Simon Atrill
Call Date
2005
Practice Areas
Simon has a broad commercial and civil practice in line with Chambers' profile.
Summary of Practice
Simon is presently acting for Barclays Bank (led by Iain Milligan QC and Andrew Mitchell) in the high-profile Commercial Court test case brought by the OFT against eight financial institutions in respect of the legality of current account charges. (Described as one of the top ten trials of 2008 in The Lawyer 14/1/08). He has previously been involved in advising a number of banks in relation to a variety of issues relating to the ongoing bank charges litigation, as well as appearing on behalf of such banks in individual cases in the mercantile and county courts. He is also instructed (as junior counsel) in relation to a forthcoming ten-week trial in a reinsurance arbitration and the trial of a multi-million pound claim brought against a high street bank.
During 2006-08, he acted for Rabobank Nederland (in a team led by Ali Malek QC and including Jeffrey Chapman) in the interlocutory, trial and appellate stages of this international commercial litigation. Rabobank’s claims for misrepresentation (including fraud) and breach of fiduciary duty, amounting to more than US$200m, were tried in the Commercial Court before Colman J for twelve weeks commencing in the autumn of 2006. (Described as one of the top ten trials of 2006 in The Lawyer 9/1/06, see also The Lawyer 4/9/06). The Court of Appeal is due to hear the appeak in October 2008.
Simon is frequently instructed in cases of varying sizes and degrees of complexity, both on his own and as part of a larger team. Since arriving in chambers, Simon has gained experience in a wide range of commercial and civil matters, including:
- Arbitration
- Aviation
- Banking and Financial Services
- Chancery
- Civil Fraud
- Commercial Litigation
- Company Law
- Conflicts of Law and Jurisdiction
- Contractual Disputes
- Employment
- Insurance and Reinsurance
- Professional Negligence
- Sale of Goods and International Trade
- Shipping and Commodities
- Sports Law
Education
BA Law, St Catharine's College, Cambridge (Double First)
BCL, St John's College, Oxford (Distinction)
LLM, University of Pennsylvania (Summa cum laude) (First Class equivalent)
BVC, Inns of Court School of Law (Very Competent)
Recent Practice
Banking & Finance
OFT v Barclays Bank and seven other financial institutions
Simon is presently acting for Barclays Bank (led by Iain Milligan QC and Andrew Mitchell) in the high-profile Commercial Court test case brought by the OFT against eight financial institutions in respect of the legality of current account charges. He has previously been involved in advising a number of banks in relation to a variety of issues relating to the ongoing bank charges litigation, as well as appearing on behalf of such banks in individual cases in the mercantile and county courts.
National Westminster Bank plc v Rabobank Nederland
During 2006-07, Simon acted for Rabobank Nederland (in a team led by Ali Malek QC and including Jeffrey Chapman) in the interlocutory, trial and appellate stages of this international commercial litigation. Rabobank’s claims for misrepresentation (including fraud) and breach of fiduciary duty, amounting to more than US$200m, were tried in the Commercial Court before Colman J for twelve weeks in the autumn of 2006. (Described as one of the top ten trials of 2006 in The Lawyer 9/1/06, see also The Lawyer 4/9/06). The Court of Appeal is due to hear the appeal in October 2008.
Simon is frequently instructed on banking cases of varying sizes and degrees of complexity, recently including
- Acting for a high street bank in relation to a multi-million pound claim brought against it
- Acting for the Royal Bank of Scotland in relation to the recovery of losses arising from an alleged fraudulent moneylaundering scheme (worth in excess of £150,000)
- Acting for a customer in a claim against a major high street bank involving issues of misrepresentation, negligence and undue influence (worth in excess of £100,000)
- Advising a major high street bank in connection with compliance with a freezing order and ancillary orders
- Various claims in relation to the enforcement of loans and their security
- Numerous cases involving Consumer Credit Act issues
Arbitration
Simon is presently instructed in relation to a reinsurance arbitration (lef by Michael Crane QC and Marcus Smith) with a value of approximately $100m, presently due for trial in February 2009 for ten weeks.
- Civil Fraud/Conflict of Laws and Jurisdiction/Contractual Disputes
National Westminster Bank plc v Rabobank Nederland
See entry under Banking and Finance.
Publications
Civil Procedure:
- Legal Privilege and Mandatory Disclosure under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 [2005] LMCLQ (co-authored with Alex Barden)
International Commercial Litigation/Conflict of Laws:
- Sole Author, UK Government / Dept of Constitutional Affairs Summary of English Conflict of Laws rules for EU Project: http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/applicable_law/applicable_law_gen_en.htm
- "Choice of Law in Contract: The missing Pieces of the Article 4 Jigsaw?" (2004) 54 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 559
- "The Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Canada" (2004) 63 Cambridge Law Journal 574
- Book review: Aidrian Briggs', The Conflict of Laws [2004] LMCLQ 265
Regulatory / Public Law / Human Rights:
- "The Right to Property" in Grosz, Beatson and Duffy on the Human Rights Act 1998 (2nd ed. 2006 Sweet & Maxwell)
- "The End of Estoppel in Public Law?" (2003) 62 Cambridge Law Journal 3
- "Keeping the Executive in the Picture: a reply to Professor Leigh" [2003] Public Law 41
- "Who is the 'fair-minded and informed observer'? Bias after Magill" (2003) 62 Cambridge Law Journal 272
- "Nulla Poena Sine Lege in Comparative Perspective: Retrospectivity under the ECHR and US Constitution." [2005] Public Law 107
- Book review: Conor Gearty, Principles of Human Rights Adjudication (2005) 64 Cambridge Law Journal
Other Experience
Supervisor in Conflict of Laws and Administrative Law, University of Cambridge (2004-05)
Internship with Jamaican Council for Human Rights, Kingston, Jamaica (working on Death Row appeals to the Privy Council) (June - September 2000)
Languages
Working knowledge of French and Spanish