John Nicholls QC 1986 (QC 2006)

jnicholls@maitlandchambers.com

Profile

John has acted in numerous high-profile cases, most of which have had an emphasis on professional negligence, fraud/asset recovery, banking or commercial contracts. Those cases have involved him acting for, amongst others, Sting (in litigation arising from the activities of his former accountant), Price Waterhouse UK (in defending proceedings brought by the liquidators of BCCI) and Coopers & Lybrand (Singapore) (in defending proceedings brought by the liquidators of Barings).

Heavy commercial disputes in which John has been instructed in the last few years include the litigation between Cambridge Antibody Technology Ltd and Abbott Laboratories concerning contractual construction and rectification against a complex patent background; the claim brought by Scottish & Newcastle PLC against PricewaterhouseCoopers in respect of the latter's work as management consultants in connection with the "supply chain"; and the contractual claim brought by GlaxoSmithKline against Abbott Laboratories for royalties under certain patent licence agreements. Most recently, John has been acting for RBS in its claim for anti-suit relief against the Highland group of companies.

John's work has seen him engaged in relation to matters as diverse as telecommunications and aspects of sports law. It has also involved him travelling to the Cayman Islands and to Singapore. In addition, he has acted in a number of disciplinary proceedings, including before accountants' disciplinary tribunals (Astra Holdings PLC, Resort Hotels PLC).

John is currently working on a number of confidential matters, including concerning the aftermath of the discovery of a massive 'Ponzi' fraud and complaints arising from the selling of interest rate hedging products.

Other Notable Reported Cases

In the matter of the interventions into the Solicitors' practices known as Ahmed & Co & others
Money Markets International v London Stock Exchange
Electra v KPMG
Morgan Crucible v Hill Samuel
Zockoll v Mercury Communications Ltd
ISC v Guerin
R v Football Association, ex p Football League

Memberships
Chancery Bar Association
COMBAR

Qualifications
BA (Cantab) First Class