Fountain Court warmly congratulates Rupert Allen and Alex Barden on their appointments to King’s Counsel, announced by the Lord Chancellor today.

Rupert is regularly instructed to act in large-scale international disputes including those giving rise to parallel proceedings in foreign jurisdictions and difficult issues of jurisdiction and foreign law. He has particular expertise in complex and high value banking and financial services cases. Examples of his work include VTB Capital (in Administration) v Republic of Mozambique, where he represented VTB Capital Plc in its claim against the Republic in its capacity as sovereign guarantor for repayment of loan monies advanced by VTBC to finance certain projects; Airbus v Qatar Airways where he acted for Airbus in defending the widely reported claims brought by Qatar Airways relating to alleged premature surface degradation on the A350 aircraft, which was one of The Lawyer’s ‘Top 20 Cases for 2023’; and JPMorgan International Finance Ltd v Werealize.com Ltd/Viva Wallet where he represented JPMorgan in an expedited Commercial Court trial of a high-value dispute concerned with the operation of a call option in a shareholders agreement.

The legal directories describe him as “a superstar junior who is completely first-rate. Thorough, meticulous and a match for any other junior and indeed other KCs” and as “a go-to junior with experience far beyond his years. He has an unparalleled work ethic”. He is currently ranked as a Leading Junior by both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for banking & finance (band 1 in Legal 500), commercial disputes (band 1 in Legal 500), and professional discipline, and additionally by Legal 500 for financial services. He is also ranked in Chambers & Partners Global rankings as a Leading Junior in commercial disputes. Rupert was nominated as Commercial Litigation Junior of the Year at the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2024.

Alex is widely recognised as a leading junior in commercial matters, especially insolvency and corporate cases, fund and LLP law and civil fraud. He has particular experience of complex litigation and arbitration involving financial institutions, often with an international element or a regulatory dimension. In Palladian Partners LP v Republic of Argentina, he represented the successful claimants in the Commercial Court and Court of Appeal in a claim relating to GDP-linked sovereign debt. In Republic of Nigeria v Shell & Eni he represented the Italian oil giant Eni, successfully resisting a $1 billion bribery claim by the Nigerian government in relation to an off-shore oilfield, including allegations against the former President. Previously, he appeared in the RBS Rights Issue Litigation where he acted as lead junior for Legal & General, Standard Life, Prudential and others in a £4 billion claim under s.90 of FSMA, and proceedings arising from the insolvencies of Lehman Brothers, MF Global and Kaupthing. In 2024 he appeared unled in the Supreme Court in the LA Micro litigation.

He is described in the directories as “an absolutely staggering intellect and a true advocate” whose “advocacy is up there with some of the very top silks”. He is currently ranked as a Leading Junior by both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for commercial dispute and company (band 1 in Chambers & Partners), and additionally by Legal 500 for banking & finance and insolvency, and Chambers & Partners for commercial chancery, civil fraud and group litigation. He is also ranked in Chambers & Partners Global rankings as a Leading Junior in commercial disputes (band 1) and commercial chancery. Alex was nominated for Commercial Dispute Resolution Junior of the Year at the Chambers and Partners UK Bar Awards 2024 and as Chancery Junior of the Year at the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2023.