Ali's commercial practice covers civil fraud, banking, insurance, shareholders/JV disputes, professional negligence, and competition claims.

Commercial litigation

• Sheffield United Football Club v Shepherd and Wedderburn – Acting for the Defendants in a high-profile £150m claim brought by the former owners of the football club against their solicitors, alleging negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. This is one of the Lawyer’s Top 20 cases of 2023 (led by Charles Hollander KC).
• Kingstown v FGL – A high-value trial of a s.238 fair value action in the Cayman Islands (led by Simon Salzedo KC).
• Cheng v Zheng – Acted in a multi-million-dollar civil fraud trial in the British Virgin Islands concerning the alleged fraudulent transfer of shares in Chinese, Cayman, and BVI companies. The case raised complex issues of private international law (led by Vernon Flynn KC).
• Phones4U v Telefonica & ors – Acted in the high-profile action concerning the alleged cartel and conspiracy between the leading mobile network providers in the United Kingdom. This was one of the Lawyer’s Top 20 cases of 2022.
• The Secretary of State for Health v Servier Laboratories Ltd – A Supreme Court case concerning (i) the economic torts, in particular the unlawful means tort, and (ii) the interaction between competition/IP regimes and compensatory relief under the common law (assisting Marie Demetriou KC and Daniel Piccinin).
• Loreley 30 v Credit Suisse – A high-profile civil fraud claim in relation to allegations of fraud and misrepresentation by Credit Suisse bankers and senior management (assisting Tim Lord KC and Fred Hobson).
• Galapagos Bidco S.A. v Signal Credit Opportunities Fund – A $100m claim for an alleged fraudulent conveyance of notes (assisting Neil Calver KC and Ben Woolgar).
• Playboy litigation – A claim in the tort of deceit brought by a London casino against an Italian bank in the tort of deceit (assisting Simon Salzedo KC and Fred Hobson). The deceit trial was brought following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Playboy Club London Limited v Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SPA [2018] UKSC 43.

Group litigation

• Justin le Patourel v BT – Acting for BT in the first collective action to go to trial.
• RoRo - Acting for Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha in the follow-on damage’s claims arising from the European Commission’s decision in the Maritime Car Carriers cartel case (led by Marie Demetriou KC and Daniel Piccinin).
• Lloyd v Google – A landmark UK Supreme Court decision on data group actions (assisted Victoria Wakefield KC).
• R (Donegan & Ors) v Financial Services Compensation Scheme (London Capital Finance) - Acting for investors challenging the FSCS’s decision to decline compensation to thousands of investors who lost over £200m (assisting James McClelland KC, Tim Johnston and Charlotte Thomas).

Insurance and reinsurance

• Reinsurance arbitration – Acting for a group of reinsurers in an ARIAS arbitration on business interruption losses (led by Harry Matovu KC).
• Aggregation – Ali has advised with a number of Silks in Chambers on issues of aggregation arising in light of the decisions in Stonegate, Greggs, and the VE Action (Simon Salzedo KC and Harry Matovu KC).
• Advising a major insurer on potential business interruption liability (in excess of $100m) following the Supreme Court’s judgment in the FCA Test Case (led by Simon Salzedo KC).

Ali is instructed in public international law cases around the world, before international courts/tribunals and domestic courts. His cases concern treaty interpretation; state, sovereign, and diplomatic immunity; the law of the sea; investor-state disputes; human rights and humanitarian law; the law of armed conflict; and international trade/WTO law. Ali is often instructed in cases at the intersection between public law and international law. In addition, Ali is often instructed in cases concerning the relation between EU and international law; for example, Ali has advised on the implications of the CJEU’s judgment in  Achmea for the enforcement of arbitral awards, and is acting in a number of investor-state cases concerning the application of EU sanctions.

Cases before international courts and tribunals

• Advisory Opinion in the ICJ on Climate Change – Counsel for a number of parties in the ICJ Advisory Opinion on states’ obligations under international law in respect of climate change.
• Advisory Opinion in the ICJ on the Right to Strike – Counsel for a party to the proceedings.
• Advisory Opinion in the ICJ on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem – Advising a State and NGO in relation to the proceedings.
• Request for Advisory Opinion (Chile and Colombia) – Acting in the high-profile Advisory Opinion on Climate Change in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (as lead counsel)
• Ali is acting in a number of investor-state cases: (i) Buse v Panama; (ii) an investor against a European state in the renewable sector; and (iii) a Middle Eastern investor against a European state.
• Advising on a possible claim before the WTO.
• UNHCR – A reference to the CJEU on the protection of Palestinian refugees under EU asylum law. The case concerns the implementation of the Geneva Convention under the EU Qualification Directive.
• Request for Advisory Opinion (Argentina) – Lead counsel in high-profile Inter-American Court of Human Rights case on the right to food, water, education, employment, and a healthy environment.
• Acting in a landmark case before the Grand Chamber of the ECHR on the legality of pushbacks and border violence against asylum-seekers. The case will have wide-ranging implications for States’ policies and practices on immigration control.
• Advising MAK, an Algerian political party, on whether the Kabyle people have a right to self- determination, cessation, and statehood under international law.
• ML v Panama – acting in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on a case concerning Panama’s failure to investigate torture.

Cases before domestic courts around the world

In the English courts, Ali acts in judicial reviews, commercial litigation, and arbitration-related court work which raise issues of international law. Outside of England, Ali is instructed as a legal expert and amicus curiae in courts around the world on issues of international law. Recent cases include:

• R (Al-Haq) v Secretary of State for Business and Trade - Acting for an NGO in a challenge to the UK government’s decision to continue granting arms export licences to Israel in the context of the ongoing war in Gaza
• Rwanda litigation - Acting for the lead group of Claimants in their high-profile challenge to the UK’s policy of removing asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda. Ali was part of the legal team to have the decision declared unlawful (AAA & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department).
• Paris Agreement – Acting in proceedings in the English courts on the United Kingdom’s obligation under the Paris Agreement.
• State immunity – Acting in the English courts for a former head of State on issues of diplomatic and state immunity.
• Malaysia - Acting as legal expert on issues of customary international law and human rights in Malaysia on the right to life, liberty, and freedom from torture.
• Kenya – Acting in high-profile proceedings on the rights of refugees in Kenya under the Refugee Convention.
• ESG – Acting in confidential proceedings relating to a company’s compliance with UN voluntary principles on business and human rights.
• Colombia - Acting in the Colombian Constitutional Court on whether Colombia’s citizenship rules violate international human rights law or the law on statelessness.
• Mexico - Acting in the Mexican Supreme Court on whether Mexico’s detention policy violates international law
• R (Sequoia) v OFGEM & Others – Acted for the Claimants in a judicial review concerning OFGEM’s decision to place Bulb into ESCA administration. The case raised questions on the relationship between public law and investor-state law.
• Ali acts in trade and investment issues arising under English public law, including the National and Security   Investment Act 2021, commercial judicial reviews, and regulatory proceedings. Ali has acted for a number of  renewable energy companies in challenges to UK measures on renewable energy.

Ali is a highly sought after barrister in the field of competition and trade. He has been instructed in some of the leading competition damages claims before the English courts. Ali is particularly recognised for his skill in cases which exist at the boundary between competition law and other areas of the law, such as commercial law, IP, sport, and WTO law.

Recent and current experience includes:

• Le Patourel v BT – Acted successfully for BT in defence of landmark collective action proceedings (led by Sarah Ford KC and Sarah Love)
• Kelkoo v Google – Acting for Kelkoo against Google in relation to the Google Shopping and Google AdSense Decisions (led by Daniel Jowell KC and Sarah Love)
• Phones4u – Acted for Orange in the high-profile Phones4u litigation (led by Marie Demetriou KC and David Scannell KC)
• Advising Vodafone on EU telecoms regulations (led by Robert O’Donoghue KC)
• Advising a tobacco manufacturer on possible WTO claims (led by Salim Moolan KC)
• Investor-state disputes – Ali is acting in a number of investor-state disputes which raise questions of EU law.
• SBK ARK LLC – Ali is acting for SBK ARK LLC in a preliminary reference to the CJEU on the interpretation of EU sanctions.
• Premier League – a claim against the Premier League for anti-competitive behaviour (assisting Daniel Jowell KC)
• UEFA – a claim against UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Rules on competition law grounds (assisting Victoria Wakefield KC)
• RoRo: Daimler AG v Walleniusrederierna Aktiebolag [2019] EWHC 3197 (Comm) – a reference to the CJEU on the application of competition law to the maritime industry (assisting Mark Hoskins KC)
• RoRo: Collective action – Acting for NYKK in collective action proceedings (led by Marie Demetriou KC and Daniel Piccinin KC)
• Samsung v LG - a jurisdiction challenge in the LCD damages claim (assisting Daniel Piccinin KC)
• Network sharing - Advising a regulator on the roll-out of 5G in Jersey (assisting Aidan Roberton KC)
• Max Recycle v Durham County Council - a strike out application regarding a State Aid dispute on recycling in Durham (assisting Aidan Robertson KC)

Harvard Law School, LLM, Frank Knox Fellow – Dean’s Scholar Prize in multiple subjects, including for his paper “Markets, Hegemony and Dominance: Dismantling the Cabal with Antitrust.”

BPTC (Outstanding)

University of Cambridge, Law (First Class), 7th in year, with prizes in three papers: Constitutional, EU law, and EU Environmental Law (scoring the highest mark in the faculty’s history in the latter)

PRIZES AND SCHOLARSHIPS

University of Cambridge

• ECS Wade prize for best performance in Constitutional Law
• Clifford Chance prize for best performance in European Union law
• Best overall performance in EU Environmental Law (achieving the highest mark in the faculty’s history)
• Thatcher Prize, Fitzwilliam College

Harvard Law School

• Dean’s Scholar Prize in multiple subjects, including for his paper “   Markets, Hegemony and Dominance: Dismantling the Cabal with Antitrust.”