Alistair Graham is a partner in the London Commercial Litigation practice. He is a Solicitor Advocate and has represented clients in litigation in the High Court, Court of Appeal, House of Lords and Privy Council in London as well as in arbitrations. He is also experienced in ADR techniques and is an accredited mediator.

With a background in financial services disputes, Alistair has particular experience in regulatory and fraud investigations, white collar work and international asset tracing. He is sought after as speaker and adviser on compliance issues under the new Bribery Act: recent clients include those in the TMT and oil & gas sectors.

Alistair has also worked on international insolvency cases as well as disputes involving contracts, negligence, breaches of trust, confidential information and warranty claims. He has coordinated and managed a number of complex cross border disputes.

Alistair has been involved in a number of high profile cases. He advised MGN Pension Trustees Ltd whose funds were misappropriated by Robert Maxwell. He also advised in relation to BCCI, Barings and the battle for control of Formula 1. More recently he represented the former CEO of Morgan Crucible, Ian Norris, against the US Government's ground-breaking attempts to extradite him.

Alistair was seconded as Enforcement Counsel to the Financial Services Authority ("FSA") In that role he assisted in the run up to the introduction of the Investigative Disciplinary and Enforcement regime introduced under the 2000 Financial Services Market Act. During this time he handled a number of high profile cases on behalf of the FSA.

Recent legal awards and directories comments:

• Alistair and his team's work on the Norris case was singled out by the judges who awarded the team "Litigation Team of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards 2008
• "The 'statesman like' Alistair Graham is a solicitor advocate who often manages complex cross-border disputes." Chambers Global 2011
• "The 'highly responsive' Alistair Graham is a 'very good litigator, with the necessary gravitas when representing the client.'" Legal 500 UK 2010
• "Alistair Graham boasts particular experience in financial services disputes, banking litigation, regulatory and fraud investigations, and international asset tracing" Chambers UK 2010
• "Alistair Graham is 'a clear, direct and approachable communicator who has good working relationships with the right barristers.'" Chambers UK 2010
• "Alistair Graham is 'extremely impressive in his client relations'" Chambers UK 2009
• "Alistair Graham is 'entrepreneurial, problem-solving and reliable'" Legal 500 UK 2008
• Alistair is recognized as a leading individual for Dispute Resolution and Banking Litigation in Chambers UK 2010, for UK Dispute Resolution in Chambers Europe 2010, for Commercial Litigation in UK Legal 500 2009 and for Dispute Resolution in PLC Which Lawyer? 2008/2009.

Examples of recent representations include:

• Represented Ian Norris, the former CEO of FTSE 250 industrial company, Morgan Crucible, in relation to the US Government's attempts to extradite him to the United States under the US/UK extradition arrangements to face criminal charges of price-fixing and obstruction of justice. We secured a significant victory when the House of Lords ruled on extradition and competition law issues in March 2008, defeating the US Government's attempt to re-characterise price-fixing as a conspiracy to defraud in order to make it an extraditable offence. In November 2009 the new UK Supreme Court heard arguments on whether obstruction of justice charges represented sufficient grounds for Mr Norris' extradition. Judgment was handed down in February 2010 and we continue to represent Mr Norris in US proceedings;
• Acting for Siemens VAI (SVAI) in a confidential information dispute against a Luxembourg-based competitor, obtaining a springboard injunction to prevent the competitor from continuing recruitment activities (parts of the case are reported at Paul Wurth Limited and Ors v Siemens VAI Metals Technologies Ltd [2008] EWCA Civ 596);
• Advising an executive of a major investment bank in relation to the regulatory impact of criminal charges brought against the Bank and the executive in connection with the Parmalat collapse;
• Advising an international professional services firm on issues of privilege and state immunity, both in the UK and the US;
• Advising an aviation company facing criminal charges by the US Department of Justice;
• Advising on the UK aspects of a highly sensitive US/UK investigation in the aviation sector.

Bars and Courts
Hong Kong, 1990
England and Wales, 1987

Education
Guildford College of Law, 1985
MA, St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University, 1983

Languages
English

Citizenship
British