Litigation tracker: Holman Fenwick tops Commercial Court rankings

Holman Fenwick Willan was the most active firm in the Commercial Court in 2016, according to The Lawyer Court Rankings 2016.

The firm spent 48 days in the court last year, while Stephenson Harwood and boutique firm Byrne & Partners both spent 32 days.

Holman Fenwick takes the top place with 12 occasions. In its longest case, lasting 11 days, it represented Credit Suisse in a diesel sale contractual dispute with Euro-Asian Oil. In addition, the firm also advised Bangladesh private sector bank AB Bank and FTSE 100 energy giants BP and Glencore.

Stephenson Harwood acted on ten cases across its 32 days, while Byrne & Partners’ 32 days in court spanned only two cases. Its longest lasted 27 days in which it advised businessman Abdourahman Boreh in an action brought by the Republic of Djibouti concerning the awarding of a number of construction contracts.

Slaughter and May spent 28 days in the Commercial Court last year working across four cases. The longest was a 24-day case in which the firm advised Portuguese bank Banco Santander Totta which was in dispute with four Portuguese transport companies.

Fifth placed Norton Rose Fulbright acted on seven cases spanning 27 days. The firm’s clients included QBE Underwriting and US mining company Gold Reserve.

In addition to making the most appearances of any firm, Holman Fenwick’s 12 cases also make it the top instructed firm together with Clyde & Co. The latter acted for six energy companies, including PetroSaudi Oil and former Anglo-Swiss mining company Xstrata. Among its financial clients was AXA Corporate Solutions.

Hogan Lovells advised on the third highest number of cases after representing clients on 11 occasions totalling 19 hearing days, while Stephenson Harwood’s 10 cases totalling 32 days, ranks it in fourth. Herbert Smith Freehills picked up the fifth most instructions after advising clients in nine cases spanning 18 days.

There were 129 cases totalling 370 case days that reached judgment in the Commercial Court in 2016. Over a third (36 per cent) of claimants in the court were bank­ing and financial services companies. A further 22 per cent were logistics and transport companies while 16 per cent were energy and natural resources organisations.

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