Laurie Brock

Practice Areas

All areas of commercial chancery litigation, with particular focus on banking and financial services disputes.

Wide experience of acting both for and against financial institutions in complex and very high value disputes.

Particular expertise in claims involving allegations of market manipulation and/or the mis-sale of financial derivatives. Has acted in some of the most notable and high-profile cases concerning such allegations (e.g. PAG v RBS, Wall v RBS, Red Kite v Barclays and more recently as below).

Recent experience includes: acting for claimants in $500 million foreign exchange derivative dispute (Fiesta v Deutsche Bank: case settled after four years and prior to 10-week trial); acting for defendant bank in 9-week trial of $100 million fraud claim concerning residential mortgage-backed securities (Loreley v Credit Suisse – Credit Suisse wholly successful at trial and awarded indemnity costs); acting for defendant bank in c.£100 million fraud claim concerning the activities of its restructuring group (Riley v Natwest: summary judgment for Natwest granted and upheld on appeal); acting for one of a number of banks accused of collusive LIBOR manipulation during the financial crisis (FDIC v Barclays Bank Plc & ors).

Acts increasingly alone (e.g. Wadhwani v RBS: successful strike out for ‘warehousing’ abuse) and has been judicially praised for ‘clear and confident presentation’.

Career

Call 2013.

Professional Memberships

Chancery Bar Association, COMBAR, London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association, Gibraltarian Bar.

Personal

Girton College, Cambridge (BA Classics) (First Class)

GDL (Distinction, 1st in year), BPTC (Outstanding, 1st in year), Kaplan Law School