Giles Wheeler KC

Practice Areas

Giles is routinely instructed in a wide range of substantial commercial litigation and arbitration. His experience covers substantial banking disputes (including mis-selling cases, the Quincecare duty, crypto currency and other fintech disputes, derivatives and POCA matters), civil fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of director’s duty claims, regulatory matters, and professional negligence (with a particular emphasis on finance-oriented professions). Giles is comfortable in handling technically complex matters and disputes involving expert evidence.

Giles often works on cases with an international dimension and regularly advises on jurisdiction and foreign enforcement issues. He has experience of litigation governed by foreign law (including experience of arguing foreign law points in the Court of Appeal). Giles also has experience of being instructed as an expert witness in foreign litigation and has given oral evidence on English law and civil procedure in a jury trial in the US District Court. Giles also routinely advises on matters relating to the professional conduct of solicitors and acts in proceedings before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

Recent work

Giles recent and ongoing work includes: Houssein v London Credit Ltd in the Court of Appeal, in which Giles successfully challenged the trial judge’s finding that the default interest rate on a loan was an unenforceable penalty; Harrop v Skipton Building Society, in which Giles appeared for the Respondent in an important appeal concerning a challenge to the enforceability of settlements of PPI claims reached in accordance with FCA guidance; JP SPC 4 v Royal Bank of Scotland International [2022] 3 WLR 261, in which Giles successfully resisted an appeal to the Privy Council concerning whether the bank owed to the beneficiary of a trust account a duty of care in tort equivalent to the contractual Quincecare duty; acting for the defendants to a substantial civil fraud claim arising from their work as investment managers; defending numerous interest rate swap mis-selling and LIBOR manipulation claims; acting and advising on several Fintech related disputes, including a highly-technical cryptocurrency related dispute; several guarantee claims; and a wide variety of general commercial litigation. Other substantial claims in which Giles has been instructed include acting for the Claimant in Bluewaters v Ecclestone (and others), a claim for over US$100m raising allegations of bribery in connection with the sale of commercial control of Formula One motor racing; Montvale Invest v Terra Raf Trans Traiding Ltd, a claim by a liquidator in respect of intra-group debts against the former director and another group company; the trial of a director’s breach of duty claim in Guernsey arising out of the collapse of the Arch-Cru investment funds; acting for a multi-national company defending a claim at trial for over £10m for breach of a software distribution agreement; defending a substantial claim for the mis-selling of a fixed rate loan (including allegations that fixed rate loans are regulated as contracts for differences), which settled on the eve of trial; Goldman Sachs International v Videocon Global Ltd [2016] 1 CLC 528, a leading Court of Appeal decision on the interpretation of the close-out provisions of the 1992 ISDA Master Agreement; SPL v Arch Financial Products LLP and Farrell [2014] EWHC 4268 (Comm), acting for investment funds in pursuing a claim for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty against their former investment manager (and claims of dishonest assistance against its principal) which was entrusted with the management of assets in excess of US$150m.

Career

Called to the bar by Middle Temple, 1998; took silk in 2020. In practice at Fountain Court Chambers since the completion of pupillage.

Professional Memberships

COMBAR, LCLCBA.

Personal

St Olave’s Grammar School; Pembroke College, Cambridge University (1996 BA; 1997 LLM).