Partner

Alastair Hopwood

Commercial Litigation and Disputes
Global Arbitration, Trade and Advocacy
Insurance Disputes

ahopwood@sidley.com

London +44 20 7360 2599

- Letter
- A4

ALASTAIR HOPWOOD’s practice is focused on complex commercial litigation, arbitration and contentious regulatory work, including cross-border investigations. Alastair acts primarily for clients in the banking, financial services, insurance and reinsurance sectors in relation to matters which are often multi-jurisdictional.

Alastair’s litigation experience includes acting for clients in disputes before the English High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, as well as in off-shore jurisdictions such as Bermuda. Alastair has also acted in respect of arbitrations pursuant to a range of institutional and ad hoc rules, including LCIA, UNCITRAL and ICSID. Alastair has also advised on the registration of foreign arbitration awards in the English courts as a precursor to enforcement and has experience of applying the provisions of the New York Convention in relation to the enforcement of foreign arbitration awards in England. Alastair also has experience of the resolution of disputes by way of mediation and adjudication.

Representative matters include acting for:

A committee of note-holders in structured finance litigation arising from the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers before the English High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, which centered on the meaning of balance sheet insolvency (BNY Corporate Trustee Services Ltd & Ors v Eurosail-UK 2007-3BL PLC & Ors [2010] EWHC 2005 (Ch); [2011] EWCA Civ 227; and [2013] UKSC 28).
A Bermudian reinsurance investment vehicle with respect to a proprietary tracing claim before the Bermuda Supreme Court arising from the posting of collateral of approximately US$450 million to Lehman Re, Ltd prior to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, and related interim applications, including whether an implied duty of confidentiality given by a party in receipt of documents disclosed may be waived by the court such that the documents can be used in foreign proceedings (In the Matter of Lehman Re, Ltd [2011] SC (Bda) 44 Com (September 20, 2011)).
An insurance claims manager in respect of a claim for damages following the termination of a claims management contract and counterclaim for alleged professional negligence (C&S Associates UK Ltd v Enterprise Insurance Company Plc [2015] EWHC 3757 (Comm)).
A company subject to restructuring in Kazakhstan in multiple adjudications before an LCIA appointed adjudicator in respect of various creditor disputes.
A Bermudian reinsurer in arbitration proceedings regarding the correct interpretation of an Offshore Energy Insurance Loss Warranty Policy, in particular whether a waiting period in an underlying energy insurance policy should be ascribed a monetary amount for the purposes of calculating whether certain offshore energy losses exceeded a trigger of US$1 billion, thereby resulting in payment under a reinsurance policy.

Experience

Further representative matters include acting for:

An individual in Commercial Court proceedings regarding the ownership of an investment management company and subsequent mediation.
An insurance broker in Commercial Court proceedings in respect of alleged professional negligence following the failure of insurers to indemnify under a professional indemnity insurance policy, various associated interim applications (including an application for security for costs) and subsequent mediation.
A steel fabricating technologies company in arbitration proceedings against a Russian company for damages arising from non-acceptance of goods pursuant to the Sale of Goods Act 1979, and associated enforcement proceedings in Russia.
A satellite navigation systems manufacturer in Commercial Court proceedings for non-payment of goods.
An insurer in a trade mark infringement and passing off dispute before the Chancery Division.
A bank in a Commercial Court dispute concerning potential fraud.

In addition to his litigation and arbitration practice, Alastair regularly advises clients in relation to matters arising from regulatory investigations and has experience of advising clients in the context of investigations by UK, EU and U.S. regulators. His experience includes:

The representation of the Corporate Compliance Monitor of HSBC Holdings plc, who was appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice, the UK Financial Conduct Authority, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, in connection with a monitorship resulting from a US$1.9 billion resolution of money laundering and sanction violations.
Assisting in conducting regulatory and commercial investigations for clients, including in relation to several Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and bribery investigations.
Acting on behalf of an investment management company in respect of an internal investigation concerning potential regulatory offences, including insider trader and market manipulation.
Acting for a large financial organization in relation to a multi-jurisdictional regulatory investigation into LIBOR.
Acting on behalf of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) in a technical investigation regarding the 2008 McLaren/Ferrari Formula One ‘spygate scandal’ and in the FIA’s investigation into Nelson Piquet Jnr’s deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Alastair Hopwood

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