Christopher has experience of advising and representing clients in banking, corporate and insolvency disputes at all levels of jurisdiction, including the House of Lords (Phillips (Liquidator of AJ Bekhor & Co) v Brewin Dolphin Bell Lawrie Ltd [2001] 1 WLR 143) and the New Zealand Supreme Court (Nathan v Dollars & Sense Ltd [2008] 2 NZLR 557). He often undertakes drafting and advisory work in multimillion-pound cases, including those with an international element, and has written extensively in the banking and corporate law fields.
Christopher is currently a Tutorial Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford and the Travers Smith Associate Professor of Corporate and Commercial Law at the University of Oxford.
As well as being editor and/or contributor to the three leading banking law texts (see below), Christopher has provided advice and/or represented banks and their customers/clients across the full spectrum of banking and financial law disputes, including retail banking disputes (relating to the operation of bank accounts, the provision of payment services, lending and security arrangements, consumer credit matters) and wholesale banking and capital market disputes (including syndicated loans, bonds, derivatives and trade finance instruments). Recent instructions include:
Further, Christopher is also author of Ellinger, EP, Lomnicka E & Hare, CVM, Ellinger’s Modern Banking Law (5th ed, OUP, 2011), Hare, CVM, R Cranston, E Avgouleas, K Van Zwieten & T Van Sante, Principles of Banking Law (3rd ed, OUP, 2017) and contributes chapters on syndicated lending and tiers of lending in Paget’s Banking Law (LexisNexis, 15th ed, 2018). He has also written articles and chapters on the legal issues arising out of the mis-selling of financial products, trade finance transactions and the advent of cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets. He has taught undergraduate and postgraduate students in Oxford, Cambridge, Auckland and Singapore for papers on Banking Law, International Banking Law, Financial Law, Trade Finance Law, Wealth Management Law and Corporate Finance Law.
As well as his academic writing in the corporate law area (see below), Christopher has provided advice across the range of corporate law matters, with particular emphasis on director’s duties, their enforcement through unfair prejudice and derivative actions and disqualification proceedings. Recent instructions include:
As well as a number of articles and book chapters on shareholder remedies, Christopher is author of Watts PG, Campbell N & Hare, CVM, Company Law in New Zealand (2nd ed, Lexis Nexis NZ, 2016), is a contributor to Buckley on the Companies Acts (loose-leaf) and will be a co-author of the next edition of Gower’s Principles of Company Law (Sweet & Maxwell, 2021). Christopher is the convenor of the Company Law group at the University of Oxford and teaches undergraduates and postgraduates on the Company Law and Corporate Finance Law courses.
Christopher advises across the range of insolvency law areas, frequently advising officeholders on their potential claims against third parties such as directors and lenders. He appeared in the important case of Phillips (Liquidator of AJ Bekhor & Co) v Brewin Dolphin Bell Lawrie Ltd [2001] 1 WLR 143 dealing with transactions at an undervalue and more recently has received the following instructions:
Christopher has also written articles and chapters covering liquidation and administration issues.
Christopher has advised and represented clients in relation to a number of jurisdictional and choice of law matters, including:
In addition, Christopher has written on issues relating to forum non conveniens and the choice of law issues relating to banking and trade finance transactions.
As well as the more specialist areas above, Christopher has advised and represented clients in a broad range of general commercial disputes, with recent instructions including:
As part of his academic work, Christopher teaches in the areas of Contract Law, Trusts Law, Tort Law and Commercial Law.
For further information and enquiries please contact:
Commercial & Insolvency: Joe Stayte or Stephen Arnold