International Litigation & Arbitration

Bailey Glasser International is a trading name of Edward McCourt & Company LLP, which operates in London as a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under company number OC421154, and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. A list of members and their professional qualifications is open to inspection at our registered office. Edward McCourt & Company LLP operates under a commercial cooperation agreement with the separate and independent U.S. limited liability partnership of Bailey & Glasser, LLP, which is organised under the laws of the State of West Virginia, USA. 

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*We use the word "partner" to refer to a member of the UK LLP, or an employee or consultant who is a lawyer with equivalent standing and qualifications in the UK.

Bailey Glasser International’s Litigation & Arbitration Practice Group resolves our clients’ most complex, high value, and cross-border disputes. Our partners have acted in some of the most high-profile and groundbreaking commercial disputes in the UK. BGI lawyers (*) represent corporate and individual clients in the United Kingdom and around the world, including in collective redress and class actions, financial and professional disputes, commercial fraud, environmental and corporate accountability, competition law, and regulatory investigations and defence. The Practice Group’s work spans the courts of England and Wales, including appellate work before the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. BGI lawyers’ international practice has involved international arbitrations at the London Court of International Arbitration (‘LCIA’), International Chamber of Commerce and before regulators in the UK and EU.

The team's work has been recognised by leading legal directories and publications, including by The Legal 500, The Lawyer, The Times and the Lawdragon 500 Global Plaintiff Lawyers Guide.  

In addition, Bailey & Glasser, LLP founding partner Brian A. Glasser is an arbitrator with the LCIA.

Collective Redress & Class Actions

Lawyers at BGI have experience handling some of the largest group actions to have been brought in England & Wales, representing claimant groups that run into the hundreds of thousands. Their work included:

• BHP Group Litigation: The BHP Group Litigation is the largest opt-in group litigation ever brought in England & Wales by class size and arose from the 2015 Mariana dam disaster. It was originally brought on behalf of more than 620,000 Brazilian claimants. Partners and senior lawyers now at BGI led the teams that successfully established English jurisdiction and won the 14-week liability trial before the High Court. In addition, BGI partners also had lead responsibility for the causation and quantum phase of the litigation, securing an early trial listing and devising innovative and efficient case-management strategies.
• Brazilian Orange Farmers: established cartel damages for 1,500 Brazilian orange growers following findings by the Brazilian competition authority (“CADE”) of collusive conduct in the market for the acquisition of oranges. Our lawyers established the English court’s jurisdiction over the individual defendants in a landmark 2021 judgment. In 2023, they preserved the claims of 1,350 claimants by defending them against an application for them to be struck out.
• DePuy ASR Metal-on-Hip: Lawyers acted for claimants in one of the largest product liability group actions heard before the High Court. Arguing under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, the claim sought redress for patients who required revision surgery following adverse reaction to metal wear debris.
• David McClean and others v Andrew Thornhill KC:  Lawyers held day-to-day  responsibility for a professional negligence group claim brought by 110 investors against a leading barrister for failed tax-minimisation strategies that he had advised. The £40 million claim was supported by third-party funding and was named among The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases of 2021.
• Lancaster and others v Peacock KC — Lawyers acted for claimant investors in a professional negligence group 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 — Lawyers acted for a group of claimants against a financial planning and wealth management firm in respect of allegedly negligent financial and investment advice.
• UK Retailers v Visa and Mastercard – Partners advised a group of leading high-street retailers in their efforts to establish that fees charge by Visa and Mastercard restrict competition in England and Wales through multilateral interchange fees.

Commercial Litigation & Civil Fraud

BGI lawyers have experiencing handled high-stakes commercial disputes and civil fraud claims, including:

• Defending a U.S. corporate client in a billion-dollar indemnity claim in the Commercial Court arising out of environmental contamination, focusing on complex disclosure and privilege issues.
• Acting for a luxury car manufacturer in a £6 million 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.
• Acting for a Gulf 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.
• Acting for claimants in substantial international fraud proceedings that produced a landmark Supreme Court authority on the service of proceedings outside the jurisdiction.
• Commercial disputes spanning injunctions, intellectual property and copyright claims, and breach of contract.

International Arbitration, Investigations, and Enforcement

BGI lawyers have experience handling major arbitral matters across borders, including:

• Advising a Ukrainian energy company in a matter before the London Court of International Arbitration centred on a $5 billion syndicated loan involving nation states.
• Acting for a Spanish construction company at a £1 billion matter at the International Chamber of Commerce arbitration concerning the construction of a power plant.
• Representing private equity investors in a €60 million ICSID arbitration against a sovereign state concerning a steel-production investment.
• Advising a major international bank on a cross-border debt-recovery claim and investigating the debtor’s assets across Sweden and Russia.
• Acting in matters before the Serious Fraud Office, Financial Conduct Authority and EU authorities, including the European Commission.

BGI identifies and collaborates closely with experienced local counsel in local jurisdictions when necessary.

Related Practices

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Our Team

Experience

Matters handled by lawyers in BGI include: 

• BHP Group Litigation — The BHP Group Litigation is the largest opt-in group litigation ever brought in England & Wales by class size and arose from the 2015 Mariana dam disaster. Partners within the group led the teams that successfully establishing English jurisdiction and won the 14-week liability trial before the High Court. They also took on lead roles in determining BHP’s quantum and causation.
• Brazilian Orange Farmers –  established cartel damages for 1,500 Brazilian orange growers following findings by the Brazilian competition authority (“CADE”) of collusive conduct in the market for the acquisition of oranges. Our lawyers established the English court’s jurisdiction over the individual defendants in a landmark 2021 judgment. In 2023, they preserved the claims of 1,350 claimants by defending them against an application for them to be struck out.
• DePuy ASR Metal-on-Hip – Lawyers now at BGI acted for claimants in one of the largest product liability group actions heard before the High Court. Arguing under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, the claim sought redress for patients who required revision surgery following adverse reaction to metal wear debris.
• UK Retailers v Visa and Mastercard – partners advised a group of leading high-street retailers in their efforts to establish that fees charge by Visa and Mastercard restrict competition in England and Wales through multilateral interchange fees.
• 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.
• 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.