Theo’s practice is focused on commercial litigation. He appears before domestic and international tribunals, with current and recent cases in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, LCIA and SIAC tribunals.
He has been recognised by the directories:
- as a “rising star” in Commercial Litigation: “Outstanding. Smart, diligent, hard-working. Absolutely will go as deep into the subject matter as necessary to find the answers and to be prepared – excellent on his feet and in the courtroom”.
- as a Leading Junior in Sports Law: “Excellent oral and written submissions and hugely confident; he has appeared against and beaten several QCs already”.
- as a Leading Junior in Costs Law: “Extremely hard working, he gets stuck into problems very quickly, and has well-judged insights into what points really matter. “
Current and recent cases include:
- SKAT v Solo Capital Ltd & Ors [2021, ongoing] acting for the Danish tax authority on costs matters in this £1.3bn pound fraud litigation (led by Nick Bacon QC).
- Staples v Samba [ongoing]: Sole counsel for the claimant in a £2m Commercial Court dispute arising out of a transitional services agreement.
- A v B (forthcoming Commercial Court matter): acting for financial services provider on a £10m + claim for commission on a merger deal (led by Dan Saoul QC).
- Combe International Ltd v Dr Augustus Wolff GMBH [ongoing]: upcoming Court of Appeal case on limitation/acquiescence in trade mark infringement claims.
- GHS v Beale, Webstorm & Ors [2021] EWHC 488 (Ch): multi-million pound conspiracy and copyright infringement claim in the IT sector, raising jurisdictional issues and questions of alternative service (as sole counsel).
- Recovery Partners & Anor v Rukhadze & Ors [2021]: instructed on privilege issues in major Commercial Court fraud litigation arising out of the death of Georgian billionaire Arkady Patarkatsishvili.
- Beiersdorf v Aldi Stores Limited [2021]: High Court claim against a supermarket for trademark infringement in relation to lookalikes of the Nivea Sun range. Representing Nivea (led by Guy Hollingworth)
- Winlink Marketing v Liverpool Football Club [2020] EWHC 2271 (Comm): Part of successful team in this High Court trial concerning brokers’ contracts and commission for a sponsorship agreement (led by Robert Anderson QC)
- Combe International Ltd v Dr Augustus Wolff GMBH [2021] EWHC 3347 Ch: High Court trademark infringement and passing off dispute between the owners of personal healthcare brands Vagisil and Vagisan (led by Mark Vanhegan QC)
- Lacoste v Marks & Spencer: High Court trade mark infringement case relating to Marks & Spencer’s use of crocodile motifs (led by Mark Vanhegan QC)
- Lehtimäki v Cooper [2020] UKSC 33: the leading Supreme Court case on trust administration, charitable companies and fiduciary duties (led by Guy Morpuss QC and Professor Sarah Worthington QC).
- Glencairn v Product Specialities [2020] EWCA Civ 609: leading Court of Appeal authority on solicitors’ duties of confidentiality to their former opponents (sole counsel at first instance and in the Court of Appeal)
- Albion Energy Ltd v Energy Investments Global BRL [2020] EWHC 301: dispute between a Qatari oil exploration company and an energy company (led by Guy Morpuss QC for the appeal to the Court of Appeal)
- New Balance v Liverpool Football Club [2019] EWHC 2837: successfully acted for Liverpool Football Club in this Commercial Court trial on whether it was permitted to appoint Nike as its kit sponsor (led by Guy Morpuss QC).
- BV Nederlandse van Eiprodukten v Rembrandt [2019] EWCA Civ 596: leading authority on the test for causation in fraud (led by Guy Morpuss QC at first instance and in the Court of Appeal).
Academic law
In addition to his practice, Theo has lectured on commercial law at City University and on international law at King’s College, London. He is a regular contributor to legal journals.
Outside of Law
Theo has written about British politics for, among others, the Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Independent and the Spectator.
- His first book, Fighters and Quitters: Great Political Resignations was published by Biteback in January 2018 (Hardback) and February 2019 (Paperback). It is available here.
- He is a contributing author to The Prime Ministers: Three Hundred Years of Political Leadership (Hodder & Stoughton, November 2020). It is available here.
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