Chloë Bell

Chloë is regularly instructed on complex, high value commercial disputes either as sole counsel or as part of a larger team. She has significant experience obtaining injunctive relief and disclosure orders together with permission to serve such orders out of the jurisdiction as sole counsel in the High Court.

Examples of Chloë’s recent and ongoing cases include:

• JD Wetherspoon Plc v AB InBev UK Limited t/a Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I (CL-2023-000017) (ongoing): led by Adrian Beltrami KC Chloë is instructed by Budweiser in proceedings relating to the construction of a long-term trading agreement.
• Joint Venture Dispute (ongoing): Chloë is currently instructed by a developer of a well-known London landmark in a dispute against its investors under a Joint Venture Agreement (ongoing).
• Payward Inc v Chechetkin [2023] EWHC 1780 (Comm): Chloë successfully resisted the enforcement of a JAMS arbitration award in England on the rare basis of it being an infringement of public policy under section 103 of the Arbitration Act 1996.
• Chechetkin v Payward Ltd [2022] EWHC 3057 (Ch), [2023] 2 All ER (Comm) 181: Chloë successfully resisted Payward’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the English court under CPR Part 11.
• MF Tel Sarl v Visa Europe Ltd [2023] EWHC 1336 (Ch): Chloë was instructed by Visa to apply to strike out Particulars of Claim which referred to French law on the basis that the correct applicable law was English law in a dispute relating to overseas transaction fees.
• LCIA-DIFC Arbitration (2022): Chloë was instructed in a dispute relating to the enforceability of restrictive covenants following the termination of an employment contract.
• Farrag and Gulf Ltd v Alin (BL-2021-002017): Chloë obtained a proprietary injunction and disclosure order in relation to the misappropriation of a luxury car.
• Lubin Betancourt Reyes (2) Custodial Management Solutions v (1)-(3) Persons Unknown (4) Tether Holdings Limited (5) Binance Holdings Limited (unreported, April 2021, London Circuit Commercial Court): Chloë acted as sole counsel and successfully obtained a worldwide freezing order and an asset preservation order against Persons Unknown together with permission to serve out of the jurisdiction and by alternative means. She also successfully obtained a Norwich Pharmacal and Banker’s Trust Order together with permission to serve out of the jurisdiction and by alternative means against D4 and D5.
• Bluewaters Communications Holdings v (1) Bayerische Landesbank Anstalt des Offentlichen Rechts (2) Bernard Charles Ecclestone and (3) Bambino Holidings Limited (2018): Chloë was junior counsel in a commercial court claim concerning alleged bribery in the sale Formula 1.
• Shurbanova v FX Capital markets LLC [2017] EWHC 2133: junior counsel led by Farhaz Khan. Acted for the successful defendant in a breach of contract claim. The Court accepted FXCM’s defence that the claimant’s profitable trades were the result of market abuse and ‘front running’.

Chloë has a busy banking and financial services practice. She is ranked Tier 3 in the Legal 500 for Financial Services Regulation and is regularly instructed to appear in cases at the cutting edge of financial services law and regulation.

She spent 3 months on secondment in the General Counsel’s Division at the Financial Conduct Authority in 2019. During this period of time she gained significant insight into a wide range of financial services matters from the regulator’s perspective.

Chloë also has experience of running large-scale financial services enquiries and acting for regulators in their enforcement capacity. She has acted as counsel for Lloyd’s of London in a number of enforcement cases.

Examples of Chloë’s recent cases include:

• Group claims against crypto exchanges (ongoing): Chloë is instructed by a number of groups of claimants bringing claims for breach of FSMA 2000 and FCA Handbook rules by crypto exchanges for providing financial products to investors in breach of the general prohibition and rules on financial promotions.
• Large-scale regulatory inquiry into non-financial misconduct (ongoing): Chloë is currently junior counsel to Farhaz Khan KC in a large-scale inquiry by a regulator into non-financial misconduct by firms and individuals.
• The Lloyd’s Enforcement Board v Atrium Underwriters (2022): Chloë was instructed by Lloyd’s of London led by Farhaz Khan KC in Lloyd’s first ever enforcement proceedings for non-financial misconduct. The proceedings resulted in the largest ever fine being issued to a firm by the regulator: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60767614.
• The Lloyd’s Enforcement Board v Mr Gregory White (2021): Chloë acted as sole counsel for Lloyd’s of London which successfully brought enforcement proceedings against Mr Gregory White (a private client director at Hampden Agencies Ltd) for discreditable conduct due to his involvement in the facilitation of loans between members of the Society who were clients of his employer in return for commission payments.
• Shurbanova v FX Capital markets LLC [2017] EWHC 2133: junior counsel led by Farhaz Khan. Acted for the successful defendant in a breach of contract claim. The Court accepted FXCM’s defence that the claimant’s profitable trades were the result of market abuse and ‘front running’.
• Advisory work: Chloë regularly advises clients on financial services law. She has advised clients on the mis-selling of pensions products and on the effects of a restitution order under section 382 of FSMA for the liquidators of an insolvent company.

Chloë is one of few genuine experts in cryptoasset litigation at the London Bar and is instructed on some of the most cutting-edge cases in this area.

Chloë is a Band 1 ranked barrister by Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 in the law of cryptoassets:

“She is one of the handful of my absolute go-tos in this space. Her capabilities in this area and experience enable her to handle difficult cases with serene control and confidence.”

“She’s one of the top juniors. She has really good technical knowledge which is helpful on crypto claims.”

“She’s imaginative, punchy, bright, willing to get stuck in and easy to work with.”

“Very bold, imaginative and willing to take a punchy or robust position. Very user-friendly, she is forging an excellent reputation for herself.”

She has also been nominated as the Technology, Data and Crypto Junior of the Year in the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2023.

Notable cases in which Chloë has been involved:

• Payward Inc v Chechetkin [2023] EWHC 1780 (Comm) Chloë successfully challenged the enforceability of a Californian arbitration award made in favour of the Kraken cryptoasset exchange on the rare ground of public policy. It is the first challenge of its kind in the cryptoasset space in the English jurisdiction. This enabled her client to pursue his claim against the Kraken exchange under FSMA 2000 in the English courts which is also the first claim of this nature filed in English courts.
• Chechetkin v Payward Ltd [2022] EWHC 3057 (Ch) Chloë successfully resisted Payward Ltd’s challenge the jurisdiction of the English High Court under CPR Part 11.
• Group claims against crypto exchanges (ongoing) Chloë is instructed by hundreds of claimants bringing claims for breach of FSMA 2000 and FCA Handbook rules by crypto exchanges for providing financial products to investors in breach of the general prohibition and rules on financial promotions.
• Injunctive relief Chloë regularly appears in injunction proceedings (for claimants and defendants) in cases involving digital assets. She is regularly instructed on freezing and proprietary injunctions, disclosure orders and applications for permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction. Notable injunction cases include:
  • Tai Mo Shan Limited v Oazo Apps Limited (6 March 2023, Commercial Court): Chloë acted for Oazo Apps in which the applicant sought a mandatory injunction requiring code to be written to transfer stolen cryptocurrency to a trust wallet held by the victim’s solicitors.
  • Ellis v Digit Europe Limited (CL-2021-000753): Chloë was junior counsel for a defendant in one of the first contested injunction return dates involving allegations of a multi-million pound cryptocurrency fraud. In a last minute change of position the claimant agreed to withdraw its application against Chloë’s client and to discontinue the claim against it.
  • Mr Dollar Bill Limited v Huobi (unreported, 14 January 2022, Chancery Division): Chloë obtained one of the first delivery up orders of Bitcoin held in a Huobi wallet for the victim of a crypto fraud.
  • Lubin Betancourt Reyes (2) Custodial Management Solutions v (1)-(3) Persons Unknown (4) Tether Holdings Limited (5) Binance Holdings Limited (unreported, April 2021, London Circuit Commercial Court): Chloë acted as sole counsel and successfully obtained a worldwide freezing order and an asset preservation order against Persons Unknown together with permission to serve out of the jurisdiction and by alternative means. She also successfully obtained a Norwich Pharmacal and Banker’s Trust Order together with permission to serve out of the jurisdiction and by alternative means against D4 and D5. The case concerned the misappropriation of USD Tether by Persons Unknown 
  • Ms C v HSBC (Financial Ombudsman Service, DRN-840917): Chloë successfully obtained compensation on behalf of her client from HSBC for breach resulting from a cryptoasset related APP fraud on the basis of Quincecare principles before the FOS: Financial Ombudsman Decision
• Taxation of cryptoassets: in her capacity as a member of the Attorney General’s C Panel of counsel Chloë has advised HMRC on the application of capital gains tax to cryptoassets.
•  Advisory matters: Chloë regularly advises entities providing digital asset products and facilities facing litigation and individual investors. Notable advisory work has included:
  • The prospects of successfully obtaining a freezing injunction in a group crypto fraud case.
  • The impact of the de-centralised structure of digital asset entities and the impact of such structures on traditional English legal principles and litigation.
  • The FCA’s regulatory perimeter as it applies to cryptoassets.
  • The likely remedies available to claimants for breaches of FSMA 2000 involving cryptoassets.
  • Jurisdiction and law applicable to various cryptoasset disputes.
  • The enforceability of boiler plate clauses in cryptoasset exchange general terms of service.

Chloë has also advised foreign jurisdictions on appropriate reforms to their laws to facilitate the integration of cryptoassets into their financial systems.

Chloë not only acts as an advocate in cases before the English courts, but she is heavily involved in academic discussion and consultations concerning the development of English law on cryptoassets. She led COMBAR and the Chancery Bar Association’s Response to the Law Commissions recent consultation on digital assets, she is regularly invited to speak at conferences on digital assets and has written various articles on challenging topics in this area.

Chloë is the co-author (with Hodge Malek KC and James Potts) of the forthcoming chapter on Cryptoassets in The Law of Financial Services (OUP, forthcoming).

Chloë sits on the Steering Committee of the Tech Disputes Network.

Chloë is ranked as a leading junior in Pensions in Chambers and Partners and Legal 500:

“She delivers very good service, she was fully plugged in very quickly and she was quick to get into the team.”

“Chloë has a super-sized brain”

“Chloë is very intelligent and user-friendly. She is a pleasure to work with and gets on top of issues very quickly”.

Her pensions practice includes a number of matters before domestic courts and tribunals as well as international courts.

Chloë has experience in a wide range of pensions matters including cases raising issues of equalisation, rectification, professional negligence, construction of trust documents, Courage fetters, section 75 debts and Pensions Ombudsman proceedings.

Examples of Chloë’s recent cases include:

• Beckmann, Proctor & Gamble claims (ongoing): Chloë is instructed for a number of claimants who are claiming rights to redundancy payments under TUPE and the Beckmann line of case-law. Chloë’s expertise in EU law makes her well placed to advise on these claims and other aspects of pensions law which interact with European law frameworks.
• Trustees of the Leggett & Platt Pension Assurance Scheme (2022): Chloë was junior counsel to Farhaz Khan KC in a professional negligence claim relating to the closure of a scheme and the preservation of the final salary link. Settled prior to trial.
• Re Atos Railways Pension Scheme (2021): Chloë was instructed as junior counsel in a Part 8 claim raising issues of construction of the Railways Pension Scheme established under the Railways Act 1993.
• Re LMPA (2021): as junior counsel to Richard Hitchcock KC Chloë successfully obtained an order for rectification in a claim relating to the closure of a defined benefit scheme to future accrual.
• Mr Robin Phillips & 69 Others v Edwards Limited (2020): as junior counsel to Richard Hitchcock KC and Lydia Seymour Chloë was instructed in a case concerning the scope of the exclusion of pension rights transferring under the TUPE Regulations and its interaction with redundancy benefits contained in a pension scheme. Settled before trial.
• Briggs & ors v Clay & ors (2019): Chloë was junior counsel to Ben Hubble KC and Saaman Pourghadiri in a £60,000,000 multi-party professional negligence claim listed for an 8-week trial arising from the judgment of Newey J in Re Gleeds [2014] EWHC 1178 (Ch). Settled on day one of trial.
• C-171/18 Safeway v Newton & Ors EU:C:2019:839: Chloë was junior counsel to Andrew Short KC and Michael Uberoi in the Court of Justice of the European Union (Luxembourg) concerning the retrospective levelling down and equalisation of pension benefits.
• Advisory matters: Chloë regularly provides advice on a range of pension matters, including government pension schemes.

Chloë’s expertise in pensions law provides a solid grounding in commercial trusts and general chancery law. She is therefore well-equipped to advise and appear in general chancery matters, including insolvency.

Examples of Chloë’s experience in these areas includes:

• Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Sohail Jazz Shahzad (CR-2023-004714) (ongoing): Chloë is instructed for the Secretary of State in director’s disqualification proceedings.
• In the matter of Miller Harris Limited (In Administration) (CR-2020-003542): Chloë was instructed to appear in the ICC to apply validate an administrator’s appointment in reliance on the Tokenhouse VB [2020] EWHC 3171 (Ch) line of case-law.
• Interim applications: Chloë regularly appears in the Chancery Division interim applications list to obtain injunctive relief.
• Advisory matters: Chloë has advised liquidators of an insolvent company on the interaction of their duties with restitution orders under section 382 of FSMA 2000.

Chloë gained vast experience in public law matters at the highest level as a judicial assistant at the UK Supreme Court.

Since returning to chambers she has been appointed by the Attorney General to the C Panel of Civil Counsel.

Chloë is particularly interested in cases where public law principles and private/commercial interests intersect and the public law analysis of the interaction between different regulatory regimes.

Chloë has significant expertise in cases with a European or international element due to her experience at the Court of Justice at the European Union. She has had her academic work on the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the EU cited by the Court of Justice of the European Union:

• C Bell and N Bačić Selanec ‘Who is a “spouse” under the Citizens’ Rights Directive? The prospect of mutual recognition of same-sex marriages in the EU’ (2016) European Law Review 655-686, cited with approval by AG Wathelet in C-673/16 Coman EU:C:2018:2, paragraph 80.

Examples of Chloë’s cases include:

• SSWP v Mr RP (2021): Chloë acted as sole counsel for the SSWP. She successfully obtained a final anti-harassment injunction against Mr RP and an order for service by alternative means.
• C-624/19 Tesco Stores EU:C:2019:624 (2021): Chloë appeared as junior counsel to Keith Bryant KC, Naomi Cunningham and Stephen Butler in a case before the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning whether the principle of equal pay for male and female workers can be relied upon directly in respect of ‘equal work’ and ‘work of equal value’.
• Lee v Ashers Baking Co Ltd [2018] UKSC 49: Chloë assisted Sarah Crowther KC as a pupil and separately sat on this case as a judicial assistant , concerning the right of a bakery to refuse to bake a cake with the slogan ‘support gay marriage’.
• In the Matter of an Application by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission of Judicial Review (Northern Ireland)[2018] UKSC 27: as a judicial assistant, Chloë sat on this case which concerned the law of abortion in Northern Ireland and whether it was incompatible with Articles 3, 8 and/or 14 ECHR
• R (on the application of Black) v Secretary of State for Justice [2017] UKSC 81: Chloë sat on this case as a judicial assistant, concerning the application of the smoking ban in prisons.
• R (on the application of Tag Eldin Ramadan Bashir and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] UKSC 47: Chloë sat as a judicial assistant in this case, concerning the application of the Refugee Convention to refugees residing in UK Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus.