Faranak Ghajavand

Faranak Ghajavand is Bailey Glasser International's head of commercial disputes in London. She is a commercial litigator with extensive experience running complex, high-value and cross-border disputes mainly acting for claimants, with a particular focus on group litigation. She is part of BGI's London office where she leads commercial disputes - including cases proceeding by way of group claims - drawing on her leadership of one of the largest group claims in English legal history. Faranak is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.

Before joining BGI, Faranak was a partner at Pogust Goodhead, where she was the lead partner with primary responsibility for the second phase of Mariana and others versus BHP — the group claim brought on behalf of more than 620,000 Brazilian claimants arising out of the 2015 Mariana dam disaster. With liability against BHP established, Faranak formulated the strategy for progressing the claim to a trial on causation and quantum, securing an early trial listing and obtaining the court’s endorsement for the claimants’ proposals for the case to proceed by way of test claims. She helped lead a team of around 30 lawyers across London and Brazil.

Earlier, as a senior associate at Stewarts, Faranak built a broad claimant-side commercial litigation practice with an emphasis on group and high-value disputes, including professional negligence group claims, worldwide fraud and asset-recovery proceedings, and competition-law damages claims. She began her career in commercial fraud, international asset recovery and international arbitration, including ICSID and ICC proceedings valued in excess of £1bn, and has acted on committal applications, Norwich Pharmacal orders, freezing injunctions and multi-jurisdictional enforcement proceedings. She trained at CMS Cameron McKenna and spent a period as in-house legal counsel at MetLife.

Faranak is fluent in Swedish and Farsi. 

Awards & Accolades

• Matters recognised among The Lawyer’s Top 20 litigation cases in 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025.
• Named a "Rising Star" by The Times (2020) 

Languages

• Farsi
• Swedish

Representative Matters

• Mariana and others v BHP — Lead partner for the causation and quantum phase of the group claim brought on behalf of more than 620,000 Brazilian claimants against BHP arising out of the 2015 Mariana dam disaster, believed to be the largest group claim in English legal history.
• David McClean and others v Andrew Thornhill KC — Day-to-day responsibility for a £40m professional negligence group claim brought by 110 investors against leading tax counsel arising out of failed tax schemes.
• Lancaster and others v Peacock KC — Acted for claimant investors in a professional negligence claim against leading tax counsel arising out of the promotion and implementation of marketed tax schemes.
• Breitenbach and others v Canaccord Genuity Financial Planning Ltd — Acted for a group of claimants in proceedings against a financial planning and wealth management firm concerning allegedly negligent financial and investment advice.
• UK retailers v Visa and Mastercard — Advised a group of leading UK high-street retailers in competition-law damages claims against Visa and Mastercard concerning multilateral interchange fees.
• Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority v Farhad Azima — Acted for a sovereign investment authority in worldwide proceedings against individuals accused of large-scale fraud and embezzlement, including obtaining a worldwide freezing order at a two-day Court of Appeal hearing. Developing claims for fraudulent misrepresentation, conspiracy and breach of contract.
• Abela and others v Baadarani — Acted for claimants in substantial international fraud proceedings that produced a landmark Supreme Court authority on alternative service out of the jurisdiction ([2013] UKSC 44), in which the court adopted a more pragmatic approach to service abroad in cross-border disputes.
• Defended a US corporate client in a US$1bn indemnity claim in the Commercial Court arising out of environmental contamination, advising on complex disclosure and privilege issues and drafting witness statements and consent orders.
• Acted for a luxury car manufacturer in a £6m fraud claim against a former employee, obtaining five Norwich Pharmacal orders against third parties to identify and preserve assets and establish a proprietary claim over the proceeds of fraud.
• Advised a major international bank on a cross-border debt-recovery claim, investigating the debtor’s assets across Sweden and Russia and drawing on Swedish language skills.
• Represented private equity investors in a €60m ICSID arbitration and acted for a Spanish construction and engineering group in ICC arbitrations valued in excess of £1bn concerning the construction of a power plant, assisting with submissions, witness statements and expert evidence.
• Advised technology, investment management and offshore clients on breach of services and share purchase agreements, contractual interpretation and quantum meruit claims, achieving negotiated settlements.
• In-house experience at a leading global insurer covering contentious, financial services and regulatory work, including cross-border mergers, Part VII transfers, portfolio transfers and changes of control.
• Extensive experience of interim and enforcement remedies, including committal and contempt applications, unless orders, freezing injunctions and the enforcement of English judgments in multiple jurisdictions.