Christopher Knowles

Practice Areas

Christopher specialises in insurance and reinsurance, professional negligence, commercial litigation and arbitration, civil fraud, conflict of laws, banking & finance, and aviation. Many of his cases are high-value, and international.

Recent highlights:

• Acting for Fidelis as reinsurer in claims by aircraft lessors under operator insurance policies, arising from the alleged seizure of aircraft in Russia following the invasion of the Ukraine.

• Acting for an indemnity insurer in relation to matters arising from the recent collapse of Axiom Ince, and related claims.

• Appearing in Unitel v Dos Santos a £500+ million claim by an Angolan telecoms operator against a company owned by one of the telecoms operator’s former directors, and the former director, including obtaining a freezing order against the former director, and appearing in the Court of Appeal.

• Acting for Lex Greensill in proceedings worth over USD$390m between Greensill Bank, Zurich, and Mr. Greensill, raising issues on whether insurance policies were procured by misrepresentation or non-disclosure, deceit, and unlawful means conspiracy.

• Acting in McClean v Thornhill, a £40m barristers’ negligence claim.

Career

Called 2011; Lincoln’s Inn.

Professional Memberships

COMBAR. Chancery Bar Association, BILA.

Publications

Co-author of Professional indemnity Insurance chapter of Professional Negligence and Liability; contributor to MacGillivray on Insurance Law (chapters on Good Faith and The Duty of Disclosure, Misrepresentation); co-author of Lexis PSL on loss of a chance; contributor to the Lloyds Law Report Financial Crime Reports.

Personal

St Catherine’s College University of Oxford (2009 BA (First Class) Law, 2010 BCL (Distinction)); BPTC (2011 (Very Competent)).