PCB Litigation
UK
Nick Ractliff is a commercial litigator specialising in fraud and asset recovery work involving freezing orders, search order and disclosure orders acting for banks, corporations, public bodies and private individuals in conducting large, high value and complicated litigation and arbitration in both the English and international forums.
In the last five years, Nick’s work has included acting for:
· An overseas bank in seeking to enforce in England a foreign judgment worth approximately £200,000 million involving obtaining worldwide freezing orders and enforcing them across 7 jurisdictions, summary judgment on the back of the foreign judgment and taking steps to enforce the judgment including seeking draconian orders to inspect electronic devices seized as part of the enforcement process;
· An overseas investment company listed on the London Stock Exchange in the pursuit of a US$450million claim through the English Courts involving allegations of fraud, search orders and freezing and third party disclosure orders in four different jurisdictions;
· A Middle Eastern Investment Banker in the defence of a claim by his former employers for damages of US$ 500 million for conspiracy to injure and defamation involving a successful application to have a freezing order discharged on grounds of material non disclosure;
· For an private businessman in (i) an ICC Arbitration in a claim worth approximately US$20 million in a shareholder dispute arising out of joint venture with an overseas bank and (ii) a LCIA arbitration in a claim worth proximately US$25 million in connection with the misappropriation of shares in a substantial retail park investment;
· An foreign bank in seeking to enforce foreign judgments worth approximately £25 million against assets based in England involving applying for and obtaining in this jurisdiction freezing orders and draconian disclosure orders to establish the judgment debtor’s beneficial ownership of those assets, and subsequently obtaining judgment in England, an orders for the committal of the judgment debtor for non-disclosure of assets and the seeking to enforce the judgment by breaking down the asset structure with the appointment of a court receiver;
· A private individual in the defence of claim for approximately £120 million in connection with the ownership of shares in the London Stock Exchange listed company.
Prior to joining PCB Litigation, amongst other things, he acted for a London Borough in connection with a claim arising out of the largest recorded fraud committed by a local government employee that involved freezing injunctions, third party disclosure applications, the appointment and management of Court Receivers and Administrators in the successful recovery of a significant proportion of the proceeds of the fraud.
In other areas of commercial litigation Nick has particular experience in and acted for a number of clients in shareholder disputes including a private client and his family’s interests in a £100 million claim in the Hong Kong Courts.
He graduated from Exeter University with an Economics Degree before converting to law at Chester and Guildford Law Schools. He joined PCB Litigation in September 2009 and has worked previously for two City of London firms ranked in the top 100.
Nick is also a member of the Commercial Fraud Lawyers Association and the London Solicitors Litigation Association.
