Richard practises in all aspects of commercial dispute resolution and is particularly experienced in large, high-value, multi-party claims in the High Court. Richard has expertise in civil fraud and bribery, cross-border disputes, claims governed by foreign law, and banking disputes.

Recent matters include:

• GIG Globinvest v VP Fund Solutions (Luxembourg) and VP Fund Solutions (Liechtenstein): Leading the defence of the VP fund management group to allegations that they conspired with a fund originator and investment advisor to deprive the Claimants of independent investment advice.  A 7 week trial is set down for late 2024.

• Mozambique v Credit Suisse International and ors: Acting for the Republic of Mozambique in multiple consolidated proceedings against Credit Suisse, VTB and Privinvest (among others) and concerning liability under $2bn-worth of sovereign guarantees allegedly procured by corruption. The case was tried over 13 weeks in in late 2023, having already reached the Supreme Court (where the Republic prevailed) on a question concerning s.9 of the Arbitration Act.

• Mex Group Worldwide Ltd v Ford and 11 ors.: Acting for MGWL in its appeal against the High Court’s discharge of a worldwide freezing order obtained under s.25 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Acts. The appeal will be heard by the CA over 3 days in July 2024.

• FRN v JPMorgan : Acting for the Republic of Nigeria in its claims against JPMorgan for $1bn for payments allegedly made as part of a corrupt scheme dating back to the 1990s. Before trial the case reached the Court of Appeal with the FRN succeeding in knocking out a series of defences based on the terms of the Depository Agreement under which the claim is brought.

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation v Barclays and ors : acting for the claimant FDIC-R, a US statutory receiver, bringing claims against 8 USD LIBOR panel banks and the British Bankers Association under US law and EU competition law based on the banks’ collusive suppression of USD LIBOR. A 12 week trial is listed for early 2026.

• Public Institution for Social Security v Al Rajaan and 36 ors : acting successfully for a defendant facing claims brought by the Kuwaiti State pension fund, seeking over $1bn in respect of an alleged fraudulent scheme. The claims against Richard’s client were struck out on jurisdiction grounds, including based on a novel argument as to the application of Art.6 Lugano, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

• State company A v Company B.  Leading the defence of an ICC arbitration claim brought an Iranian state-owned company seeking €100m in lost profits arising out of an alleged wrongful reliance on a contractual sanctions clause. Following a trial in September 2023, the claim has substantially failed based on the construction of the underlying agreement. A residual part of the claim will proceed in respect of causation and quantum in 2024.

• A v B acting for the claimant in an LCIA arbitration worth c.$250m concerning interpretation of multiple back-to-back commodity sale and purchase contracts and in particular whether a defence to payment based on a sanctions clause is applicable.

• Cathay Pacific Airlines Ltd v Lufthansa Technik AG acting for the defendant in proceedings worth $40m concerning interpretation of an engine maintenance agreement. The case has generated several important judgments. They are the leading authorities on pre-action conduct for Part 8 claims and the Court's power to award costs in a foreign currency. The trial judgment is an important authority on implied terms of good faith.

• Tugushev v Orlov: acting for the Russian founder of a $1.5bn fishing company seeking to realise his1/3^rd share from the business partners who had acted to deprive him of it.  Following a lengthy battle entailing reams of expert and factual evidence, Mr Tughushev successfully established jurisdiction to pursue his claims in England after which the claims settled.

• Clark Street Associates v Norsk Titanium     acting unled for the successful claimant in a 2-week Commercial Court trial. Following trial, the claimant, a Californian consultancy firm, was awarded 100% of its claim for breach of contract by a Norwegian maker of titanium aerospace parts: [2020] EWHC 1038 (Comm).

• Acting for the successful AssetCo plc in its claim for c.£30m in damages from Grant Thornton in respect of a negligent audit. AssetCo prevailed in a landmark judgment following a 5-week trial, being the first company to recover trading losses from a negligent auditor. The judgment was upheld in the CA: [2019] Bus. L.R. 2291; [2021] Bus. L.R. 142.

• Acting for the respondents in a HKIAC arbitration concerning the ownership of a mining concession and its operation, including the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the contractual obligations of the parties.

Richard has a broad EU and competition law practice and is regularly instructed on EU and UK competition law litigation and matters.

Competition matters on which Richard has been instructed include:

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation v Barclays and ors: acting for the claimant FDIC-R, a US statutory receiver, bringing claims against 8 USD LIBOR panel banks and the British Bankers Association arising out of the banks’ collusive suppression of USD LIBOR. The claims are primarily advanced under EU competition law, alleging that the suppression of USD LIBOR was done pursuant to an agreement or concerted practice, contrary to Article 101 TFEU. The FDIC-R successfully resisted an attempt by UBS to strike out its claims on limitation grounds. The claim is being tried over 16 weeks in 2026.

• Cavallari v Mercedes: acting for Mercedes in its defence of over 300,000 claims in the largest group litigation order made in the English courts in the NOx emissions litigation (known colloquially as ‘Dieselgate’). The clam is being managed alongside 12 other GLOs. Mercedes is alleged of being party to four cartels allegedly entailing the use of Prohibited Defeat Devices in its vehicles. A number of trial tranches are set down for hearing in October 2024, October 2025, February 2026 and October 2026.

• Premier League: regularly advising the PL including on competition issues arising out of the administration of rights sales, financial fair play, the PL’s profitability and sustainability rules and those concerning associated party transactions, as well as providing ad hoc advice on rule changes and attempts by clubs to alter the league structure and rules.

• Kodak v Glencore and ors: acting for the Glencore group defendants in a claim alleging multiple breaches of Article 101 TFEU in respect of aluminium warehousing practices and pricing.

• BSKYB, Premier League and ors v Ofcom (CAT): acting for the Premier League in a successful challenge to Ofcom's Pay TV decision that Sky must wholesale its Sky Sports channels to eligible competitors at  a set price.

• Purple Parking and ors v Heathrow Airport Limited : acting for the successful claimant valet parking company in a landmark judgment establishing a breach of Article 102 / Chapter II CA 98 in respect of Heathrow Airport's decisions regarding the location of their rival valet parking operations.

Richard’s practice is profoundly international and the overwhelming majority of his cases have an international element. Richard has particular expertise in cross-border commercial disputes, fraud and corruption, jurisdiction challenges, claims governed by foreign law, and international sanctions matters.

Richard is similarly a leading EU law practitioner and has appeared led and unled in the High Court, the General Court and the Court of Justice on EU and international cases.  Richard has also appeared in the European Court of Human Rights in interstate disputes.

Recent international and EU law matters in which Richard has been instructed include:

• Regularly advising entities (including in particular offshore trusts and financial services providers), individuals and governments on UK and EU law and sanctions policy.

• Mozambique v Credit Suisse International and ors:   Acting for the Republic of Mozambique in multiple consolidated proceedings against Credit Suisse, VTB and Privinvest (among others) and concerning liability under $2bn-worth of sovereign guarantees allegedly procured by corruption.
• The case has been to the CA on a point of interpretation concerning s.9 of the Arbitration Act: [2021] EWCA Civ 329. Permission to appeal to the Supreme Court is awaited.

• FRN v JPMorgan: Acting for the Republic of Nigeria in claims worth over $1bn for breach of the banker’s Quincecare duty when JPM was allegedly on notice of fraudulent and corrupt scheme. The case engages issues under multiple systems of law and concerns litigation in numerous jurisdictions.

• State company A v Company B.  Leading the defence of an ICC arbitration claim brought an Iranian state-owned company seeking €100m in lost profits arising out of an alleged wrongful reliance on a contractual sanctions clause. Following a trial in September 2023, the claim has substantially failed based on the construction of the underlying agreement. A residual part of the claim will proceed in respect of causation and quantum in 2024.

• A v B acting for the claimant in an LCIA arbitration worth c.$250m concerning interpretation of multiple back-to-back commodity sale and purchase contracts and in particular whether a defence to payment based on a sanctions clause is applicable.

• Cavallari v Mercedes: acting for Mercedes in its defence of over 300,000 claims in the largest group litigation order made in the English courts in the NOx emissions litigation (known colloquially as ‘Dieselgate’). The clam is being managed alongside 12 other GLOs. Mercedes is alleged of violation of the EU Emissions Regulations and the case raises complex issues as to the interaction between decisions of Member State type approval and regulatory authorities as well as the impact of Brexit on emissions regulation.  A number of trial tranches are set down for hearing in October 2024, October 2025, February 2026 and October 2026.

• Mamancochet Mining Ltd v Aegis Managing Agency Ltd [2019] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 335 instructed by 30 underwriters to lead their defence to a claim with industry-wide repercussions, concerning the interpretation of a market-standard sanctions clause contained in London-written cargo policies Richard led the defence at the trial that was expedited following sudden changes to US policy.

• Georgia v Russia : acting for the Russian Federation in applications brought by Georgia in the European Court of Human Rights over alleged human rights violations during the August 2008 war in South Ossetia.

• Richard has also been instructed in a series of leading European and domestic sanctions cases over the last decade, including Bank Mellat, Bank Saderat, EuropäischIranische Handelsbank AG, IRISL, Mamancochet Mining, and Lamesa Investments v Cynergy Bank

Richard is regularly engaged in commercial arbitrations including arbitrations under the ICC and LCIA rules. Richard also sits as an arbitrator and accepts appointments as a sole arbitrator or member of a tribunal.

Arbitration matters in which Richard has been instructed include:

• State company A v Company B.  Leading the defence of an ICC arbitration claim brought an Iranian state-owned company seeking €100m in lost profits arising out of an alleged wrongful reliance on a contractual sanctions clause. Following an evidential hearing on liability in September 2023, the claim has substantially failed based on the construction of the underlying agreement. A residual part of the claim will proceed in respect of causation and quantum in 2024.

• A v B acting for the claimant in an LCIA arbitration worth c.$250m concerning interpretation of multiple back-to-back commodity sale and purchase contracts and in particular whether a defence to payment based on a sanctions clause is applicable. A merits hearing is expected in 2025.

• A Co v B Co, C, D and E.  Leading the defence of an LCIA arbitration brought in respect of a restated loan and guarantees. The proceedings are at an early stage but Richard led for the Third Respondent in defeating an application for a worldwide freezing order over his assets.

• Mining Co v State owned company  acting for the defendants in a HKIAC arbitration worth over $1bn concerning the ownership of a mining concession and its operation, including the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the contractual obligations of the parties.

• Political risk arbitrations:  acting in a series of multi-million dollar LCIA arbitrations acting for successful insurers seeking to avoid payment under a political risk insurance policy.

Richard is an experienced sports law practitioner who is frequently instructed on commercial, competition and regulatory matters arising in the sporting context.  These include advising on the rules of sporting bodies as well as acting in disputes as to sponsorship rights and commercial agreements in the sporting context.  Richard has been instructed in matters relating to football, cricket, boxing and other sports.

As part of his sports law practice, Richard is a long-standing advisor to the FA Premier League. This includes: advising on the sale of its broadcasting rights, the drafting of the Premier League rules and their compatibility with competition law, the drafting of and disputes related to the FAPL’s Profit and Sustainability Rules and other aspects of ‘Financial Fair Play’, the operation of the PL’s commercial rights programme, and the FAPL’s response to the proposed European Superleague; as well as acting in BSKYB, Premier League and ors v Ofcom (CAT), the PL’s successful challenge to Ofcom's Pay TV decision that Sky must wholesale its Sky Sports channels to eligible competitors at  a set price.

Sports law matters on which Richard is currently instructed include:

•  Acting for a prominent sporting institution pursuing claims against a senior employee and third party re-sellers in respect of a ticketing fraud.

•  Advising a luxury brand on their contractual rights under a long-term sponsorship agreement with a global sporting event.

• Advising the FA Premier League on the much publicised proposed amendments to its Profit and Sustainability Rules and their replacement with a Squad Cost Ratio.

• The New Tribunals Handbook (Bloomsbury Professional, 2011) - a procedural guide to the Tribunals under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
• Competition Litigation - UK Practice and Procedure (Green QC and Brealey QC eds.) (OUP, 2010), contributing author.
• Purple Parking Limited and Meteor Parking Limited v Heathrow Airport Limited [2011] Comp Law 288
• ‘Prolonged Mental Harm: The Torturous Reasoning Behind a New Standard for Psychological Abuse' (2007) 20 Harvard Human Rights Journal 263
• To the fullest extent of the law? Jones v Whalley and the right to private prosecution [2007] CLJ, 66(1), 11
• Jones v Whalley: cases in detail, Arch. News 2006, 8, 4-5
• Counting sheep: Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza and the true extent of section 3 of the Human Rights Act [2005] C.S.L.R. 1(1), 1.

Education

BPP School of Law (2006-2007)

Harvard Law School (2005-2006)

Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge (2002-2005)

Qualifications

Bar Vocational Course (2007) (Outstanding)

LL.M. (2006)

MA Law (2005) (First Class)

Other

Crossfit Level 1 Trainer

Scholarships & Prizes

Lincoln's Inn

Buchanan Prize

Lord Denning Scholarship

Hardwicke Entrance Award

University of Cambridge

Baker & McKenzie Scholarship (full scholarship for LL.M. at Harvard Law School)

ECS Wade Prize for administrative law

Squire scholarship

Fitzwilliam College

Scholar of the Year (best academic performance across all subjects and years in Fitzwilliam College graduating class of 2005)

Reddaway Prize (for contribution to the prestige of the College)

Mary Luck Prize (for achievement across a Cambridge career)

Winner, the Weekly Law Reports mooting competition (2004)

Other

Winner, the Weekly Law Reports mooting competition (2004)

• "Richard has great maturity and is someone whose judgement I really rate. He is extremely hard-working, always on top of the detail and an accomplished advocate." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• "Richard is very clever and tactical." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• "Richard is a robust advocate. He takes difficult points and isn't afraid of them. He's courageous and effective in cross-examination and he has an incredible output in terms of work. He's formidable." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• "Richard's advocacy is absolutely outstanding, his strategic understanding and tactical ability is extremely impressive, and his written work is fantastic. He is an absolute delight to work with." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• "He is extremely hard-working, always on top of the detail of a case and an accomplished advocate with a quiet but very effective approach to cross-examination." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• "Richard is a phenomenal lawyer, who is a brilliant draftsman and a lethal cross-examiner. He is very hard-working and has an outstandingly mature sense of judgement." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• "Richard is an absolute superstar who is not only on top of the law and the facts, but is also a fierce cross-examiner." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• "Richard performs extremely well on our matters. He is excellent at distilling issues down to their most important components and offers practical solutions to complex problems." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• "Richard is a highly rated barrister for all types of work. He provides fantastic service." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• "Richard is the best written advocate that you will find. He combines that with strong oral submissions to the court, and he has an ability to cross-examine expert witnesses that few can match." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• "Richard is a superb commercial litigator, whose advocacy is absolutely outstanding. His strategic understanding and his tactical ability are both highly impressive, and his written work is fantastic." (Chambers & Partners 2025)
• ‘Richard is tough and resilient. He is also calm and confident under pressure. His cross-examination at trial was good.’  (Legal 500 2025)
• ‘Richard is a fantastic barrister and a first choice for many. His advocacy is brilliant and he can process and simplify very complex matters.'  (Legal 500 2025)
• ‘Richard is a very commercial and sensible operator. His advice is clear and helpful and he works brilliantly within large teams tasked with very difficult projects.’  (Legal 500 2025)
• 'Richard is great choice in cases which involve an element of European sanctions. He is very hard working and has excellent drafting skills.'  (Legal 500 2025)
• 'Richard is incredibly bright and focused, as well as tough and resilient. He is also calm and confident under pressure.'  (Legal 500 2025)
• "Richard is extremely user-friendly, bright, and has a very pleasant manner about him." (Chambers & Partners 2024)
• "He's very strong in drafting complex pleadings." (Chambers & Partners 2024)
• "He is absolutely outstanding. He has a super brain and his skeleton arguments read like a novel." (Chambers & Partners 2024)
• "Richard is very clever and tactical." (Chambers & Partners 2024)
• "Richard is a very good senior junior who is already operating at the level of a silk." (Chambers & Partners 2024)
• "Richard is very clear-headed and very much on the ball with the points he is considering." (Chambers & Partners 2024)
• "Richard Blakeley is just so sharp; he doesn't miss a trick." (Chambers & Partners 2024)
• "Richard is a fantastic junior. He is extremely smart, highly commercially aware and an excellent, thorough advocate." (Chambers & Partners 2024)
• "Richard is a brilliant drafter and his submissions are measured and thoughtful." (Chambers & Partners 2024)
• "Great all-round advice. Good strategy and excellent advocacy, even when up against KC opponents." (Legal 500 2024)
• "He is dedicated and diligent; an excellent choice for matters involving European Union law." (Legal 500 2024)
• "Richard is an immensely impressive draftsman of written argument – highly focused, and effective and easy to work with." (Legal 500 2024)
• "Richard has true northern grit. He is level headed, calm and measured whatever the challenges. He is happy to roll up his sleeves and not afraid to take a view. As well as having a razor sharp intellect, he has a rarer ability amongst barristers of his standing of being able to make his points succinctly and in a client-friendly down-to-earth manner." (Legal 500 2024)
• "Richard is strategic and thoughtful." "Richard's analysis is excellent." "He is razor-sharp." (Chambers & Partners 2023)
• "Richard is very clever and very strategic. His drafting is easily silk standard." "He is an excellent and very commercial junior." "An understanding advocate, who is very, very effective." (Chambers & Partners 2023)
• "Does good work on complicated cases. Very on the ball and bright, he sees all the points and runs them well."
• "He's a sanctions specialist." (Chambers & Partners 2023)
• Richard has a great deal of grit and resilience. He is calm, measured and thoughtful.'' (Legal 500 2023)
• ‘'Mega bright with tremendous written skills and a huge asset to any high charged litigation team.'' (Legal 500 2023)
• '‘Richard has an incisive mind and is excellent at breaking down complex problems. He is always happy to talk through an issue and consider creative solutions.’'(Legal 500 2023)
• ‘'He dismantles the other side’s case before the judge in a merciless fashion leading to conclusive wins. His intellectual ability is first-rate and he has gravitas well beyond his years.’' (Legal 500 2023)
• "Tenacious, robust and capable of producing performances that blow you away."  (Chambers & Partners 2022)
• "A very clever barrister and a real team player. He's very collaborative and works with the team to distil the issues in a way that's very compelling."  (Chambers & Partners 2022)
• "He is just excellent and destined for great things." "He is everything you want in a senior junior: very clever, incredibly hard-working and robust in his views. He's more than capable of going toe to toe with opponents many years his senior."  (Chambers & Partners 2022)
• "He is an impressive junior working on various big sanctions matters in the EU courts. We value his subject matter expertise." (Chambers & Partners 2022)
• "He must be one of the most experienced EU sanctions juniors around." Legal 500 2022)
• "A very strong junior and enormously client friendly. Good on his feet and works hard to ensure the client's aims are met." Legal 500 2022)
• "Excellent and one of the top juniors around. He’s got a really strong strategic sense and will go far when he eventually takes silk." (Legal 500 2022)
• "Richard is a stellar Commercial Court junior with a wonderfully incisive mind." (Legal 500 2022)
• "He is outstandingly smart and utterly brilliant." "A fiercely intelligent barrister." (Chambers & Partners 2021)
• "Very bright and fantastically good at drafting." "He has the ear of the court." (Chambers & Partners 2021)
• "He is very hard-working and a great team player." "Brilliant, calm and thorough." (Chambers & Partners 2021)
• "He is a down-to-earth, sensible barrister." (Chambers & Partners 2021)
• "Excellent experience and one of my go-to barristers in this area. Great judgment and insight into the EU Courts thinking. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of EU case law.’ (Legal 500 2021)
• "Strong ability to process information, especially foreign law concepts, and turn around quality work product – good with clients and robust advocacy." (Legal 500 2021)
• "One of the smartest Commercial Juniors and a shoo-in to any litigation team heading into battle – delightful company and a mega star for the future." (Legal 500 2021)
• "Richard is very pragmatic and a smart person to work with." "He is very bright, very hard-working and very easy to deal with." (Chambers & Partners 2020)
• "Just has an incredible work ethic, and turns stuff around incredibly quickly but with real force." "He's highly responsive, very accessible and someone who delivers good, accurate work product." (Chambers & Partners UK & Global 2020)
• "His drafting is excellent, and he really gets into the client's shoes, proving creative and willing to think outside the box." (Chambers & Partners 2020)
• "Tough and hardworking, he quickly appreciates the key points in issue and is also very commercial." (Legal 500 2020)
• "He has sanctions expertise." (Legal 500 2020)
• "A very strong lawyer and easy to work with." (Legal 500 2020)
• "Very clever, very able and good on paper." (Chambers & Partners 2019)
• "Richard Blakeley is excellent: he's very bright, he's a good team player and he's realistic." (Chambers & Partners 2019)
• "His legal submissions were spot-on and very comprehensive, and he kept his cool and answered questions in the hearing in an eloquent way." (Chambers & Partners 2019)
• "He is incisive and a real asset on complex cases." (Legal 500 2018-19)
• "A versatile and analytically brilliant lawyer." (Legal 500 2018-19)
• "A bright junior with a particular expertise in sanctions." (Legal 500 2018-19)
• "Gets stuck into his written work and provides brilliant analysis of the legal issues." "A brilliant, brilliant junior counsel who is very clear-headed." (Chambers & Partners 2018)
• "He is straightforward, has a direct style and writes very well." (Chambers & Partners 2018)
• "His writing is particularly impressive and he is marvellous at cutting through everything." (Chambers & Partners 2018)
• "Richard excels at getting in the mindset of the clients and understanding the matter from their point of view." (Chambers & Partners 2017)
• "He advances his case in a very persuasive way, and has a great understated style which is really attractive, particularly in difficult cases." "He has a very, very strong work ethic" (Chambers & Partners 2017)
• "Extremely able and inventive; he always adds value." (Legal 500 2016)
• "A junior counsel with a bright future. He is sharp and creative with a commercial perspective beyond his experience. He is not afraid to take a view on a matter independent of other advisers." (Chambers & Partners 2016)
• "Very efficient, hard-working and very user-friendly. He's always able to help, and his work product is invariably excellent." (Chambers & Partners 2016)
• “A well-regarded junior with an enviable and high-profile recent caseload.” (Chambers & Partners 2015)
• "Incredibly hard-working and very smart, he punches above his weight. On his feet, he is very confident and very effective, and he shows good judgement." (Chambers & Partners 2015)
• "Very confident and very effective. He shows good judgement on the legal issues, and is very succinct in his advice." (Chambers & Partners 2015)
• “This rising star of commercial law and competition and EU law is noted for his handling of a series of high-profile cases, including a number of the recent oligarch cases.” (Chambers & Partners 2014)
• "An intelligent and hard-working junior." "He has a great 'can-do' attitude." (Chambers & Partners 2014)
• “Developing a reputation as an emerging talent in the EU field.” (Chambers & Partners 2014)
• "He has a wonderful ability to circumnavigate a mountain of facts and issues in order to focus on the key points in a case." (Chambers & Partners 2014)
• "An "up and coming" junior who "has already attracted attention for his "impressive" competition law work, and is noted for his "responsive and practical" approach." (Chambers & Partners 2013)