Tom Asquith

‘Very diligent and focused on achieving the client’s commercial objectives.’ – Legal 500, 2019: Banking & Finance

‘Quickly grasps the relevant facts and his attention to detail is second to none.’ – Legal 500, 2019: Financial Services

Tom is recommended by the Legal 500 as a leading junior in both Banking and Finance and Financial Services.

Tom’s financial services experience includes acting for regulators, regulated firms and customers of those firms in both contentious (civil and regulatory) and non-contentious spheres. He has appeared successfully for the regulated against the FCA before the RDC. He has been both seconded to and instructed by the FSA/FCA. He also has experience of cases involving FOS and the FSCS.

He has acted in claims involving FOREX traders, insurance brokers, investment managers, mortgage brokers and pension advisers.

He also acts regularly in banking matters, including claims relating to loans, guarantees, mortgages, Consumer Credit legislation and the Payment Services Regulations 2009.

Clients include the FCA, Bank of Scotland Plc, Santander UK Plc, Bradford & Bingley Plc, Mortgage Express, Egg Banking Plc, Nationwide Building Society,  NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays Bank Plc, Clydesdale Bank Plc as well as individuals and corporates.

Cases

Tom has significant experience in Civil Fraud matters, including the preparation of freezing injunctions. His caseload has included matters alleging breach of confidence, breach of fiduciary duty, deceit, inducement of breach of contract, conspiracy to injure by unlawful means, corruption, conversion, fraudulent bank transfers, mortgage fraud and transfer of a shareholding without consent.

He has been counsel (led and sole) in several fraud cases which have proceeded to judgment.

Tom is a member of the CFLA.

Cases

Tom’s commercial practice encompasses disputes of all kinds involving domestic and international businesses and property, including claims for breach of contract, warranty and misrepresentation claims, claims for rectification of contracts and other documents, claims in respect of licence agreements, share purchase agreements, joint venture agreements, agency agreements and success fees, product liability matters, defamation claims, director’s liability disputes, unfair prejudice petitions, directors disqualification matters, supply/sale of goods disputes, restitutionary claims, pursuing and resisting injunctions, and pursuing and resisting enforcement actions.

He has appeared as sole counsel in trials in the Chancery Division, Commercial Court and the Queen’s Bench Division, as well as in arbitrations.

Tom is a member of COMBAR.

Cases

Tom has significant experience of construction disputes, both in litigation and arbitration. He has acted in employer-contractor disputes and in cases involving a variety of construction professionals.

Tom has considerable experience in the field of costs, in both inter-partes and solicitor-client disputes. He appears regularly in detailed assessments, as specialist costs counsel at CCMCs dealing with budgeting issues and at appeals.

He has particular experience of the application of the fixed costs regime, recoverability of ATE premiums, enforceability of CFAs, the Solicitors Act 1974, applications for security for costs, costs budgeting, provisional assessments, non-party costs orders, Part 36 and assignment issues.

He presents talks on topical costs issues and has authored articles for Butterworths Civil Costs Newsletter.

Cases

Tom has experience of acting as both Counsel and as a paper arbitrator in insurance matters. He acts for both policyholders and insurers. He is particularly familiar with professional indemnity, employers’ liability, property and public liability policies.

He has completed a secondment in Mayer Brown LLP’s insurance department, helping him to understand insurance cases from an instructing solicitor’s perspective. He has also spent time at Lloyd’s shadowing underwriters.

Tom is a member of BILA.

Cases

Tom has broad experience of International Arbitration as junior counsel, sole counsel and tribunal secretary (to the Court of Arbitration for Sport). He has acted as sole counsel at several final hearings. He is also experienced in challenging and seeking enforcement of arbitration awards. He is on the arbitral panel of Sport Resolutions.

Tom is a member of YIAG.

Cases

‘He routinely achieves outcomes which exceed expectations and has something of a knack of having a weak opposition’s case dismissed at an early stage.’ – Legal 500, 2019: Professional Negligence

Tom is ranked as a Leading Professional Negligence Junior by Legal 500 and is instructed by both claimants and defendants across a wide range of professions.

Tom is able to use his specialist financial services experience (which has included two secondments at what was the Financial Services Authority) to assist with claims against financial services professionals. He is recommended as a leading junior for both Banking & Finance and Financial Services in Legal 500.

He also has considerable experience of claims involving allegedly negligent tax advice.

Tom is well placed to deal with lender claims and undue influence/Etridge claims, due to his experience in banking work (he is recommended for Banking & Finance in Legal 500). He has acted in a range of such cases for claimants and defendants in the professional liability context and otherwise.

His experience of commercial/company law (e.g. Re I Fit Global Ltd [2014] 2 B.C.L.C. 116) makes him suitable for professional liability cases with underlying commercial/company law issues (e.g. Seery [2017] P.N.L.R. 14).

Tom is a member of the PNBA.

Cases

Tom has acted for and against public authorities and regulators.

Areas of experience include judicial review, public procurement and social security.

Cases

Experience includes:

• Acting as ad-hoc clerk to Court of Arbitration for Sport
• Advising British Horseracing Authority in relation to a potential inquiry

Tom is on the arbitral panel of Sport Resolutions and is a member of the British Association for Sport and Law.

Cases