David Johnson
Senior Associate

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 complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes, with particular experience in: (i) obtaining freezing orders and recovering assets through insolvency proceedings; and (ii) dealing with POCA proceedings in an insolvency context

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 investors in a high-profile Ponzi scheme in respect of the winding up of a foreign company in this jurisdiction in order to recover their losses; subsequently advising the liquidators with respect to fraudulent trading claims of £400m against banks
• 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.£180 million
• 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 liquidators in claims of £60 million against a director which used the insolvent company as a vehicle for a substantial VAT fraud and 13 connected parties, including co-ordinating an asset recovery strategy involving freezing orders and ancillary insolvency proceedings in Asia and the USA
• Acting as conflict counsel for Reficar in respect of its challenge to the multi-billion-dollar McDermott Restructuring Plan (Re CB&I UK LTD [2024] EWHC 398 (Ch))
• 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 VTB Bank PJSC in relation to its c.£180 million claim in the administration of VTB Capital Plc, including in its opposition to a proposed Scheme of Arrangement
• Advising a Court appointed representative for investors in a collapsed peer-to-peer lending platform, in High Court proceedings concerning the beneficial ownership and distribution of over £40 million of trust funds
• 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, with a particular emphasis on insolvencies which concerns allegations of fraud and proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

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