Gretel Scott
Call: 2021; 2018 (Solicitor)
Practice Overview
Gretel is a dynamic barrister practising in all areas of commercial law. This includes civil fraud, banking, and commercial litigation and arbitration, but also art and cultural property law, insolvency and soft intellectual property. Gretel’s recent instructions range from freezing injunctions and jurisdiction challenges in large cases involving allegations of fraud, to a variety of ongoing enforcement action in the High Court, and trials in the County Courts.
Gretel is equally confident acting as sole counsel, and as part of a team. She was previously a solicitor at Slaughter and May in the Disputes and Investigations team and has been seconded to a leading regional firm and a law firm in Germany, so she understands client pressures and building a good rapport.
Before transferring to the Bar, Gretel spent a year as the judicial assistant to Lord Briggs in the Supreme Court and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. This sparked an interest in appellate work and she was delighted to return to the Supreme Court (led by Andrew Sutcliffe KC and William Day) in the Brake case ([2023] UKSC 29).
Gretel maintains a keen academic interest in the Law and enjoys writing articles or giving talks where she can. She studied law at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford and received scholarships at both.
Gretel also supports pro bono initiatives. This last year, she has represented litigants in person in the High Court as part of the CLIPS and Company Insolvency schemes and advised an individual on a shipping dispute through Advocate.
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration
In addition to the cases below, Gretel is experienced in large multi-party litigation, having been on the Trucks litigation (representing MAN) as an associate at Slaughter and May. She is currently instructed by one of the Claimant groups in the ongoing Glencore litigation and was previously involved with a different s.90A FSMA claim.
- Acting for a broker dealer in a multi-party dispute defending allegations of a US$400m stock-backed lending fraud (ongoing; Salinas & Anor v Astor Asset Management 3 & Ors [2024] EWHC 2522 (Comm) – various defendants’ application to set aside worldwide freezing and proprietary injunctions)
- Tribunal assistant in an ICC arbitration governed by Swiss law (ongoing)
- Libyan Investment Authority v King [2023] EWHC 265 (Ch) – 5-week trial in the High Court (led by Andrew Onslow KC and Kate Holderness) concerning a joint venture and allegations of fraud in a property investment
- Acting for a specialist pipeline company in a claim for unpaid invoices and defending a counterclaim for various alleged breaches of the contract (Guernsey, settled successfully at mediation in January 2024)
- Advising on a contractual dispute arising out of a development management agreement for a construction project (settled successfully at mediation in March 2024)
- Various County Court applications for an energy company
- Andrew v Flywheel IT Services Ltd [2021] EWHC 3746 (Comm) – resisting a stay of execution of a judgment debt (as a pupil, with Andrew Onslow KC)
Banking and Financial Markets
- The Glencore plc Litigation – acting for one of the Claimant groups in a ss.90 and 90A FSMA claim based on alleged misstatements in and omissions from Glencore’s prospectuses and published information (ongoing, led by David Mumford KC and Philip Hinks)
- Various County Court hearings related to payment protection insurance (PPI) claims
- Acting for the defendant in a dispute concerning matched principal brokerage services and claims in contract, deceit, misrepresentation and conspiracy (led by Farhaz Khan KC and Kate Holderness, settled at trial)
- Resisting a strike out for a limitation bar in a group litigation claim under section 90A FSMA (as a pupil, with Peter de Verneuil Smith KC)
Civil Fraud and Asset Tracing
- Acting for a broker dealer in a multi-party dispute defending allegations of a US$400m stock-backed lending fraud (ongoing; Salinas & Anor v Astor Asset Management 3 & Ors [2024] EWHC 2522 (Comm))
- Worldwide freezing injunction, cross-examination on assets and various other enforcement action to enforce a judgment debt obtained in the High Court (ChD) (ongoing, with James Potts). Next Generation Holdings Ltd v Finch [2024] EWHC 927 (Ch) (third-party debt order, solicitors’ lien and set-off, unled)
- Ajayi v Ebury Partners Limited (Commercial Court, ongoing, led by Jamie Riley KC) – defending a claim to set aside a judgment for fraud
- Guy v Foster (Commercial Court, led by William Day) – acting for the purchaser of a rural estate and wedding business in Dorset in an £18m deceit claim against the seller
- Libyan Investment Authority v King [2023] EWHC 265 (Ch) – 5-week trial in the High Court, Chancery Division (led by Andrew Onslow KC and Kate Holderness) concerning a joint venture and allegations of fraud in a property investment
- Tinkler v Esken Ltd (formerly Stobart Group Ltd) [2022] EWHC 1375 (Ch) – 10-day trial in the High Court acting for Mr Tinkler in his claim to set aside for fraud the judgment obtained by Esken Limited (as a pupil, supervised by James McWilliams)
Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law
- Brake v The Chedington Court Estate Ltd [2023] UKSC 29– acting for The Chedington Court Estate Ltd in its successful appeal to the Supreme Court (led by Andrew Sutcliffe KC and William Day) concerning standing under section 303(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986
- Winding up petition in the Companies Court
- Application to set aside a statutory demand
Art Law
- Advising an auction house on a possible contractual claim (ongoing)
- Acting for an auction house in a contractual claim against a seller (settled)
- Feilding v Simon C Dickinson Ltd [2022] EWHC 3091 (Ch) – 7-day trial in the High Court (led by Andrew Onslow KC) acting for the trustees of the Wemyss Heirlooms Trust concerning a claim in professional negligence against an art dealer
Insurance and Reinsurance
- Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd [2020] EWHC 2448 (Comm) – acting for one of the defendant insurers in a test case under the Financial Markets Test Case Scheme concerning business interruption insurance and Covid-19 (at Slaughter and May)
Conflict of Laws
- Joyvio Group & Ors v Moreno & Ors [2024] EWHC 2493 (Comm) (led by Tim Penny KC, Jack Watson and William Day) – acting for Chinese food conglomerate responding to a jurisdiction challenge in a $1bn fraud claim arising from acquisition of Chilean salmon farm business
Intellectual Property
- easyGroup Limited v Easy Hotel Wi-Fi Ltd & Ors (High Court, ChD) – obtaining an order for default judgment including declaratory and injunctive relief against the Defendants in a claim for trade mark infringement and passing off
- Acting for a hospitality company in a claim for breach of a franchise agreement (ongoing)
