David has considerable expertise of appearing as Counsel in international arbitrations and of acting in cases outside the UK.

• Appearing as Counsel for a cryptocurrency exchange in an international arbitration under the SIAC rules: Phoenixfin Pte Ltd v Convexity Ltd [2022] SGCA 17
• Appearing as Counsel for a cryptocurrency exchange in an international arbitration under the LCIA rules
• Advising a cryptocurrency exchange registered in the Cayman Islands in respect of a potential claim by a Dubai investment company that is subject to arbitration under the SIAC rules
• Advising in an insurance coverage dispute resolved as a domestic arbitration
• Advising on a claim against a bank for misrepresentations regarding its ability to do big ticket deals in the Middle East
• Acting on a claim by a Middle Eastern investor in respect of property investments offered through Cayman Islands vehicles
• Advising depositors on claims against Lebanese banks for breach of contract
• Acting as English law expert to the Singapore High Court in a civil fraud claim
• Advising an investment manager on its claims in Ireland against an expert determiner arising out of its contract with an American investment fund
• Advising a major payment services provider on its claims against an Irish bank

David is a fluent French speaker and holds a Master’s Degree in EU law from a French University. David frequently advises on questions of EU law. David acts for foreign banks which wish to sell financial services in the UK.

David is regularly instructed on cases which involve conflicts of laws and analysis of foreign laws, and he has acted as an expert for the EU on the laws in Albania governing banking and money laundering.

David has also recently been training lawyers in Cyprus on their new civil procedure rules.

Recent and ongoing cases:

• Advising a major payment services provider on its claims against an Irish bank
• Successfully obtaining post-Brexit authorisation for a major European private bank
• Advising foreign banks which wish to enter into mortgages secured on land in the UK as to the UK’s regulatory frontier and conduct of business rules
• Advising on the recognition in England of liquidation of an Austrian bank
• Acting in a claim by an Indian bank against a guarantor involving questions of Belgian law and Indian law.
• Acting for both borrowers and lenders in respect of large loans alleged to amount to unauthorised consumer credit
• Advising on cross-border issues relating to the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 and the Payment Services Regulations 2017.
• Acting for investor given advice in Cyprus by an Appointed Representative of a UK firm.
• Advising an Irish businessman in respect of claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and mis-selling against an Irish bank and its UK subsidiary

David is ranked in Chambers and Partners and in Legal 500 for his expertise in banking & financial services law. He acts and advises across the full range of financial services disputes and banking transactions, but with a particular focus on payments and investments. 

• Advising on a successful application to the FCA for variation of permission
• Acting for property investment companies in claim against high street bank for mis-selling of a fixed rate loan
• Appearing on behalf of Which? The Consumer Association as intervener in the Supreme Court in Philipp v Barclays Bank [2023] UKSC 25; [2024] AC 346, the leading case on authorised push payment (APP) fraud
• Acting for liquidator in an APP fraud claim against a payment and investment administration firm which had acted as a banker to a company perpetrating an investment fraud: Privilege Wealth Management Ltd v Global Currency Exchange Network Ltd (2024)
• Advising high net worth individual who was the victim of an APP fraud
• Advising on a class action against payment service providers for failing to prevent APP fraud
• Acting for foreign bank in claim to recover foreign exchange withheld by Travelex
• Advising foreign banks on commercial financing agreements and hedging agreements which are subject to English law
• Acting on behalf of businessman who claimed that bank had reneged on promises of lending: Hodell v Clydesdale Bank[2018] EWHC 1009 (QB)
• Vast experience of acting for borrowers in claims against banks for mis-selling and negligent financial advice in respect of fixed rate loans, interest rate swaps and collars.

• Acting as Lead Counsel in claim by the victims of a fake cryptocurrency scam
• Acting for a firm of accountants in claim against a former partner for diverting a commission payment
• Acting on an appeal by a defendant against findings of fraud against him in a collective investment scheme (CIS) case
• Acting for payments facilitation firm in claim against merchant acquirer for the Mastercard scheme
• Acting as Lead Counsel for high net worth individuals on a worldwide freezing injunction, Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust order application against the operators of a cryptoasset investment fraud
• Acting for a high net worth victim of a cryptocurrency fraud resisting application by a third party to set aside judgment: Jones v Persons Unknown [2025] EWHC 1823 (Comm)
• Acting as English law expert to the Singapore High Court in a multi-million pound civil fraud claim against a Chinese national

David deals with a wide range of commercial disputes, but especially those between shareholders, or with a cross-border element, or involving breaches of fiduciary duty and financial services regulation.

• Advising on claims by investors for misrepresentation and under sections 90 and 90A FSMA against an international bank in connection with failures to comply with sanctions
• Advising high net worth individuals in family dispute about whether money transferred was a loan to or an investment in another family member’s business
• Acting for a firm of accountants in claim against a former partner for diverting a commission payment
• Acting for entrepreneurs in shareholder dispute with major PLC
• Acting for minority shareholder in unfair prejudice petition
• Acting for liquidators in claim against accountant for breach of warranties in a share purchase agreement: Re Dormco SICA Ltd (in liquidation) [20221] EWHC 3209 (Ch), [2022] BCC 360

David is ranked in Chambers and Partners for his expertise in cryptocurrency. He combines a deep understanding of cryptocurrency regulation in the UK and the EU with the ability to strategise how to pursue claims in cases where cryptoassets have been used for fraudulent or other criminal purposes.

• Acting as Counsel in AA v Persons Unknown (2019), the first case in which a worldwide freezing injunction was granted by an English court over Bitcoin
• Acting as Lead Counsel in a class action for breach of consumer credit laws and breach of contract in respect of the unauthorised sale of cryptoassets against a cryptocurrency exchange
• Acting as Lead Counsel in claim by the victims of a fake cryptocurrency scam
• Acting for cryptocurrency investor in claim that cryptocurrency exchange had induced him to engage in loss-making trades that were regulated financial services activities: Chechetkin v Payward Inc
• Acting for a high net worth victim of a cryptocurrency fraud resisting application by a third party to set aside judgment: Jones v Persons Unknown [2025] EWHC 1823 (Comm)
• Acting as Lead Counsel for high net worth individuals on a worldwide freezing injunction, Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust order application against the operators of a cryptoasset investment fraud

David regularly advises on questions relating to financial services regulation, including issues relating to the EU and in developing areas such as cryptocurrency, fintech, open banking and payment services. David is a fluent French speaker and holds a Master’s Degree in EU law from a French University. David frequently advises on questions of EU law, foreign laws, conflicts of laws and in relation to Brexit. David has acted as an expert for the EU on the laws in Albania governing banking and money laundering.

• Acting as Lead Counsel in an application for judicial review against the FCA in respect of the terms of a Final Notice issued against a UK investment manager whose actions had caused more than one billion euros of losses to predominantly French investors
• Advising a major housebuilder on whether providing financial assistance to buyers of new build houses amounted to a regulated activity
• Acting for claimants who entered in an unregulated collective investment scheme (UCIS) in relation to property in the UK: Angelgate Claimants v Key Manchester Ltd [2020] EWHC 3643 (Ch), [2021] PNLR 15
• Acting for high net worth individual in claim against bank for breach of the complaints rules in the FCA Handbook: Davis v Lloyds Bank Plc [2021] EWCA Civ 557
• Acting for major corporate group in multi-million pound claim against Bank of Scotland for manipulation of LIBOR
• Acting for e-money institution in winding up claim brough by the FCA: FCA v Allied Wallet Ltd [2019] EWHC 2808 (Ch); [2020] BCC 147
• Advising a prominent law firm on whether the payment terms agreed with a client in a high value divorce case amounted to unauthorised consumer credit
• Advising a significant law firm on whether its arrangement with a claims introducer was unlawful following the Supreme Court’s judgment in R (oao PACCAR Inc) v Competition Appeal Tribunal [2023] UKSC 28, [2023] 1 WLR 2594.
• Advising on claims by investors against a company for bribing Turkish officials
• Acting for victims of the HBOS Reading fraud in their submissions to the Foskett Panel
• Acting for former rugby player in claim against insurer for breach of the terms of an income replacement policy
• Acting for celebrity Noel Edmonds in his claims as a victim of the HBOS Reading fraud

David is skilled at handling the interaction between financial services regulation and insolvency, particularly in cases involving applications to wind up a company on the just and equitable ground and in cases concerning the ring-fencing of customer assets. In the context of claims for financial mis-selling and other professional negligence, he focuses on the ability to recover damages as well as establishing liability. Recent and ongoing cases:

• Dormco SICA Ltd [2021] EWHC 3209 (Ch): acting for Defendant in Part 20 claim against director who had devised a transaction at an undervalue
• Advising a victim of an accident on obtaining an assignment from the liquidators of Thomas Cook
• Financial Conduct Authority v Allied Wallet Ltd [2019] EWHC 2808 (Ch), [2020] BCC 147: acting for fintech company resisting application by FCA for the appointment of a Provisional Liquidator.

David is ranked in Chambers and Partners for his expertise in professional negligence claims. In addition to his focus on professional negligence claims against solicitors and financial advisors, David also acts on claims against barristers, accountants, and auditors.

• Acting for former England footballer in his claim for professional negligence against a St James’s Place financial adviser
• Acting as Lead Counsel in a class action against solicitors for failing to protect the interests of foreign buyers purchasing properties off plan in the North of England: Angelgate Claimants v Key Manchester Ltd [2020] EWHC 3643 (Ch), [2021] PNLR 15
• Acting on behalf of a liquidator in a claim against a solicitor for negligent advice which led to a company paying unlawful dividends
• Acting for a high net worth individual in a claim against accountants for negligent tax advice.
• Acting for investors in claim against solicitors for failing to identify onerous obligations they would be undertaking as freeholders of property investments
• Acting against a solicitor for professional negligence in failing to address the tax consequences of a corporate takeover.
• Acting in a claim against a quantity surveyor for professional negligence in project monitoring.
• Advising investment manager on professional negligence claim against a barrister acting as expert determiner.
• Advising a company on claims against its auditors whose alleged negligence caused it to lose its AIM listing

• Diploma in French Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge
• MA Law Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge
• Maîtrise en Droit (International and European Law) Université de Toulouse I
• PhD University of Wales

• Major Scholarship Inner Temple
• Concours Annuel Université de Toulouse 1ère Mention – European Competition Law
• Tapp Studentship Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge
• George Long Prize for Roman Law Cambridge University
• Squire Scholarship Cambridge University
• Senior Scholarship Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge
• McNair Law Prize Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge
• Exhibition Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge

• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• Financial Services Lawyers Association
• COMBAR
• Professional Negligence Lawyers Association
• Franco-British Lawyers Society
• Financial Services Bar Association (Ireland)

David regularly chairs conferences on Banking Litigation and Financial Mis-selling and delivers seminars on a variety of topics including professional negligence, misrepresentation, and financial services claims.

David is Distinguished Fellow and Visiting Professor at the University of Notre Dame (USA) in England, where he delivers a course which critically examines financial services regulation and banking practices and asks: do the laws governing banking really benefit customers and serve the common good? David is also Visiting Professor in Banking Law at Queen Mary University of London where he teaches on emerging topics in banking law such as open banking, confidentiality and data protection, fintech and crypto-currencies.