Richard Handyside
Call Date
1993
Practice Areas
Richard has a general commercial law practice, encompassing:
- arbitration
- banking, finance and other 'City' litigation (including derivatives)
- breach of confidence
- breach of warranty (share sale / purchase)
- civil fraud
- company law
- conflicts of law and jurisdiction
- general commercial / commercial contracts
- injunctions
- insurance and reinsurance
- professional negligence
- restitution
- sale of goods and international trade
Recommendations (Practitioners' Guides)
Richard is recommended as a leading junior by Chambers & Partners in the fields of commercial litigation and banking / finance, and by the Legal 500 in the fields of commercial litigation, banking / finance and insurance / reinsurance. He was named “Banking and Finance Junior of the Year” in 2008 by Chambers & Partners, an award he previously won in 2006 and for which he was also short-listed in 2005 and 2007. Comments about him in the legal directories in recent years include “a junior who is very much in demand”; “a class act, just the full package - he’s diligent, clever, a good team player and has an excellent sense of humour”; “he’s a really sharp cookie who’s approachable and yet has a no-nonsense stance; “… there’s none of the pomposity with him that you sometimes get from other barristers;” “a brilliant banking lawyer;” “intellectually acute;” “intensely committed;” “his clarity of thinking is amazing” and “can handle the most complicated matters.”
Richard has been involved in a number of high profile cases over the last few years, including the Bank Charges test case and the litigation arising out of the Buncefield Oil Depot fire in December 2005 (both cases are ongoing) and the claims brought by Equitable Life against its former directors and auditors. Most of Richard’s work is in the Commercial Court, although he also has experience of substantial and complex litigation in the Chancery Division. He has considerable experience of acting as an advocate in his own right, as well as being instructed as a junior with many of the leading silks at the Commercial Bar. Much of his work has an international dimension. He has appeared in approximately 20 reported cases.
Education
LLB Hons, First Class, Bristol University
BCL, First Class, Oxford University (Brasenose)
Notable Cases
Banking / finance
Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National plc & Others (2007-)
For Lloyds TSB plc in the Bank Charges test case.
Financial Services Compensation Scheme v Abbey National Treasury Services plc (2007-)
For FSCS in proceedings arising out of alleged mis-selling of Structured Capital-at-Risk Products (so-called ‘precipice bonds’) to members of the public.
Grosvenor Casinos Ltd v National Bank of Abu Dhabi [2008] EWHC 511 (Comm)
For NBAD in a case concerning international cheque collections under the URC.
WestLB AG v Nomura International plc (2007)
For Nomura in proceedings arising out of the collapse of Box Clever.
Re: Sabre (2004-2007)
For a law firm sued for professional negligence in connection with the structuring of a US$2 billion Collateralised Bond Obligation transaction.
Customs & Excise v Barclays Bank Plc [2004] 1 WLR 2027; [2005] 1 WLR 2082 [2006] 3 WLR 1 (HL)
For Barclays in this test case concerning whether a bank notified of a freezing order against its customer owes a duty of care to the claimant to take steps to ensure that payments are not made from the customer’s account in breach of the order.
JP Morgan (Europe) Limited v PrimaCom AG (2004-5)
For JP Morgan and a consortium of lenders in a dispute arising out of a €375,000,000 loan facility to PrimaCom AG. The case was primarily concerned with jurisdiction issues and injunctive relief (enforcement of a covenant not to dispose of material subsidiaries).
Royal Bank of Canada v Rabobank [2004] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 471
For Royal Bank of Canada in a dispute arising out of a US$517 million Enron related swap on ISDA terms. The reported aspect of the case relates to an application in England for an anti-suit injunction to restrain precisely parallel proceedings commenced in New York.
United Pan-Europe Communications v Deutsche Bank [2000] 2 BCLC 461
For Deutsche Bank in relation to proceedings concerning duties of confidence and fiduciary duties alleged to have been owed by a bank to a client where the bank had been involved in the client’s IPO.
Camdex v Bank of Zambia (Nos 1, 2 & 3)
For the Zambian central bank in proceedings brought by debt traders which gave rise to numerous court hearings, including three appeals to the Court of Appeal. The issues that arose related to, among other things, assignment and champerty (see [1998] QB 22); a freezing injunction over unissued currency notes (see [1997] 1 WLR 632); and a garnishee order in respect of foreign exchange earnings and issues as to the enforcement of foreign public law (see [1997] 6 Bank LR 44).
Lordsvale Finance v Bank of Zambia [1996] 3 WLR 688
For the Zambian central bank in proceedings brought by debt traders. One of the issues arising was whether default interest clauses constitute a penalty.
Marathon Electrical Manufacturing Corp v Mashreqbank [1997] 2 BCLC 460 For Marathon in a case concerning the assignment of future proceeds of a letter of credit and bankers’ rights of set-off.
Richard has also been involved in a dispute arising out of the collapse of Parmalat.
General Commercial
British Sky Broadcasting Limited v Virgin Media Limited (2007-)
For Virgin Media in a dispute relating to television licensing fees.
Barbados Trust Company Ltd v Bank of Zambia [2007] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 511 (CA)
For the Zambian central bank. The issues included whether restrictions on assignment contained in a clause in a facility agreement could be circumvented by means of a declaration of trust.
Safint BV v Burberry Limited (2005)
For an Italian designer and manufacturer of luxury eyewear in a licensing dispute with Burberry.
Cable & Wireless v IBM (2003-4)
For IBM in a substantial dispute concerning a worldwide IT outsourcing agreement.
Scottish Equitable v Derby [2001] 3 All ER 818
For Scottish Equitable in relation to a claim for the recovery of payments made by mistake.
Morgan Grenfell v SACE (1998- 2001)
For Morgan Grenfell in a substantial action against the Italian export credit agency. The action was entirely governed by Italian and Hungarian law but was tried in England (in a trial lasting 3 months).
Professional Negligence
Equitable Life Assurance Society v Bowley (2002-2005)
For six former non-executive directors of the Equitable Life accused of acting in breach of their duties as directors in this multi-billion pound litigation, which also included claims by Equitable against its former auditors, Ernst & Young. An aspect of the case is reported at [2004] 1 BCLC 180.
Re: Sabre (2004-2007)
See above.
The Hollywood Funding Film Finance Litigation (2003-4)
For a firm of lawyers sued for professional negligence in respect of the drafting of film finance transaction documents.
Re: Kingscroft Insurance Co (1997)
For a firm of auditors sued for negligence in relation to the audit of the Weavers pool of insurance companies.
Re: First Tokyo Index Trust (1995)
For a firm of auditors sued for negligence in Maxwell related litigation.
Insurance and Reinsurance
New Hampshire Insurance Company v CNA (2006-7)
For New Hampshire / AIG in relation to a reinsurance dispute arising out of railway losses.
Feasey v Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada [2003] Lloyd’s Rep IR 637
For Steamship Mutual, a P&I Club, in this leading case on insurable interest. The case settled shortly before it was due to be heard by the House of Lords.
Arab Bank v Zurich Insurance [1999] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 262
For a bank in this case concerning the construction of a composite professional indemnity insurance policy and the imputation of knowledge of fraud between assureds.
Bates v Robert Barrow [1995] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 680
For an insurer in a dispute arising out of insurance contracts written in the UK where the insurer was not authorised to carry on business under the Insurance Companies Acts.
Energy & Natural Resources
Re: The Buncefield Incident (2007-)
For a major oil company that suffered losses as a result of the explosion / fire at the Buncefield oil storage depot in December 2005.
Civil Fraud
Sheikh Mohammed v Ayas (1998)
For the defendant to a substantial fraud claim.
Grupo Torras v Al Sabah (1995)
For several of the defendants in this well known fraud case.
CSFB v Al Rawi (2001)
For CSFB in a claim in deceit arising out of securities trading.
Company
Equitable Life Assurance Society v Bowley (2002-2005)
See above.
Re: British Energy Plc (2004)
Advised British Energy in connection with an aspect of its restructuring.