Devon Airey

Practice Overview

Devon specialises in civil fraud and asset recovery, commercial litigation and arbitration, and banking and financial services disputes. She is regularly instructed in high-profile, complex matters before the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, including the motor finance commission litigation, Gibson v TSE Malta LP, and the seven-week unlawful means conspiracy trial in G I Globinvest Ltd (& Ors) v XY ERS UK Ltd (& Ors) [2025] EWHC 740 (Comm).

Devon also has extensive experience as sole counsel. Recent instructions include: acting for a lender in a £1 million claim for breach of a loan agreement; appearing in a two-day arbitration concerning a contractual dispute; defending gambling operators in claims of statutory illegality and breach of contract and tortious duties; and defending a worldwide freezing order, appearing against King’s Counsel.

Recent highlights include:

• Gibson v TSE Malta LP t/a Betfair [2024] EWHC 2900 (Comm) and appeal: defending a gambling operator in claims for breach of contract, statutory duty, negligence, knowing receipt and unjust enrichment (led by Jonathan Davies-Jones KC and Sarah Tulip).
• R (Clydesdale Financial Services Limited) v Financial Ombudsman Service: acting in a Court of Appeal intervention concerning judicial review of a FOS decision on motor finance commissions (led by Farhaz Khan KC and James Potts).
• G I Globinvest Ltd (& Ors) v XY ERS UK Ltd (& Ors) [2025] EWHC 740 (Comm): acting for the successful defendant companies in a €47m conspiracy to defraud claim arising from investments in an alternative investment fund.
• Stein v Jaffe [2025] EWHC 2334 (Comm): acting for the successful defendant in a breach of trust claim connected to major commercial and political events in Russia and high-profile Russian litigation in the UK (led by Lisa Lacob).
• Re Arena Television: representing liquidators in a £265m claim arising out of a large-scale asset-based lending fraud by the former directors of the Arena TV group (led by Lance Ashworth KC and Will Day).
• Gill v Sweett: acting for defendant companies in claims concerning alleged bonus underpayments (led by Kate Holderness).
• Equity Real Estate (Bracknell) Ltd & Ors v Capstan Capital Partners LLP & Ors: acting for claimant SPVs in a complex property fraud involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt.

Devon writes widely on commercial law. Her recent and forthcoming publications include chapters in Politics, Policy and Private Law (Hart, 2023), Fraud and Risk in Commercial Law (Hart, 2024), and Mandatory and Default Rules in Contract and Commercial Law (Hart, 2025). She co-edited the chapter on “Financial Regulation in Commercial Disputes” in the forthcoming edition of Financial Services Law (Walker, Hodge & Purves) alongside Farhaz Khan KC, and co-authored A Practical Guide to Financial Ombudsman Service Claims with Adam Temple. She also contributes regularly to Westlaw’s Practical Law with Hodge Malek KC, Catherine Gibaud KC, Yash Bheeroo and Ravi Jackson.

Devon was formerly a Bye-Fellow in Law at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, where she supervised Equity and Trusts. Before joining 3VB, she worked at Goldman Sachs, supporting the EMEA CEO and Chairman on regulatory affairs, business strategy and client relations.

She read Law at the University of Cambridge, graduating with First Class Honours and ranking 3rd out of 212 students. She is a scholar of Lincoln’s Inn and achieved a Distinction in her bar studies.