Sam O'Leary

Sam O’Leary is a leading commercial junior with considerable trial experience in both litigation and arbitration. He has broad expertise in commercial disputes; civil fraud; interlocutory applications and injunctions; company and shareholder litigation; banking and finance and energy disputes. He is highly regarded for his advocacy, industry and responsiveness to clients.

Increasingly instructed as lead advocate in commercial disputes, Sam appeared in the Commercial Court and the Court of Appeal in Gorbachev v Guryev (jurisdiction of the English court over foreign nationals in relation to non-party disclosure); for Knight Frank in the Home Long Investment Fund dispute; and as lead advocate in the ICC arbitration of a contractual dispute relating to the marketing of helicopters to the Ministry of Defence of an Asian nation.

Sam has substantial experience of large-scale litigation. He has acted for the Danish tax office in the massive SKAT v Solo Capital Partners LLP litigation (led by Laurie Rabinowitz KC) and for the Republic of Greece in a dispute relating to the buyback of Greece’s GDP-linked securities. Other recent cases include: Komoto Copper v Africa Horizons Investments (anti-suit injunction relating to mining contract); Re Edwardian Group Limited (shareholder action relating to a £1bn hotel business); The RBS Rights Issue Litigation (acting for RBS in £4bn claim under s 90 FSMA); Dana Gas PJSC v Dana Gas Sukuk Ltd (validity of a $850m Islamic Finance structure); and Re Charterhouse Capital Limited (six-week trial and subsequent appeal relating to the management buy-out of a leading private equity house).