David Johnson
Partner

With wide experience in contentious and multi-jurisdictional matters, David focuses his expertise on advising clients in complex insolvency and fraud cases.

David has broad experience in high value, multi-jurisdictional disputes, with particular experience in: (i) disputes involving allegations of breach of duty and fraud; (ii) dealing with heavy interim relief (including freezing and receivership orders and antisuit injunctions); (iii) coordinating parallel proceedings across various jurisdictions; and (iv) utilising insolvency proceedings as part of a broader litigation strategy

Drawing on his background as an insolvency lawyer, David also has a busy restructuring and insolvency practice, focusing on advisory and contentious mandates. In this respect, David has particular experience dealing with: (i) cross-border recognition and the coordination of insolvency proceedings across several jurisdictions; (ii) contentious restructuring, including challenges to Restructuring Plans and Schemes of Arrangement; (iii) advising stakeholders in the insolvencies of financial institutions (including under the Investment Bank Special Administration regime); and (iv) dealing with high-value mandates which involve complex regulatory issues, including under economic sanctions regulations and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Notable Experience

• Advising one of the world's largest commodities companies in a US$5 billion shareholder dispute, involving allegations of breach of duty, fraud and misappropriation of assets
• Advising victims of an extremely high value Ponzi scheme in relation to the proposed winding-up of a Chinese company in England, as a mechanism to recover victims’ losses from c.£5.7 billion of bitcoin which is currently subject to a Property Freezing Order granted under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
• Advising defendant directors in relation to officeholder claims concerning allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, undervalue transactions and preferences, which are alleged to be valued at c.£200 million
• Advising liquidators in claims of £60 million against a director and 13 connected parties, including co-ordinating an asset recovery strategy involving freezing orders and ancillary insolvency proceedings in Asia and the USA
• Advising a multinational financial institution in relation to the attempted compromise of its c.£200 million claim in the administration of its investment bank subsidiary, which involves: (i) a challenge to a Scheme of Arrangement; (ii) parallel proceedings in the Administrative Court; and (iii) an application for the appointment of independent administrators over the subsidiary
• Acting as conflict counsel to a Colombian oil refining business, in relation to its challenge to a multi-billion-dollar Restructuring Plan
• Advising stakeholders in various special administrations of investment banks, including in relation to issues concerning Client Assets held in accordance with the FCA Client Assets Sourcebook
• Advising a UAE bank in proceedings to enforce judgments of £30 million against assets dispersed across six jurisdictions, including in an appeal to the Supreme Court in relation to s.423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (transactions defrauding creditors)
• Advising the trustees in bankruptcy of two former ultra-high-net-worth individuals, in relation to the recognition and implementation of a multi-billion-dollar restructuring plan across several jurisdictions
• Advising Administrators in claims concerning the misappropriation of a subsidiary secured-lending company, including in relation to the appointment of Interim Managers over that company whilst the proceedings were pending
• Advising a multinational oil & gas company in connection with the administration of its UK subsidiary, in its capacity as a shareholder, guarantor and secured creditor, including in contested directions applications concerning the beneficial ownership of assets
• Advising directors, guarantors, creditors, private equity houses and other stakeholders in insolvent companies in all matters arising from the insolvency

Background

David trained and qualified in the restructuring and insolvency department of a commercial law firm, gaining broad experience in insolvency and specialising in contentious matters. David has a degree in law from Newcastle University and completed a secondment at a FTSE 250 energy company. David is a member of R3.

Contact David