Calum Mulderrig
Call: Call: 2019; 2016 (Solicitor)
Practice Overview
Calum maintains a broad commercial litigation and arbitration practice encompassing civil fraud, banking, cryptoasset and finance disputes, investment treaty arbitration, and disputes involving complex conflict of laws issues.
Calum has appeared unled in the High Court, both the Commercial Court and the Chancery Division, as well as appearing regularly in the County Courts and before the courts of the DIFC. In addition, Calum has broad experience before international arbitration tribunals, including ICSID, the PCA, the LCIA and the ICC Court.
Examples of Current and Recent Matters:
- Recently acted in two of the leading cases under s.90A FSMA 2000 on behalf of the Claimants in Various Claimants v G4S plc and Various Claimants v Serco Group plc (led by Andrew Onslow KC). Both cases were recognised by The Lawyer as Top 20 Cases in 2024.
- Recently obtained immediate judgment for c. USD 500 million on behalf of a syndicate of lenders against guarantors in proceedings before the DIFC CFA (unled).
- Recently obtained a EUR 30 million for a claimant in an ICSID dispute against a European state arising out of alleged breaches of treaty standards in respect of a hydropower project, and fully and successfully opposed ICSID annulment proceedings brought by the state (led by Christopher Harris KC).
- Acting for a large retail bank defending separate claims brought by customers for alleged breaches of account terms and conditions (unled).
- Acting for a middle-eastern State in defence of proceedings brought by an investor under the OIC Agreement pursuant to ICC Rules (led by Christopher Harris KC).
Prior to transferring to the Bar, Calum trained as a solicitor in London and Dubai with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and practised as an associate solicitor in London with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan UK LLP. He holds law degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford and was awarded scholarships at both.
Arbitration & Related Court Applications
- Representing an East African State in its defence of breach of contract claims brought by a foreign investor in UNCITRAL proceedings (as a pupil).
- Acting for a telecoms company in ICC proceedings in defence of claims for breach of contract brought for non-payment of telecoms services agreements (as a pupil).
- Opposing enforcement in the High Court of a judgment obtained in the DIFC courts by a UAE state entity (as a pupil).
- Challenging the LCIA’s jurisdiction to hear claims brought against a bank (led by Rajesh Pillai QC).
- Acting for a Nigerian energy company in opposition to the enforcement of a judgment obtained in the Nigerian courts (as a pupil).
- Representing a publicly listed company in a billion-dollar LCIA arbitration for breach of a litigation cooperation covenant (as an Associate at QE).
- Acting for claimants in ad hoc and AFSA proceedings in Tanzania and South Africa on challenges to jurisdiction (as an Associate at QE).
- Assisting on an ICSID arbitration against Venezuela (Vestey Group Ltd v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB/06/4) (as a trainee solicitor at Freshfields)
Banking & Financial Services
- Acting for a bank in its enforcement of guarantee covenants against a former director of a large oil refinery before the LCIA (as a pupil).
- Successfully acting for a bank before the High Court seeking recognition of its rights under an ISDA Master Agreement (BNPP Paribas SA v Trattamento Rifiuti Metropolitani SpA [2020] EWHC 2436 (Comm)) as a pupil led by Adrian Beltrami QC and Christopher Bond).
- Acting for institutional investors in claims against a bank for misrepresentation under s 90 FSMA, based on the mis-stated financial position of the bank in its rights issue prospectus (RBS Rights Issue Litigation) (as an Associate at QE)
Civil Fraud & Asset Tracing
- Representing a limited company in fraud and misappropriation claims against previous directors of the company (as a pupil).
- Acting for the joint administrators of a classic car company in their claims against the former director and owner (JD Classics Limited (in administration) v Derek Hood) (as an Associate at QE).
- Representing the joint administrators in a civil fraud case in the High Court (BTA Bank v Ablyazov) (as a trainee at Freshfields).
Commercial Dispute Resolution
- Currently acting for an individual bringing claims against an educational trust for breach of a settlement agreement (unled).
- Opposing applications for pre-action disclosure and third party disclosure (unled).
- Defending committal proceedings for breach of a freezing injunction (led by Farhaz Khan).
- Advising a pop group in an application to the Court of Appeal on questions of contractual interpretation and intellectual property right protection (as an Associate at QE).
- Representing the joint administrators in a civil fraud case in the High Court (BTA Bank v Ablyazov) (as a trainee at Freshfields).
- Working in a team defending Sotheby’s against claims of negligently mis-selling an alleged Caravaggio painting in the High Court (Thwaytes v Sotheby’s) (as a trainee solicitor at Freshfields)
Commercial Chancery Disputes
- Representing a biotechnology company in its claims against former employees for breach of confidence and misappropriation of confidential and proprietary information in the High Court (Invista Textiles UK Ltd v Botes [2019] EWHC 58 (Ch)).
Company & Insolvency Law
- Acting for the joint administrators of a classic car company in their Insolvency Act claims against the former director and owner (JD Classics Limited (in administration) v Derek Hood) (as an Associate at QE).
Conflict of Laws/Private International Law
- Challenging the LCIA’s jurisdiction to hear claims for declaratory relief brought against an investment bank (led by Rajesh Pillai QC).
- Obtaining declaratory relief of effective service of a claim before the High Court (as a pupil).
- Representing a mining company in a jurisdiction dispute in the courts of Tanzania and related arbitration proceedings (as an Associate at QE)
Energy & Natural Resources
- Representing an oil and gas company in LCIA proceedings for breach of a shareholder agreement by its joint venture partner (as an Associate at QE).
- Representing a Tanzanian mining company in claims under a services agreement in local and international arbitration proceedings (as an Associate at QE).
- Representing an oil and gas consortium in its claims against the Kurdistan Government in an LCIA arbitration (as a trainee solicitor at Freshfields in Dubai)
European Law/Competition
- Advising a publicly listed company on its defence to prospective claims under articles 101 and 102 TFEU (as an Associate at QE).
- Representing an EU-wide cartel against follow-on damages claims (as a trainee solicitor at Freshfields)
Media, Art & Entertainment
- Working in a team defending Sotheby’s against claims of negligently mis-selling an alleged Caravaggio painting in the High Court (Thwaytes v Sotheby’s) (as a trainee solicitor at Freshfields).
- Advising a pop group in an application to the Court of Appeal on questions of contractual interpretation and intellectual property right protection (as an Associate at QE)
Offshore Litigation
- Representing an investment bank in unfair dismissal claims before the DIFC Court of Appeal (as a pupil).
- Defending a committal application in the DIFC Court (led by Farhaz Khan).
Professional Negligence
- Acting for a private equity house in professional negligence claims against its statutory auditors (as an Associate at QE).
- Advising administrators in claims against statutory auditors for negligence in audit practice (as an Associate at QE).
- Advising a pop group on potential professional negligence claims against former advisors (as an Associate at QE).
Public International Law
- Representing an East African State in its defence of breach of contract claims brought by a foreign investor in UNCITRAL proceedings (as a pupil).
- Assisting on an ICSID arbitration against Venezuela (Vestey Group Ltd v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB/06/4) (as a trainee solicitor at Freshfields)
Regulatory Law & Investigations
- Assisting on an internal investigation at an investment bank regarding breaches of the FCA code of conduct (as a trainee solicitor at Freshfields).
Languages
- Spanish (fluent)
- French (reading)
- Italian (reading)