Alexander Milner
Fountain Court Chambers
Temple
London , EC4Y 9DH United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 7583 3335
Fax +44 (0)20 7353 0329
Alexander Milner

Alexander Milner

Call date

2006

Practice Areas

Alexander Milner practises in all areas of commercial law. He is a fluent Russian speaker and has a strong interest in cases with a Russian / CIS dimension.

In 2010 he was identified by The Lawyer as one of the most talented and promising legal practitioners at work today, and described as being “well on his way to becoming a future star of the bar”.

He has particular experience of:

  • Aviation
  • Banking and Financial Services
  • Civil Fraud
  • Commercial Litigation and Arbitration
  • European Law and Competition
  • Insurance and Reinsurance
  • Private International Law
  • Professional Negligence
  • Sale of Goods and International Trade

Commercial Litigation / Civil Fraud

  • BTA Bank v. Ablyazov: acted for the principal defendants (with Brian Doctor QC and Adam Tolley) in this US$300m fraud claim by a state-owned Kazakh bank against three of its former senior officials.
  • Tajik Aluminium Plant v. Ermatov: Acted (as junior to Brian Doctor QC, Paul Sinclair and Rosalind Phelps) on behalf of seven of the defendants and the Part 20 claimant in a US $500m fraud claim concerning the operations of an aluminium smelting plant in Tajikistan. The case settled after 4 weeks of the projected 18-week trial.

Aviation

  • ACG Acquisition XX v Olympic Airlines: Acting for Olympic Airlines (with Philip Shepherd QC) in a dispute over a lease of a defective Boeing 737 aircraft. Successfully resisted lessor’s application for summary judgment..
  • Blue Panorama Airlines v. EuroAtlantic Airways: Acting for a Portuguese airline (with Akhil Shah QC) in Commercial Court proceedings brought by an Italian airline in connection with a wet lease of a Boeing 767 aircraft.
  • Rooney v. CSE Citation Centre: Acting for an EASA Part-145 approved maintenance organisation in the Commercial Court and (with Akhil Shah QC) the Court of Appeal in a contractual dispute arising out of an accident to a Cessna Citation aircraft.
  • HSH Nordbank v. Viajes Marsans: Acting for HSH Nordbank in proceedings arising out of the collapse of Air Comet, a Spanish airline.
  • BAE Systems v. Enimex: Acting for BAE Systems against an Estonian airline in the Commercial Court and Court of Appeal in proceedings arising out of the termination of an aircraft lease agreement.
  • Acting for the Light Aircraft Association (with Akhil Shah QC) in High Court proceedings arising out of a fatal gyroplane accident.
  • Providing written and oral expert evidence (with Sir Francis Jacobs QC) on issues of EC competition law in the aviation sector in two ICC arbitrations between major international airlines and a global distribution system operator.
  • Regularly instructed to defend airlines in claims brought under the Montreal Convention 1999, Regulations EC 261/2004 and 1107/2006, and at common law.
  • While on secondment to the aviation litigation department at DLA Piper, Alexander assisted with the preparation of Bmibaby’s defence of the claim brought by Durham Tees Valley Airport for an alleged breach of a base agreement ([2009] EWHC 852 (Ch)).

Banking and Financial Services

  • Aldi Joinery Ltd v. Barclays Bank plc: Acting for the Claimant company in High Court proceedings to recover substantial sums fraudulently withdrawn from its account by a third party.
  • Erste Bank v. Cleobury Ltd: Acting (with Michael Brindle QC) for a London-based investor in Commercial Court proceedings (now settled) against an Austrian bank concerning the enforceability of a share purchase agreement and an associated guarantee.
  • Acting for a hedge fund in a dispute with a group of investment banks concerning the banks’ entitlement to call in a €350m syndicated loan facility.
  • Acting for a credit reference agency defending a claim in the High Court for damages for negligently reporting the Claimant as bankrupt.
  • Advising a Russian-based hedge fund in connection with a potential claim against a bond issuer for failing to redeem its securities.
  • Advising certain investment funds on the interpretation of the FSA’s Requirements for Collective Investment Schemes.
  • Advising a foreign bank (with Simon Browne-Wilkinson QC) in connection with a restraint order affecting its accounts held with a correspondent bank in London.
  • Advising a major financial services company (with Patricia Robertson QC) as to whether a proposed new product would constitute a contract of insurance for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
  • Frequently acting for high street banks in County Court claims relating to consumer credit agreements, payment protection insurance and unauthorised overdraft charges.
  • Regularly instructed to appear in the High Court and County Courts in cases involving complex mortgage repossessions, enforcement of loans and guarantees, breaches of mandate, mistaken payments, charging orders and orders for sale.

European Law and Competition

  • Providing expert opinion evidence (with Sir Francis Jacobs QC) on EC competition law issues for the purposes of ICC arbitrations between two major European airlines and a global distribution system operator.
  • Advising two non-European investment funds as to whether their shares constituted eligible investments for the purposes of a UCITS scheme within the meaning of Commission Directive 2007/16/EC (the Eligible Assets Directive).
  • Advising a large French manufacturer (with Sir Francis Jacobs QC) on the lawfulness of a dawn raid conducted at its premises by the EC Commission.
  • Advising a major financial services company (with Sir Francis Jacobs QC) on the compatibility of the proposed SEPA credit cards framework with Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty.
  • Advising a Czech bank (with Sir Francis Jacobs QC) as to whether a restructuring plan adopted by the Czech state constituted aid applicable after accession requiring review by the Commission under Article 88 of the EC Treaty.
  • Advising a number of law firms (with Sir Francis Jacobs QC) as to the compatibility of the rules of an EC Member State’s Bar Association with the EC Treaty.
  • Assisting Sir Francis Jacobs QC in preparing expert evidence on behalf of a European government on questions of state aid law for the purposes of an ICSID arbitration.

Professional Negligence / Professional Indemnity Insurance

  • Acting for and advising a number of mortgage lenders in connection with claims against conveyancing solicitors for losses sustained following mortgage frauds.
  • Advising a firm of auditors in Singapore in connection with a claim by the purchaser of a business for an alleged failure to provide information regarding the implications of the acquisition for its GST (VAT) liability.

Public Law

  • Resisting on behalf of the Law Society an application by a solicitor for permission to bring judicial review proceedings in respect of a decision to refer a case to a disciplinary tribunal.
  • Resisting an application by a solicitor for permission to bring judicial review proceedings in respect of the Law Society’s refusal to reaccredit him to a specialist scheme.

Other

Regularly instructed to appear in the High Court and County Courts and to provide advice in relation to all kinds of contractual matters including consumer credit agreements and contracts for the sale and supply of goods and services.

Education

  • BA Modern and Medieval Languages, King’s College, Cambridge (First class honours with distinction, first in university).
  • CPE, City University (Distinction).
  • BVC, Inns of Court School of Law (Outstanding).

Prizes & Scholarships

  • Shelford Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn)
  • Buchanan Prize for outstanding performance on the Bar Vocational Course (Lincoln’s Inn)
  • Lord Mansfield Scholarship (Lincoln's Inn)
  • Lord Bowen Scholarship (Lincoln's Inn)
  • City University Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn)
  • Hardwicke Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn)
  • European Law Students’ Association Moot Court Competition on WTO law (representing City University): winners of final oral round, held at the headquarters of the WTO in Geneva, and of awards for best written memorials
  • Mrs Claude Beddington Modern Languages Prize (Cambridge University)
  • Olga Youhotsky and Catherine Matthews Russian Prize (Cambridge University)
  • Scholarships (x2) (King’s College, Cambridge)
  • Montague Barlow Prize for Modern Languages (King’s College, Cambridge)
  • Cooke Prize (King’s College, Cambridge)
  • Choral Scholarship (King’s College, Cambridge)
  • 1st King’s Scholarship (Eton College)

Publications

‘Regulation EC 261/2004 and “extraordinary circumstances”’, Air and Space Law 34, no.3 (2009); 215-220

Other Experience

  • Secondment to the aviation litigation department of DLA Piper (2009)
  • Secondment to the banking and finance litigation department of Matthew Arnold & Baldwin (2007)
  • Attended (by invitation) World Trade Institute summer programme in international economic law (Berne, 2006)
  • Representing clients pro bono before employment and social security tribunals on behalf of the Free Representation Unit
  • Contributor to the Civil Procedure Reports (Sweet & Maxwell)

Memberships

COMBAR
British-Russian Law Association
British Association for Sport and Law

Languages

Fluent Russian and French
Good working knowledge of Italian

Interests

Alexander is an enthusiastic musician, having formerly studied choral conducting at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St Petersburg. He frequently sings with professional London-based choirs. He also enjoys opera, theatre, literature, art, sport and travel.