Public international law
Commercial litigation
We combine local and international litigation expertise with strategic and commercial advice to achieve the best outcome for you or your business.
Our central aim is to defend the interests of individuals, businesses and brands, and we do not shy away from taking on major institutions to achieve that, pursuing them swiftly and aggressively where necessary.
Experience to solve all of your disputes
Our litigation team serves a broad range of domestic and international commercial and individual clients, from family offices and HNWIs to large corporate entities. We are experienced in almost all areas of litigation, including asset recovery, company disputes, contract disputes, insurance, fiduciary, professional negligence, health and safety, restructuring and insolvency. Where necessary, we are also experienced in challenging decisions by bringing claims for judicial review.
With more than 150 litigation lawyers spread across the world’s key dispute resolution centers from New York to Hong Kong, we work together as a single team to help you to protect your interests domestically and globally.
We also offer a number of specific teams, including handling tax controversy, media and reputation management, professional negligence and litigation within the worlds of art and sport, where we are ideally placed to respond to cross-border issues.
We recently led a global enforcement effort for the recovery of assets to satisfy a £450million judgment on behalf of a client. This involved devising and executing a global strategy of enforcement in jurisdictions around the world, including the Marshall Islands, Dubai, Isle of Man, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Russia and England. We successfully obtained from the English court an order piercing the corporate veil of the cipher company used to hide a significant asset.
Our US litigation team has an outstanding record. With wide experience across a range of commercial matters, we pursue settlements, litigation, trials and appeals aggressively, with an excellent success rate. Recent work includes representing an Italian wine producer in the termination of its longstanding US importer. Through careful strategic decisions and negotiation we assisted the client in avoiding litigation, which at the outset had seemed inevitable, and handled the transition of its importation function to a newly formed affiliate.
In Asia, we have extensive expertise with one of the largest dispute resolution teams based in Singapore, which has significant experience in insurance litigation. We also have a strong presence in Hong Kong specialising in complex corporate disputes, joint venture and shareholders’ disputes and insolvency.
Finally, our experienced team in the BVI office frequently called upon to assist foreign investors in asset recovery and seeking and resisting applications for injunctive relief before the BVI courts.
Funding your dispute
Should you need help covering the costs of your dispute, we will advise on various options for litigation funding. These include obtaining external funding for significant cases, insurance, conditional fee agreements, fixed or capped fees in appropriate cases.
For further help or information
Get in touch
16 September 2020 - Article
Business interruption insurance: UK High Court ruling paves the way for claims
Read More
Recognition
Alternative dispute resolution
Mediation is a popular, private and cost-effective out of court solution to resolve disputes, which has been a particularly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fraud Vlogs
Practical advice on freezing orders, search orders and bank mandate fraud, from our leading specialist, Stephen Ross.
Withers has given us expert guidance on a wide range of issues, and always looks to the bigger picture of our work when formulating their advice. The firm’s lawyers are consistently helpful and responsive when dealing with us.
The team’s expertise was fundamentally important to us in resolving negotiations with the Inland Authority of Singapore. The dedication, meticulousness and practical advice provided saved us expense and further delays, and we’ve been glad to work closely with the team on a number of other projects since then, in which the service provided has been of a similarly high quality.
I would be glad to give the best recommendations on the high level of services, professional and individual approach in our rather complicated one-of-a-kind case.
I have worked closely with Withers for years. They are a very effective law firm for international tax matters and I am confident that in each case we work on together we will be guided by their experience and insight.
By instructing Withers to represent me in a difficult dispute I knew I was working with a different calibre of law firm. They were a calming and reassuring team who helped me maintain my morale through difficult times.
The team is an indispensable advisor to us, providing us with a full legal assessment of new project opportunities, and spotting issues before they arise. They are attentive, give swift and effective advice, and prioritise our needs.
We use Spring and her team to guide us on projects of all sizes, and particularly to identify in advance where problems could arise. Their advice is always commercial and considers the eventualities so that we understand the risk profile of each project.
The insurance team at Withers KhattarWong is very professional and delivers top tier services with great energy and positive attitudes. They are very knowledgeable about the insurance sector and are proactive and thorough in their approach.
Withers KhattarWong is our first port of call for insurance claims matters. They are experts in this area and have consistently delivered excellent, practical advice for our matters.
We are very pleased with the team at Withers KhattarWong. They are technically strong, have a keen understanding of the insurance sector and they have helped us achieve numerous favourable results for our claims matters.
Meet the team
View AllHow the litigation team can help
Track record
Defeating £15m claim, our client pays £1 damages
£35 million misselling and LIBOR claim
Multi-billion dollar energy arbitration
Taking Google case to the European Court of Human Rights
In a case which will drive the online publication of defamatory content, we have brought a claim for our client in the European Court of Human Rights. Google did not remove anonymous defamatory remarks about our client, despite being notified, and we have progressed the claim to the ECHR having pursued a remedy against Google in the English courts.
US$150 million Russian dispute
Advising a Government on investment treaty drafting
Russian real estate project in LCIA arbitration
Construction dispute and ad hoc arbitration in North Africa
International bank mandate fraud
Professional negligence claim for interest rate swap deal
A world renowned hotel entered into an interest rate swap with several banks, but ended up suffering significant losses. The hotel's owners approached us to pursue the law firm who represented them in a professional negligence claim. The case was listed for a five week High Court trial, but we arranged a settlement before the trial commenced.
Protecting the home in a family fraud dispute
Belarus $1.6m business dispute
£5 million LIBOR claim against major bank
Energy company UNCITRAL arbitration against Pakistan
ICSID dispute over energy investment
Caribbean Government international investment law advice
Public liability cover claim against broker
Negligence claim for hedge fund exit advice
USD$3.25 billion fraud lawsuit
Negligence claim for misadvised property deal
Representing Bar Mutual and its clients
Defending the holders of USD$200 million in bonds
London courts secure fraudster's assets
Swiss fraud
Art theft case for underwriters
Swiss Trustees and a Swiss Bank
Bringing misselling and breach of contract claims against bank
Italy-CIS dispute over contract and arbitration venue
Reputation protection during a high profile divorce
During our client's highly sensitive and hard-fought divorce, our Media and Reputation team played a key role to ensure that our client's public reputation was protected in the face of significant media interest. The team also provided counsel on communications from our client, which were required to uphold his rights in balance with the other party's.
A luxury yacht builder
LG Electronics Inc
Multi-million dollar digital entertainment arbitration
Italian energy company ICSID arbitration
VAT case dispute with former solicitor settled in mediation
Landmark stamp duty decision on in the High Court of Singapore
We successfully represented our client in Zhao Hui Fang and another in a case that challenged the application of stamp duty to a residential purchase by a charity. The High Court of Singapore ruled that the additional buyer’s stamp duties regime does not apply to residential property purchased by a charity. The landmark decision had wide-ranging impact on charities and the non-profit sector in Singapore.
ICC motorway arbitrations
Singapore arbitration on behalf of a Malaysian bank
We are representing a Malaysian bank on an arbitration in Singapore under the ICC Rules regarding claims arising out of a software contract with a Swiss multinational corporation. The contract involved the replacement of the bank’s central banking system, with far reaching cross border implications, given the bank's status as a public institution. The claim relates to the Islamic status of the core banking system with a contract value in the region of USD $17 million.
LCIA arbitration in art sector
TMT Asia Ltd v BHP Billiton Marketing AG & Anor
Cypriot company in a USD$72 million arbitration
Singapore Economic Development Board
Madof related litigation
Defending SMRT Trains Ltd and the Land Transport Authority
Azerbaijani oil company
Shareholder’s dispute in Cyprus
Prominent Russian Family
A prominent Russian businessman
Salim Shalabayev
Chief financial officer of software firm
Greek national basketball team
Caspian Sea $20 million arbitration
Recovering the proceeds of fraud in the UK and Cyprus
UK assets of Greek foundation
Major US accountancy firm in insurance claims
Greek TV merger leads to arbitration
Defending Greek company in Jordan
Multi-national investment dispute in Ethiopia
Multi-billion dollar hedge fund
The Romanian State
Litigation advice for the Ukranian government
Defending architecture copyright infringement
Heir to a publishing fortune
Withers represented one of the heirs to a publishing fortune in a case arising out of a dispute with his children over the administration of various family trusts. Withers successfully resolved the dispute through alternative dispute resolution in California avoiding a costly court battle and prolonged family discord.
Mistaken identity in personal injury case
An elderly client in California
Withers helped an elderly client defeat aggressive efforts by her daughter to force her to endure a medical examination or submit to a guardian ad litem. Withers is often asked to zealously represent parties in California elder abuse actions in a variety of scenarios, including both those situations where the older person is still alive or is deceased.
Complex dispute with a financial consulting firm
Withers represented an individual in a dispute involving a successful limited liability company that provided global financial consulting and advisory services. Withers successfully avoided a public lawsuit and negotiated a successful resolution. This complex matter involved parties in the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Belize.
Individual lender based in Russian Federation
Heirs to pharmaceutical company fortune
Represented heirs to the fortune from a pharmaceutical company in a dispute concerning control of the family office and competing claims of breach of fiduciary duty. After completing all pre-trial discovery and motion practice, Withers successfully negotiated a settlement for the heirs without the need for a costly and public trial in California state court.
Litigation against former business partner in Vietnam
Represented the court-appointed administrator of an estate in litigation against the decedent’s former business partner in Vietnam. We brought a derivative action on behalf of an entity the decedent co-owned with his business partner, obtained a preliminary ruling transferring half a million dollars from the entity to the estate, and ultimately settled the case.
Trust beneficiary
Designated beneficiary of a retirement account
Private professional fiduciaries
Elder abuse claims
Conservatorship petition
Litigation with five Italian banks
Litigation advisor to Ukranian government
£30m dispute for Ukranian businessman
Ecuador v Colombia ICJ case
Italian Brazilian speedboat case
National basketball team
Foreign-based seller of NY property
Potential claim by the Italian State on the ownership of a Roman marble relief
We acted for the trustees of an estate in advising on a potential claim by the Italian State to the ownership of a Roman era fragment marble relief. The relief was purchased in the 1960s in Switzerland and passed to the state following the death of the purchaser. Having been put up for sale by the trustees, it was spotted at an art fair as being linked to a number of other reliefs that had been seized by the Italian authorities having been illegally excavated in the early 2000s. Withers assisted the trustees in bringing about the restitution of the relief to Italy.
Saudi Arabian contemporary artist in a claim against an auction house and a Dubai based gallery
We represented one of Saudi Arabia's leading contemporary artists in a multi-jurisdictional claim against an auction house and a Dubai based gallery. The claim derived from the unauthorized selling of one of the artist's own artworks by the Dubai gallery at an auction. The matter was successfully settled.
Television content distribution rights and contracts
Outside general counsel for luxury brand
The return of artworks to the estate of a renowned European artist
Global enforcement of a £450million English court judgment
Leading the global enforcement strategy on behalf of Mrs Akhmedova for the enforcement of a financial order of the English family court worth £450 million over various luxury assets and bank accounts located around the world, including Marshall Island, Dubai, Isle of Man, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Russia and England.
Acting in recognition and enforcement proceedings in the DIFC and Dubai local courts
We can also help with
Insight
View all Firm insightWould you like to hear more from us?
Visit our subscriptions page to tell us a bit more about what you’re interested in so we can send you relevant news.