Matthew Kennedy

Matthew joined Chambers as a tenant in 2018 having worked for a number of years in the international arbitration group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, a leading US firm. Matthew has a busy practice spanning all areas of Chambers’ work, including commercial law, competition law, and public law. In addition, Matthew has extensive experience of data protection law.

Matthew acts both led and unled and appeared unled twice recently in a successful application for an anti-suit injunction in the High Court. Matthew also appears regularly in the County Court on a variety of commercial matters.

Highlights of current and recent instructions include:

The Trucks Litigation – acting for Iveco in defence of multiple follow-on claims in the Competition Appeal Tribunal estimated to be worth over £1 billion, including two applications for a collective proceedings order (with Kelyn Bacon QC and others).
Republic of Mozambique v Credit Suisse International – acting for the Sixth to Tenth Defendants in a Commercial Court claim for rescission of State guarantees for loans of over US$1 billion for alleged bribery and fraud (with David Wolfson QC and others).
Data Protection - advising on two prospective actions arising out of mass data breaches (with Sarah Abram and others); defending a retail bank against a claim for breach of the GDPR arising out of its fraud prevention policies; and acting for the claimants in a claim against a local authority for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages for breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. As a pupil, Matthew assisted Victoria Wakefield QC in Lloyd v Google.
Arbitration - at WilmerHale, Matthew acted for and advised major corporate clients from a range of industries, including financial services, energy and pharmaceuticals. He has extensive experience of both commercial arbitration under each of the major institutional rules and investor-state arbitration.
An anti-suit injunction – acting unled in an application brought by Owners for an anti-suit injunction against cargo interests in Syria, which raised issues of foreign law and the EU sanctions regime.
An LMAA arbitration – acting for Owners in a dispute with Charterers over unpaid bunkers (with Richard Lord QC).
Retail banking – Matthew regularly appears in the county court to defend claims against retail banks, including claims under the Equality Act 2010 and the General Data Protection Regulation.
Election law – Matthew regularly advises on questions of election law, including election offences, campaign financing, and issues arising out of purdah.

During pupillage, Matthew worked on cases across Chambers’ core practice areas, including: KeyMed v Michael Woodford & Paul Hillman, PSJC Commercial Bank Privatbank v Kolomoisky & Ors, Avonwick Holdings v Azitio & Ors, Federal Deposit Investment Corporation v Barclays Bank and ors, Queens Park Rangers v the English Football League, HMRC and BMW v MG Rover Group, and Lloyd v Google.

Matthew graduated from the University of Oxford (St. Hugh’s) with a first in history and subsequently achieved a first on the LLM at the University of Cambridge (St. John’s), graduating third in his year.

Expand All

Commercial M
- KeyMed v Michael Woodford & Paul Hillman (a claim against former directors for unlawful means conspiracy, negligence and breach of duty, assisting Stephen Midwinter QC)
- Avonwick Holdings v Azitio & Ors (a US$1.1 billion claim about the sale of the Industrial Union of Donbass involving three of Ukraine’s richest men, assisting Stephen Midwinter QC)
- Twinsectra Ltd v Lloyds Bank Plc [2018] EWHC 672 (Ch) (a summary judgment application brought by Lloyds raising issues of alternative and cumulative remedies; election; the doctrine of approbation and reprobation; and abuse of process, assisting Stephen Midwinter QC)
- Nori Holdings Ltd v PJSC Bank Otkritie [2018] EWHC 1343 (Comm) (application for an anti-suit injunction against a Russian bank in support of arbitration proceedings, assisting Stephen Midwinter QC).
- PSJC Commercial Bank Privatbank v Kolomoisky and ors (a c.$2bn fraud claim (and associated freezing order) brought by a Ukrainian bank against its former owners, assisting Richard Blakeley)
- Corbiere and ors v Xu: (a breach of confidence claim, which also raised issues under Article 6 ECHR, assisting Richard Blakeley).
- AssetCo plc v Grant Thornton (a c.£40m claim against Grant Thornton for the negligent conduct of the audit of AssetCo plc’s financial statements, assisting Richard Blakeley)
Arbitration M
Commercial arbitration
- a financial services arbitration under English law and the LCIA rules (at WilmerHale)
- an arbitration arising out of an oil-drilling contract under English law and the LCIA rules (at WilmerHale)
- an arbitration arising out of pharmaceuticals joint venture agreement under English law and the ICC Rules (at WilmerHale)
- an arbitration arising out of a contract for the hire of a deep-sea drilling rig under English law and the ICC Rules (at WilmerHale)
- an arbitration arising out of a large energy infrastructure project under Swiss law and the ICC Rules (at WilmerHale)
Investment arbitration
- Merck Sharp & Dohme (I.A.) Corp. v. Republic of Ecuador PCA Case No. 2012-10 (at WilmerHale, acting for the Claimant in a claim under the US-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty)
Matthew has also advised on a number of prospective claims under bilateral investment treaties and on particular issues arising in respect of intra-EU BITs.
Public Law M
- Utilita v Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Innovation (judicial review in respect of BEIS’ policy regarding Smart Meters, assisting Victoria Wakefield)
- R (on the application of Muir) v Wandsworth Borough Council [2018] EWCA Civ 1035 (an appeal to the Court of Appeal from a judicial review in respect of the local authority’s power to grant a lease of premises on Wandsworth Common, assisting Victoria Wakefield)
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales v Lord Chancellor (judicial review in respect of the Lord Chancellor’s refusal to make orders designating ICAEW as an Approved Regulator and Licensing Authority under the Legal Services Act 2007)
- Omers Administration Corporation & Ors v Tesco Plc (claims brought in respect of Tesco’s overstatement of profits, in which the Serious Fraud Office intervened to protect ongoing criminal proceedings, assisting Victoria Wakefield)
- Lohe Issa Konaté v Burkina Faso (successful claim for damages for breach of the ICCPR and the African Charter, at WilmerHale with the Media Legal Defence Initiative)
- Assisting the Media Legal Defence Initiative with prospective applications to the European Court of Human Rights.
Competition M
- HMRC and BMW v MG Rover Group [2016] UKUT 434 (appeal to the Court of Appeal in respect of restitution under EU law, assisting Victoria Wakefield)
- Federal Deposit Investment Corporation v Barclays Bank and ors (competition law claims against USD LIBOR panel banks and the British Bankers’ Association in respect of the banks’ collusive suppression of USD LIBOR, assisting Richard Blakeley)
- Queens Park Rangers v the English Football League (competition and public law challenge to the Championship 2012 Financial Fair Play Rules, assisting Victoria Wakefield)
- Emerald v British Airways and ors (competition law claims against British Airways and several other airlines in respect of air cargo surcharges, acting for Lufthansa at WilmerHale)
Education & Qualifications M

Professional Experience:

2014 – 2017: Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

Education:

2013 – 2014: LLM, St. John’s College, Cambridge (First Class, 3^rd in year).

2012 – 2013: BPTC, BPP Law School (Outstanding)

2011 – 2012: GDL, City Law School (Distinction)

2007 – 2010: BA, History, St. Hugh’s College, Oxford (First Class)

Scholarships and Prizes:

St. John’s College, University of Cambridge

Prior Scholarship

Wright Prize

Jacovides Prize

The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn

Buchanan Prize

Lord Denning Scholarship,

Lord Brougham Scholarship

Hardwicke Scholarship

St. Hugh’s College, University of Oxford

Jubilee Scholarship

YEAR OF CALL: 2013