Sebastian Said
Call Date
2004
Practice Areas
Sebastian Said practices in all areas of commercial law, with particular experience in:
- Arbitration
- Banking
- Civil Fraud
- Civil Procedure
- Commercial Litigation
- Employment
- Financial Services
- Insurance and Reinsurance
- Professional Negligence
- Professional Regulation
- Sport
Education
- BA (Law), Pembroke College, Oxford (Double First)
- BCL, Pembroke College, Oxford (Distinction)
- BVC, Inns of Court School of Law (Very Competent)
Prizes & Scholarships
- Monk Prize in Law (Pembroke College, BA)
- Domus Scholarship for Law (Pembroke College, BA)
- Simms Prize (Oxford University, BCL)
- Major Scholarship (Inner Temple, BVC)
Appointments
Researcher, British Institute of International and Comparative Law (2001 - 2003)
Researcher, AIRE (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe) Centre (2002)
Recent Practice
Arbitration
Acted (led by Timothy Howe QC) for a leading US insurer in arbitration proceedings concerning the coverage of US asbestos and other pollution losses under London market reinsurance treaties. Also acted in the related application to the Commercial Court under section 32 of the Arbitration Act 1996.
Advised on commencing arbitrations under the ICC rules.
Banking
Experience of acting as sole counsel for clearing banks in a variety of cases, including breach of mandate and negligence, civil fraud (see below), enforceability of securities (including guarantees and mortgages), sales financing, asset financing, cases involving cheques, data protection and asset recovery (including tracing).
Sharpley and Naser v. Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays Bank plc
Acted for the second defendant in this claim brought by the estate of an elderly woman who had suffered losses of £500,000 as a result of a neighbour’s fraud. The deceased had been induced to sign cheques in favour of the fraudsters. The case involved the nature of the paying bank’s obligations in relation to the cheques when presented (Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale [1989] 1 WLR 1340 (CA)).
Civil Fraud
Experience of advising on, and drafting pleadings in, fraud claims.
Instructed for Barclays Bank plc in numerous fraud claims against customers and in one claim against one of its branch managers.
Lexington v. Tarlo Lyons and others
This Commercial Court claim involved allegations of conspiracy, deceit and procuring breach of contract.
Civil Procedure
Experience of all stages of civil litigation: advice pre-issue; injunctions; drafting letters of claim and letters of response under the pre-action protocols; drafting pleadings (and requests for further information); preparing and attending applications for strike out, summary judgment and setting aside default judgments; advice on disclosure (including privilege); advice on and assistance with preparation of factual and expert evidence; attending case management conferences and pre-trial reviews; advice on settlement (including mediation); conducting trials and appeals.
Experience of dealing with claims by vexatious litigants (including applications for civil restraint orders (see Das v. Barclays Bank plc [2006] EWHC 817)).
Commercial Litigation
Regularly instructed in large-scale, factually and legally complex commercial litigation in the High Court, working as a part of solicitor and counsel teams.
“The Saipem 10,000” (Saipem (Portugal) Commercio Maritimo Sociedade Unipessoal LDA v Wirth Maschinen-Und-Bohrgeräte-Fabrik & National Oilwell AS)
Instructed (led by Michael Crane QC and Veronique Buehrlen) for an oil company claiming substantial damages in respect of losses suffered by it as a result of an incident on-board an oil drilling ship while the vessel was drilling off-shore Equatorial Guinea. The twelve week trial in the Commercial Court (before Cresswell J) on liability involved complex factual issues relating to both mechanical and computer software engineering and control systems, as well as commercially significant legal issues including: the true construction of contractual terms, entire agreement clauses, the duration of the warranties implied into a contract for the supply of goods and services and the circumstances in which a party can claim damages for losses suffered by another group company. The claim was settled prior to closing submissions.
Chilean Investors v. ANZ
Instructed for the claimants (led by Bankim Thanki QC, Derrick Dale and Philippa Hamilton) in a claim worth cUS$30m brought by 30 Chilean investors against the London branch of a major bank in relation to losses made on derivatives based on Russian National Debt. The claim was settled by the bank on confidential terms.
Campden Hill v. Chakrani [2005] EWHC 911
Assisted Stephen Rubin QC throughout this two week trial in the Chancery Division (before Hart J) while a pupil; in particular by preparing draft submissions on tracing and costs.
Re: Really Useful Theatres
Advised (led by Nicholas Stadlen QC, now Stadlen J) a purchaser of a portfolio of West End theatres as to whether restrictions in the sale and purchase agreement constituted an unlawful restraint of trade.
Employment
Experience of acting in employment disputes:
Advised a Senior Manager at the City insurer, Assicurazioni Generali SpA, in relation to a sexual and racial discrimination claim.
Appeared for the respondent, Barclays Bank plc, in a two day Employment Tribunal hearing dealing with an unfair dismissal where the employee had been dismissed for gross misconduct (misuse of corporate credit card to purchase personal computer equipment).
Appeared in the Employment Tribunal on a preliminary issue challenging jurisdiction (applicant not an employee but a part-owner of the respondent business).
Financial Services
Chilean Investors v. ANZ:
Instructed for the claimants (led by Bankim Thanki QC, Derrick Dale and Philippa Hamilton) in a claim worth cUS$30m brought by 30 Chilean investors against the London branch of a major bank in relation to losses made on derivatives based on Russian National Debt. One aspect of the claim relied upon the statutory cause of action provided by section 62 of the Financial Services Act 1986 and breaches of the IMRO rules.
Advised a property search website on the potential application of the regulatory scheme of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to proposed fund-raising schemes.
Insurance and Reinsurance
Lexington v. Tarlo Lyons and others
This Commercial Court claim involved allegations of conspiracy, deceit and procuring breach of contract.
Instructed (led by David Railton QC and Paul Sinclair) in a claim brought by an insurer against a solicitor and his Firm for their role in causing the insurer to suffer losses of cUS$20m in connection with underwriting film finance risks.
Instructed (led by Timothy Howe QC) for a leading US insurer in arbitration proceedings concerning the coverage of US asbestos and other pollution losses under London market reinsurance treaties. Also instructed in the related application to the Commercial Court under section 32 of the Arbitration Act 1996.
Professional Negligence
Experience of acting in professional negligence claims (for both claimants and defendants) and of the following professional contexts: barristers; solicitors; accountants; surveyors, bankers and IT professionals.
Finlan v. Eyton Morris Winfield and Grant Thornton
Instructed (led by Michael McLaren QC and Mark Simpson QC) in defending a £25m negligence claim brought against a firm of solicitors in respect of an alleged failure to seek relevant information at the completion meeting of a management buy-out. The firm of accountants who acted in the buy-out were also defendants and were the subject of contribution proceedings by the solicitors firm. The claim was settled during trial on confidential terms but a preliminary issue on assignment was reported as Finlan v. Eyton Morris Winfield [2007] EWHC 914 (Ch); [2007] 4 All ER 143.
Queen’s Park Rangers Holdings Limited v. Lambert Smith Hampton Group Limited
Instructed (led by Jeffrey Chapman) for QPR Holdings Limited, the company which owns and controls Queen’s Park Rangers FC, in bringing a claim against a firm of surveyors and valuers in respect of the alleged negligent valuation of a training ground purchased from Wasps RUFC. The case raised similar issues in relation to the proper measure of damages on an undervaluation to those dealt with in the related reported case of Trustees of Wasps v. Lambert Smith Hampton Group Ltd [2004] EWHC 938 (Comm). The claim was settled at mediation pre-issue.
Professional Regulation
Instructed to defend charges of professional misconduct in the Conduct and Competence Committee of the Health Professions Council on behalf of a speech therapist.
Experience of solicitors’ regulation under the Solicitors Act 1974 and the 2007 Code of Conduct.
Sport
Postgraduate Certificate in Sports Law, King’s College, London (2007); with particular emphasis on challenging decisions of sports governing bodies.
Instructed for Queen’s Park Rangers FC in the negligent valuation claim detailed above.
Instructed for licence-holders in defending private prosecutions brought on behalf of the FA Premier League and Sky for alleged offences under section 297 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (fraudulently receiving programmes in a broadcasting service with intent to avoid payment of any charge) arising out of Premier League fixtures being shown on the licensed premises without the correct Sky subscription.