We have worked on some of the largest and most high-profile commercial disputes in the world, many of which are at the forefront of cutting-edge legal issues. We also have a successful record of dispute resolution in some of the developing areas of law such as art, biotechnology, product liability, sport and telecoms.

Recent work includes acting for:

  • ABNA, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods Plc, and a number of other compound feeding stuff manufacturers on a groundbreaking judicial review and interim relief challenge in the High Courts of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the Court of Session and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to the validity of labelling requirements under EU Directive 2002/2;
  • BNFL in a series of international law challenges to regulatory authorisations granted for its new MOX (mixed oxide fuel) plant at Sellafield brought by the Irish government under the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention and the OSPAR Convention;
  • the Bank of England in defending a major claim brought by 6,000 former depositors in BCCI;
  • Hoffmann-La Roche in proceedings brought or threatened in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the UK, for damages claims following the European Commission's investigation into cartel activity in the vitamins sector;
  • JT International in the co-ordinated defence of smoking and health litigation in several jurisdictions including the Netherlands, Russia and Spain;
  • Lloyd's on several litigation matters in various jurisdictions, including an arbitration with insurers over the New Central Fund and on the continuing Jaffray fraud litigation;
  • Swiss Re on Turner & Newall's (now part of the Federal-Mogul Group) asbestos liabilities in one of the largest reinsurance cases in the Commercial Court in 2003, and on the potential ramifications of Federal-Mogul's filings for insolvency protection in the UK and US;
  • a major international pharmaceutical company in the co-ordinated worldwide defence of cases concerning injuries/death allegedly caused by consumption of one of its market-leading drugs; and
  • several mobile phone network operators in defence of a range of diverse court test cases on the rollout and location of new mast networks for 3G telecoms in the UK and Italy.

News

Freshfields bolsters US litigation practice View

Freshfields announces association with The Law Firm of Salah Al-Hejailan in Saudi Arabia View

Briefings

The role and powers of the consumer advocate  View

The UK Bribery Bill  View

Awards

Regulatory Team of the Year - JUVE Awards 2009 (2009)

Environment, Planning and Regulatory Law Firm of the Year - JUVE Awards (2008)

View all awards