Richard Clayton

Expertise

Acknowledged by the legal directories as a leading individual in the field, Richard heads up our Finance Disputes practice nationally. He has 25 years' experience advising on complex finance, investment, fraud and insurance disputes and contentious regulatory matters acting for a wide range of banks, asset managers, hedge funds, and high net worth individuals in a broad range of domestic and international cases. Richard has advised on cases involving a range of financial structures, types of lending and products, including derivatives, structured finance and trade finance. In the insurance context he has particular experience of coverage disputes.  Richard also has significant in-house litigation and investigations' experience having completed three separate litigation secondments with Barclays Bank.

Richard's recent experience includes:

• advising an Indian multi-national mining and aviation conglomerate in relation to proceedings in the English Commercial Court brought by a consortium of state owned Indian banks arising out of lending of USD 1.5 billion secured on assets in India and Australia; 
• advising a major Portuguese bank in connection with claims of fraud by a state owned Venezuelan oil and gas producer against a contractor which allegedly invalidated demands made under a Standby Letter of Credit for over USD 130 million. The proceedings were ultimately determined by the Court of Appeal; 
• advising a major UK clearer on high-profile litigation arising from the collapse of the major international US law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf and the recovery of loans totalling $56 million. The case involved advice on multiple jurisdiction issues and challenges in light of attempts by borrowers to launch pre-emptive and/or parallel proceedings in a number of foreign jurisdictions, including New York, New Jersey, California, South Africa, Italy, and Germany; 
• advising a major international bank in connection with claims made by a liquidator arising out of a fraudulent, physical copper trade in Uzbekistan and the payment away of the company's funds; 
• advising a major international bank in relation to claims arising out of multiple trade finance transactions involving underlying transactions and agreements in a broad range of jurisdictions including most recently Vietnam, Belgium and Ghana.