Charles accepts instructions across all areas of commercial law. He has experience in the Commercial Court, Chancery Division, Technology & Construction Court and in offshore jurisdictions. His recent experience includes:

• An LCIA arbitration relating to a substantial fraud, involving allegations of dishonest breach of directors’ duties (led by Mark Howard KC).
• Alta Trading UK Ltd v Bosworth & Ors [2025] EWHC 2724 (Comm); [2026] EWHC 807 (Comm) – following the dismissal of a US$325 million fraud claim relating to oil trading in West Africa, Charles acted for the first and second defendants in a five-week Commercial Court trial, seeking compensation for losses caused by a 10-year freezing injunction. There have been numerous interlocutory applications concerning disclosure, additional security for costs after trial, and in respect of the claimants’ failed attempt to strike out allegations that they obtained the freezing injunction dishonestly (led by Richard Eschwege KC, instructed by Quinn Emanuel).
• Illiquidx Ltd v Altana Wealth Ltd & Ors [2024] EWHC 2191 (Ch); [2025] EWHC 299 (Ch); [2025] EWHC 1627 (Ch); [2026] EWCA Civ 874 – acted successfully for the claimant in a 2-week Chancery Division trial and on appeal. The Court held that the corporate defendants, a hedge fund and its consultant, acted in breach of contract, breach of confidence and breach of the Trade Secrets Regulations by misusing confidential information about a proposed fund to invest in Venezuelan distressed debt. The Court of Appeal dismissed the defendants’ argument that the information was in the public domain (led by Andrew Green KC, instructed by RPC at trial and by Quinn Emanuel on appeal).
• Ascentra Holdings Inc (in Official Liquidation) v Yoshida & Ors (2025) – defending a US$270 million proprietary claim in an eight-week trial, in a dispute as to the beneficial ownership of a profitable e-commerce business (led by Vernon Flynn KC, instructed by Harneys).
• Municipio de Mariana v BHP Group (UK) Ltd – acted for the Part 20 defendant, Vale S.A., in a group action concerning the collapse of a Brazilian dam. Over 600,000 claimants sought damages of £36 billion; this is understood to be the largest group claim ever issued in the English courts (led by Simon Salzedo KC, Vernon Flynn KC and Richard Eschwege KC, instructed by White & Case) (one of The Lawyer’s “Top 20 cases” of 2024).
• Chowgule & Co Private Ltd v Shirke [2023] EWHC 2815 (Comm) – acted for the claimants in a hard-fought application for a freezing injunction, relating to an alleged fraudulent scheme in the shipping industry (led by Simon Salzedo KC, instructed by Milbank).

Charles accepts instructions across all areas of competition law. His recent cases include:

• Consumers’ Association (Which?) v Qualcomm Inc (2025) – acted for the defendant, Qualcomm, in a five-week trial concerning an alleged abuse of dominance. Shortly after trial, the class representative applied to withdraw the proceedings, valued at £480 million, without any payment from Qualcomm. The CAT subsequently approved the first ever ‘drop hands’ settlement of opt-out collective proceedings, on the basis that the claim “no longer had a realistic prospect of success” following trial (led by Daniel Jowell KC, Nicholas Saunders KC and David Bailey KC, instructed by Norton Rose Fulbright).
• Justin Gutmann v Stagecoach & Ors - the first standalone collective proceedings and the first to concern an alleged abuse of dominance (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Abram KC)
• Secretary of State for Health and Social Care & Others v Lundbeck Limited & Others - follow-on damages claim in respect of alleged collusion between pharmaceutical companies (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Abram KC)
• BMW Emissions litigation - proposed group litigation against BMW in connection with alleged 'defeat devices' as a pupil, assisting Sarah Abram KC)
• Pharmacosmos UK Limited and another v Vifor Pharma UK Limited and others – proceedings alleging an abuse of dominance in the pharmaceuticals sector (as a pupil, assisting Gerard Rothschild)
• Advising on the prospects of proposed opt-out collective proceedings in respect of an alleged breach of the Chapter I prohibition in the technology sector (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Abram KC)
• Advising a defendant company in the energy sector in respect of a proposed claim against it alleging excessive pricing (as a pupil, assisting Gerard Rothschild)
• Advising a defendant utilities company in relation to the potential certification of opt-out collective proceedings against it alleging an abuse of dominance (as a pupil, assisting Gerard Rothschild)

• An LCIA arbitration relating to a substantial fraud, involving allegations of dishonest breach of directors’ duties (led by Mark Howard KC).
• An LCIA arbitration concerning a dispute in the investment management industry (as a pupil, assisting Richard Eschwege KC)
• A challenge, under sections 67, 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996, to an award concerned with a reinsurance dispute (as a pupil, assisting Richard Eschwege KC)
• An HKIAC arbitration regarding patent portfolio licensing (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Abram KC)

Charles accepts instructions across all areas of public law. His recent experience includes:

• Acting for a victim of a serious sexual offence in judicial review proceedings regarding the police's failure to investigate (led by Jennifer MacLeod, instructed by Saunders)
• Attorney General for the Falkland Islands v Teslyn Siobhan Barkman – proceedings concerning the rights of dual nationals to vote and to hold office under the constitution of the Falkland Islands (as a pupil, assisting Gerard Rothschild)
• Airwave Solutions Limited & Others v Competition and Markets Authority – an application for review of a CMA decision under section 179 of the Enterprise Act 2002, raising issues concerning A1P1 property rights (as a pupil, assisting Sarah Abram KC)

Education

• 2021-2022: Bar Vocational Studies (Distinction, second in year), City Law School
• 2020-2021: Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction), City Law School
• 2015-2019: BA Literae Humaniores (Congratulatory Double First), New College, University of Oxford

Scholarships and prizes

• Lord Scarman Scholarship, City Law School, 2022
• ICLR Busfield Prize for Legal Research and Opinion Writing, City Law School, 2022
• Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn, 2021
• City Law School Scholarship for Academic Excellence, 2021
• Lord Bowen Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn, 2020
• Gibbs Prize for the best performance in philosophy, University of Oxford, 2019
• Academic Scholarship, New College, University of Oxford, 2017