David Edwards

David Edwards is co-head of our European Disputes practice based in London and is widely recognised for his strategic counsel in major and complex commercial disputes. 

David advises leaders and owners of high-value international businesses, corporate boards, private equity houses, and stakeholders in funds, in relation to their most challenging multi-jurisdiction disputes. David’s practice encompasses London High Court litigation and International Arbitration (where he has appeared as counsel in proceedings in most major arbitration forums around the World). A significant part of his practice involves leading teams comprised of multi-discipline specialists and legal counsel in large-scale litigation wherever his clients operate and hold their business assets. David has advised on a vast range of high-profile corporate and commercial battles, and he has notable experience in both seeking and defending injunctions and advising clients in respect of worldwide freezing orders. He has a particular reputation in relation to complex international shareholder disputes, offshore financial and trusts litigation, contentious IPO situations, and large capital project disputes.

David’s experience in international disputes spans industries including energy and natural resources, telecoms and technology, pharmaceuticals, international financial instruments and structures, cryptocurrency, commodities, family office matters and trophy asset holdings. He also has advised on a variety of ESG-related matters for clients.

Notable experience includes representing:

• Family office structures in relation to interests in super-prime London hotels involving disputes across multiple jurisdictions, including a major LCIA arbitration
• A consortium of investors in a dispute spanning several parallel international arbitration proceedings concerning a multibillion-U.S. dollar financing related to a major Nordic power project
• A private equity fund in relation to its interest in a Nordic financial institution
• An online gambling business in respect of its dispute with a commercial counterparty
• A committee of bondholders in relation to their interest in a distressed lending structure and associated international arbitration proceedings 
• A global international social network developer and operator in defending arbitration claims brought by investors in a blockchain project     
• A major Taiwanese client in a complex multibillion-dollar dispute involving court proceedings in multiple jurisdictions across Asia, the United States and the Caribbean and involving complex Trusts litigation     
• A U.S. private equity firm and one of the world’s largest cruise line operators in a construction dispute with a major European shipyard concerning two revolutionary cruise liners before the London High Court
• An ultra-high-net-worth individual in successfully striking-out a $380 million civil fraud claim (with associated worldwide freezing orders) brought by oil company Tatneft in the English Commercial Court    
• A high profile private equity group in parallel multijurisdictional litigation and arbitration proceedings concerning interests in a major social online networking service    
• An ultra-high-net-worth individual in English High Court proceedings involving the successful strikeout of a $300 million partnership dispute on jurisdictional grounds 
• A consortium of venture partners in a headline-grabbing dispute with BP over BP’s attempt to form a $16 billion strategic alliance with Rosneft, the state-owned Russian oil company, for the exploration of oil in the Arctic Circle    
• A major international mining company in connection with offensive actions by a host state against the company’s commercial interests     
• An offshore construction company in its ICC arbitration (Geneva) against a major European oil company relating to an Iranian gulf-based gas production platform   
• A giant U.S. pharmaceutical company in a series of major London-seated arbitration disputes with excess loss insurers, arising from indemnification claims related to class action litigation brought in the U.S. by users of its pharmaceutical products   

David was selected to The Legal 500’s inaugural U.K. Private Practice Arbitration Powerlist and is recommended as a Leading Partner in the U.K. edition of The Legal 500 in relation to International Arbitration, where clients say he “stands out as a calm presence,” that he is “the kind of lawyer clients want to have,” in addition to noting that he “always [has] an effective and pragmatic way forward.” David has been recognised in The Best Lawyers in the UK, as a rising star in the field of international arbitration in Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Experts in Commercial Arbitration, has been named to Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration as a Future Leader, and was included in Lawdragon’s inaugural Global Litigation 500 list.