Neil Micklethwaite
Consulting Partner

Neil is a Consulting Partner with over 30 years of experience in handling large complex litigation and regulatory investigations.  He acts for international corporations, asset managers and hedge funds, as well as representing UHNW individuals in large scale litigation cases and in defending regulatory investigations both in the UK and worldwide.

Neil has extensive experience in complex disputes concerning civil fraud and asset tracing claims across multiple jurisdictions, including considerable experience of major litigation and arbitration relating to disputes in the Middle East, Russian Federation and other CIS states.  Alongside this work, Neil has also regularly defended high profile individuals in regulatory and criminal investigations brought by the National Crime Agency, the Serious Fraud Office, the FCA, the SEC and HMRC.  Before joining PCB-Byrne, Neil was head of litigation in London at DLA Piper, Bingham McCutchen and Brown Rudnick.

The Directories Say

The Legal 500 UK

• Neil is recognised as a Leading Individual.
• 2024 edition – Commercial Litigation:
• “Neil Micklethwaite is a market legend, winning endless work and gliding through difficult cases with challenging clients without breaking sweat'.
• 2024 edition Fraud: Civil – ‘Neil is recommended for big cases, which are run very efficiently and with a high degree of confidence. One of the go-tos for UHNW individuals and for tricky cases’. 
• Fraud: Civil –  ‘Neil is recommended for big cases, which are run very efficiently and with a high degree of confidence. One of the go-tos for UHNW individuals and for tricky cases’.
• Banking Litigation: Investment & Retail 2020-2023.

Chambers UK.

• Civil Fraud, 2018-2023 - “Neil inspires confidence in his clients and understands the tactics of his cases”

The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom

• Banking and Finance Law, 2021-2023.

FT Innovative Lawyer Awards

• Previous award winner

Notable Experience

• Representing Recovery Partners GP Limited and another v. Rukhadze and others at trial and before the Court of Appeal in the successful pursuit of damages in excess of US$100 million from the Defendants for breach of fiduciary duty in the unlawful pursuit of the assets of the late Badri Patarkasishvili (https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2018/2918.html
• Representing Andrei Guriev in his ongoing defence of high value and complex legal proceedings brought by Alexander Gorbachev (Alexander Gorbachev v. Andrei Grigoryevich Guriev: CL-2020-000358) before the UK Commericial Court and the Cyprus Court.
• Representing Threadneedle Asset Management Limited in a US$120m claim against Okritie Capital Management Limited/JSC Okritie Holding seeking to hold Threadneedle vicariously liable for the actions of a former employee held liable in earlier fraud proceedings.
• Acting for Pensioenfunds Vervoer in its €250 million claim against Goldman Sachs for alleged professional negligence concerning breaches of a fiduciary investment mandate.
• Acting for Hermitage Capital Management in relation to a major $230 million fraud affecting its business in Russia, as well as advising on civil asset trancing issues and criminal investigations in the UK, Guernsey, Switzerland, the BVI and the US.
• Acting for the sons of HRH Prince Jefri Bolkiah in the various disputes with the Brunei Investment Agency.
• Representing FAZ Aviation, an international broker, in a $125 million fraud dispute over the purchase of an aircraft for the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Sultan of Brunei.
• Acting for BITEL, a Kyrgyz mobile company in relation to two frauds that were perpetrated against the Company in 2005. The Defendants are entities and individuals based in the Isle of Man who are believed to have facilitated these frauds. The case involved complex multi-jurisdictional issues because monies appear to have been misappropriated from the Company through a network of vehicles in the Isle of Man, BVI and Liberia. Actions included obtaining freezing injunctions and disclosure orders and complex conflict of law questions.
• Representing major hedge funds in relation to the bankruptcy of the £2.1 million TXU Europe utilities group and in particular bringing unfair prejudice proceedings to challenge the Scheme of Administration being put forward by KPMG, the group joint administrators
• Representing Government of Indian State of Maharashtra in defence of a claim for $300 million brought by a US consortium (Enron, Bechtel and GE) over the cancellation of a contract for the construction of a power station at Dabhol near Bombay in 1995/1996
• Subsequent representation of the Government of Maharashtra and the Government of India (until September 2004) arising out of further international commercial arbitration proceedings concerning the Dabhol project, including representing the GOI in bilateral investment treaty proceedings involving claims of $6.5 billion
• Acting for Caribbean Government in substantial ICSID arbitration proceedings arising out of oil exploration contracts
• Acting for a UK investment bank and various other banks in relation to a range of sovereign debt claims against Zambia, Cameroon and Congo, which resulted in successful judgments against the Central Banks of all three countries and extensive freezing orders and enforcement strategies in support of those judgments
• Acting for a major banking group in relation to a £160m million claim by the Central Bank of Ecuador arising from the collapse of the country's major financial and corporate conglomerate. This involved acting as lead partner in relation to both the litigation before the Bahamian High Court and parallel fraud and RICO litigation in the United States.
• Acting for the Government of Nigeria in relation to the misappropriation of assets by the late President, Sani Abacha, including bringing proceedings against various banks and individuals to trace and identify$1.5 billion of state assets misappropriated by the late President and his family.
• Successfully representing a bank in its defence of English High Court proceedings involving a £70 million fraud claim brought by a Swedish fund management company (Trustor AG) against its former controllers and various banks relating to the wrongful transfer of client funds.
• Acting for a well-known Russian family in a major shareholder dispute concerning the alleged wrongful transfer of call option rights valued at approximately $250 million prior to the planned IPO of the business.
• Acting for key individuals in high profile SFO investigation relating to Merlin Biosciences Limited, Butte Mining plc, Resort Hotels plc, Maxwell and Blue Arrow.
• Representing two high profile individuals in the UK's “Cash for Honours” investigation.
• Acting for a leading Russian businessman in an investigation by the Special Compliance Office of the UK revenue authorities into the operation of non-domiciled tax stats.
• Acting for a major UK fund management company in relation to an internal investigation and inquiry resulting from mis-selling allegations and conflict of interest issues affecting the marketing of certain of their funds.
• Acting for a number of major life assurance companies and pension providers in the FSA's mis-selling investigations.
• Representing brokers, managers and other regulated firms in over 20 FCA/FSA disciplinary cases in relation to improper sales, analyst issues, market abuse and other market manipulation issues.

Contact Neil