Tim Lord QC

What marks Tim Lord QC out at the commercial bar is his wealth of trial experience enabling him instinctively to identify the point on which a case will turn and carry the tribunal with him. Originally a solicitor with Slaughter and May, he took with him to the Bar a thorough grounding in banking, capital markets and corporate finance work as well as a clear understanding of how the barrister/solicitor relationship works best.

He took Silk after 16 years at the Bar, on the strength of a broad commercial practice taking in not only banking and finance but insurance and reinsurance, professional negligence, civil fraud, conflict of laws, TMT and arbitration. His experience of playing first class rugby and cricket has stood him in good stead for both the adversarial aspects of litigation and the crucial need for teamwork.

Tim Lord QC has maintained a broad practice which has combined different areas of substantive and procedural law with a wide range of courtroom experiences. This breadth and diversity makes for effective advocacy and good judgment, which are particularly important qualities in Silk.

Recommended as a leading Silk for Commercial Litigation, Banking & Finance and Professional Negligence by the Legal 500, for Banking & Finance and Professional Negligence by Chambers & Partners and Insurance by Legal Experts. He is described by the Legal 500 as a "perfect 2008 Silk for credit crunch cases".   

Highlights of his current and recent caseload include:

  • HSBC v AHAB and Algosaibis: $100M claim by HSBC for repayment under various lending facilities and guarantees. Tim led for HSBC at the Commercial Court trial before Flaux J in June 2011, which collapsed amidst widespread publicity with the Defendants submitting to judgment in favour of HSBC. He successfully resisted attempts by other banks (also judgment creditors of these defendants) to set aside HSBC's interim charging orders over certain assets of such defendants at a hearing in September 2011.
  • JP Morgan v BVG: £200M claim by JPM against the Berlin Transport Company over a synthetic CDO. Tim led for BVG in the Supreme Court and appeared at the ECJ in February 2011, in relation to the jurisdiction dispute. He continues to lead in the substantive action proceeding in the Commercial Court.
  • UBS v KWL: $350M structured finance dispute involving the Leipzig Water Company. Tim led for KWL at the jurisdiction hearing before Gloster J and continues to lead in the ongoing substantive action in the Commercial Court.
  • Lornamead v Kaupthing Bank: Tim led for Kaupthing Bank before Gloster J in 2011 at the jurisdiction hearing in the Commercial Court, which involved the Icelandic banking insolvency regime and which will now be heard by the Court of Appeal.
  • Shine Grace Investment Ltd v Citibank: Tim is instructed by Shine Grace in this $60M dispute in relation to "accumulator" contracts, which is proceeding in the Court of First Instance in Hong Kong.
  • Merrill Lynch v Agricultural Bank of Greece: Tim leads for ABG in this structured product dispute over a "snowball", which started in the Commercial Court in 2011.
  • William Hill v Playtech Ltd: Tim led for Playtech in this high profile online gaming dispute, which settled shortly before the Commercial Court trial in May 2011.
  • Deutsche Bank v SHI: $3 billion prime brokerage dispute in the Commercial Court, which arose at the height of the "credit crunch".  
  • CF Partners v Barclays Bank: Tim leads for CFP in this breach of confidence claim that started in the Chancery Division in October 2011, and which arises out of a corporate finance deal involving carbon credits trading.
  • Katsouris v Haitoglou: Tim led for the defendant at a jurisdiction hearing before Eder J in the QBD in January 2011 in this sale of goods dispute involving the supply of goods from Greece to the leading supermarket chains
  • Renaissance Capital v African Minerals Ltd: Tim acts for the defendant in this mining related dispute, which was issued in the Commercial Court in October 2011 and involves claims for corporate finance fees.
  • The Yarrow Foundation v Timis: Tim leads for the defendant in a claim for breach of trust, which started in the Chancery Division in 2011.
  • JN Dairies Ltd v Johal Ltd: Tim acted for the defendant in this breach of confidence dispute, the trial of which ended up in the Court of Appeal

Tim Lord QC’s News and Cases

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Tim Lord QC’s Directory Quotes

  • "The ‘extremely client-friendly' Tim Lord QC is ‘a first-rate silk'." (Legal 500 2011)
  • "A skilled and intrepid advocate who has a good commercial grasp of a case and a fine tactical brain." (Chambers & Partners 2011)
  • "Very commercial and with a quick turnaround of papers, Lord is a determined advocate who is tactically astute." He is "a very good team player who is always proactive" (Chambers & Partners 2011)
  • Rated for "great intelligence, tactical sense and hard work" (Legal 500, 2010)
  • "Perfect 2008 Silk for credit crunch cases" (Legal 500, 2009)
  • Solicitors beat a path to his door as he "pays excellent attention to detail, and is wonderful on strategy and the big picture" (Chambers & Partners, 2009)
  • "Very much the driver of a case-a man with a sleeves-up approach" (Chambers & Partners, 2009)
  • Having worked as a Solicitor he "understands the logistical issues of instructing solicitors on big cases in a way that many senior counsel do not" (Chambers & Partners, 2009)

Tim Lord QC’s CVs