wales
  • R3, Professional Negligence Lawyers Association

Education

  • The University of Edinburgh, LLB Honours and Diploma in Legal Practice
  • Fettes College, Edinburgh