Our barristers have extensive experience advising and acting in disputes involving financial derivatives, structured products, and spread‑betting arrangements. This is a technically demanding area of financial services law, where market practice, regulatory obligations, and complex contractual frameworks intersect. We provide specialist advocacy and advisory support across the full spectrum of derivative instruments and leveraged trading products.
Expertise
We can act in matters concerning:
- Exchange-traded and OTC derivatives, including options, futures, forwards, swaps, credit derivatives, and bespoke structured products.
- Spread betting and contracts for difference (CFDs), particularly disputes arising from margin calls, liquidations, mispricing, and platform failures.
- ISDA documentation, including the interpretation and enforcement of Master Agreements, Credit Support Annexes, close-out provisions, and early‑termination calculations.
- Regulatory issues, including compliance with the FCA Handbook, MiFID II, EMIR, and conduct‑of‑business requirements relevant to derivative trading and retail leveraged products.
- Broker‑client disputes, including allegations of misrepresentation, negligent execution, failure to warn, and breach of statutory duties.
- Market abuse and insider dealing investigations where derivative trading activity is under scrutiny.
- Jurisdiction and conflict‑of‑laws issues, particularly in cross-border derivative transactions and multi-jurisdictional enforcement.
Our Approach
We combine deep technical knowledge of financial markets with clear, strategic advice. Our barristers regularly act for:
• Investment banks
• Hedge funds and asset managers
• Spread‑betting and CFD providers
• Proprietary trading firms
• High‑net‑worth individuals and sophisticated retail clients
• Insolvency practitioners and office‑holders
We are experienced in litigation before the High Court, arbitration under major institutional rules, and regulatory proceedings before the FCA and other supervisory bodies. Members of chambers are also frequently instructed at an early stage to advise on risk management, documentation, and potential exposure arising from volatile market conditions.
Recent Work
S v T Ltd (2024) – a $4.3m cross-border dispute arising from a foreign exchange brokerage agreement being heard in the London Circuit Commercial Court. The case raised extremely complex issues of financial regulation, market manipulation, proprietary rights, and contractual interpretation, as well as several procedural issues, including disclosure in the Business & Property Courts under practice direction 57AD, injunctive relief, and security for costs.
I v X Ltd (2024) – acting for a major spread-betting platform in a dispute with a former customer raising questions of breach of contract and discrimination in circumstances where the customer’s account was closed following concerning disclosures made and allegations that this caused the customer loss.
Quinn v IG Index Ltd [2018] EWHC 2478 (Ch) – Best interests – Breach of duty of care – Financial spread betting – financial traders – Risk assessment
Ehrentreu v IG Index Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 79 – Breach of contract – Causation – Duty of care – Economic harm – Financial spread betting
IG Index Ltd v Ehrentreu [2015] EWHC 3390 (QB) – Breach of contract – Breach of statutory duty – Causation – Contributory negligence – Counterclaims – Financial spread betting – Mitigation
IG Index Ltd v Cloete [2014] EWCA Civ 1128 – Abuse of process – Confidential information – Delivery up – Disclosure – Implied undertakings – Permission – Retrospective permission – Striking out
IG Index Ltd v Aryeh Ehrentreu (2013) [2013] EWCA Civ 95 – Court of Appeal — Spread Betting – settlement agreement- rights of equitable set off- breach of statutory duty
IG Index plc v James Colley & 15 ors (2013) [2013] EWHC 478 -HC — Breach of fiduciary duty; Dishonest assistance; Employees’ duties; Financial spread betting; Financial traders; Fraud
IG Index plc v Leung-Cheun (2011) [2011] EWHC 2212 (QB) — Agreements; Contracts for differences; Interpretation; Investment management; Spread betting