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Alexander Halban

Alexander Halban

Call: 2009

Barrister

"Alexander is very approachable and highly responsive. He shows good attention to detail and has very good drafting skills."

Chambers & Partners 2024

"Alexander is a stellar junior. He works equally well on cases on his own right, and also when being led. His quality of work, both written and oral, is first-rate."

Legal 500, Civil Fraud

"He is a tactical genius and someone who displays amazing attention to detail.”

Chambers & Partners, Commercial Dispute Resolution

"Very smart and responsive, he is a rising star of the Bar."

Chambers & Partners, Commercial Dispute Resolution

"An incredibly able advocate who quickly and succinctly identifies and deploys the salient points in a very effective and engaging manner which always has the ear of the court."

Legal 500, Commercial Litigation

"Incredibly user-friendly, very responsive and someone with excellent attention to detail, he punches above his weight and is a pleasure to work with."

Chambers & Partners, Commercial Dispute Resolution

"Alexander has extreme attention to detail and is extremely helpful. He is always willing to take an extra step to offer assistance and guidance, not only to the clients but to solicitors as well."

Legal 500, Commercial Litigation

"Alexander is extremely thorough and is always on top of the detail. Alexander combines careful attention to detail with skilful analysis of the commercial reality of the matter to provide the most appropriate advice in all the circumstances."

Legal 500, Civil Fraud

"Alexander has extreme attention to detail and is extremely helpful."

Legal 500, Company

"Very pragmatic and very commercially minded."

Chambers & Partners, Commercial Dispute Resolution

"He cross-examines well, makes strong points and is much in demand as he speaks Russian."

Chambers & Partners, Commercial Dispute Resolution

"A real all-rounder – extremely bright and versatile, with excellent drafting skills."

Legal 500, Civil Fraud

"Incredibly impressive junior, he has a sense of judgment that exceeds his call, which means he gets to the heart of the issue – Russian language skills are a plus but as an all-round junior, he has been phenomenal."

Legal 500, Commercial Litigation

"Bright, produces excellent documents, and has a firm but pleasant courtroom manner, he also has a USP: he speaks fluent Russian, meaning that he is a natural choice for the wave of CIS litigation making its way through the Commercial Court at present."

Legal 500, Civil Fraud

Alexander Halban

"Alexander is very approachable and highly responsive. He shows good attention to detail and has very good drafting skills."

Chambers & Partners 2024

"Alexander is a stellar junior. He works equally well on cases on his own right, and also when being led. His quality of work, both written and oral, is first-rate."

Legal 500, Civil Fraud

"He is a tactical genius and someone who displays amazing attention to detail.”

Chambers & Partners, Commercial Dispute Resolution

"Very smart and responsive, he is a rising star of the Bar."

Chambers & Partners, Commercial Dispute Resolution

"An incredibly able advocate who quickly and succinctly identifies and deploys the salient points in a very effective and engaging manner which always has the ear of the court."

Legal 500, Commercial Litigation

"Incredibly user-friendly, very responsive and someone with excellent attention to detail, he punches above his weight and is a pleasure to work with."

Chambers & Partners, Commercial Dispute Resolution

"Alexander has extreme attention to detail and is extremely helpful. He is always willing to take an extra step to offer assistance and guidance, not only to the clients but to solicitors as well."

Legal 500, Commercial Litigation

"Alexander is extremely thorough and is always on top of the detail. Alexander combines careful attention to detail with skilful analysis of the commercial reality of the matter to provide the most appropriate advice in all the circumstances."

Legal 500, Civil Fraud

"Alexander has extreme attention to detail and is extremely helpful."

Legal 500, Company

"Very pragmatic and very commercially minded."

Chambers & Partners, Commercial Dispute Resolution

"He cross-examines well, makes strong points and is much in demand as he speaks Russian."

Chambers & Partners, Commercial Dispute Resolution

"A real all-rounder – extremely bright and versatile, with excellent drafting skills."

Legal 500, Civil Fraud

"Incredibly impressive junior, he has a sense of judgment that exceeds his call, which means he gets to the heart of the issue – Russian language skills are a plus but as an all-round junior, he has been phenomenal."

Legal 500, Commercial Litigation

"Bright, produces excellent documents, and has a firm but pleasant courtroom manner, he also has a USP: he speaks fluent Russian, meaning that he is a natural choice for the wave of CIS litigation making its way through the Commercial Court at present."

Legal 500, Civil Fraud

Contact

Alexander practises in a broad range of commercial disputes – including commercial contracts, civil fraud and asset tracing, company and shareholder disputes, insolvency, and international arbitration.

Many of Alexander’s cases have an international element, involving jurisdiction challenges, conflicts of laws issues, and claims brought under foreign law. He regularly appears in applications for freezing orders and other injunctive relief. He also has experiences in disputes involving cryptocurrency.

Alexander is a fluent Russian speaker and has a particular expertise in Russian and CIS disputes. He also has experience of litigation in many other jurisdictions, especially the major offshore centres – the BVI, Cyprus, the DIFC and Singapore. He also speaks fluent French.

Alexander is recommended as a leading commercial practitioner. Chambers & Partners ranks him as a leading junior in Commercial Dispute Resolution and Legal 500 in Commercial Litigation, Civil Fraud and Company Law. Recent feedback includes:

“Alexander is a stellar junior. He works equally well on cases on his own right, and also when being led. His quality of work, both written and oral, is first-rate.” (Legal 500 2024, Civil Fraud)

“He is a tactical genius and someone who displays amazing attention to detail.” (Chambers & Partners 2023, Commercial Dispute Resolution)

‘Alexander has extreme attention to detail and is extremely helpful. He is always willing to take an extra step to offer assistance and guidance, not only to the clients but to solicitors as well(Legal 500 2023, Commercial Litigation)

‘Alexander is extremely thorough and is always on top of the detail. Alexander combines careful attention to detail with skilful analysis of the commercial reality of the matter to provide the most appropriate advice in all the circumstances.’ (Legal 500 2023, Civil Fraud)

‘Alexander has extreme attention to detail and is extremely helpful.’ (Legal 500 2023, Company)

An incredibly able advocate who quickly and succinctly identifies and deploys the salient points in a very effective and engaging manner which always has the ear of the court’ (Legal 500 2022, Commercial Litigation)

A real all-rounder – extremely bright and versatile, with excellent drafting skills’ (Legal 500 2022, Fraud: Civil)

‘Incredibly user-friendly, very responsive and someone with excellent attention to detail, he punches above his weight and is a pleasure to work with’ (Chambers & Partners 2022, Commercial Dispute Resolution)

‘Very pragmatic and very commercially minded’ (Chambers & Partners 2022, Commercial Dispute Resolution)

‘Very smart and responsive, he is a rising star of the Bar’ (Chambers and Partners 2021, Commercial Dispute Resolution)

‘He cross-examines well, makes strong points and is much in demand as he speaks Russian’ (Chambers and Partners 2021, Commercial Dispute Resolution)

‘Incredibly impressive junior, he has a sense of judgment that exceeds his call, which means he gets to the heart of the issue – Russian language skills are a plus but as an all-round junior, he has been phenomenal’ (Legal 500 2021, Commercial Litigation)

‘Bright, produces excellent documents, and has a firm but pleasant courtroom manner, he also has a USP: he speaks fluent Russian, meaning that he is a natural choice for the wave of CIS litigation making its way through the Commercial Court at present’ (Legal 500 2021, Fraud: Civil)

Alexander has wide experience of appearing in the High Court (led and as sole counsel) in trials and interlocutory matters. He has also appeared in the Court of Appeal, Privy Council and the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights.

Alexander read History and Russian at St John’s College, University of Oxford, where he graduated with First Class Honours in 2007. He completed the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Bar Vocational Course at City University, London, during which he was awarded a number of scholarships and prizes.

Details of his experience may be found in the practice area tabs. Recent cases include:

  • Gorbachev v Guriev (2022-) (led by Paul Stanley KC and David Scorey KC) acting for a Russian businessman in a multi-billion dollar civil fraud claim to recover his assets in a Russian business listed on the London Stock Exchange, involving claims of fraudulent breach of trust
  • Al-Subaihi v Al-Sanea [2021] EWHC 2609 (Comm): (led by Rupert D’Cruz KC) acting successfully at trial for the Claimants, Saudi lawyers claiming unpaid legal fees of $16 million for representing the former Saudi billionaire, Maan Al-Sanea, his family and his collapsed Saad Group of companies. The case raised issues solicitors’ fiduciary duties to clients in relation to fee agreements, lawful act duress and undue influence
  • Re HTL International Ltd (2020-): advising (with Adam Solomon KC) the judicial managers (administrators) of a Singapore-based international group in relation to a challenge by the company shareholder to the judicial management and an anti-suit injunction to restrain proceedings brought in China which seek to undermine the Singapore court’s judgment
  • National Bank Trust v Yurov [2020] EWHC 100 (Comm): acting for defendants (led by Paul Stanley KC and Tom Poole KC) in a nine-week Commercial Court fraud claim brought by a Russian bank alleging misappropriation of $900 million against its former directors and shareholders, raising complex issues of Russian law on directors’ and employees’ liability and involving detailed scrutiny of forensic accountancy evidence. The case was listed as one The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases
  • VTB Bank v Laptev [2020] EWHC 321 (Ch): acting (as sole counsel) in bankruptcy proceedings for £25 million brought by a Russian bank against a Russian-domiciled individual who is already in Russian bankruptcy proceedings. Alexander successfully secured the dismissal of the petition for lack of jurisdiction and based on expert evidence of Russian law
  • AOS Holdings Ltd v Korotkov (2020): acting (led by Rupert D’Cruz KC) in a Commercial Court contract and fraud claim for US$150 million arising out of the purchase of a new cryptocurrency, Grams, launched by the social media app Telegram, before the issue of the Grams was blocked by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US District Court. The case featured a jurisdiction challenge in the English court and freezing injunction proceedings in Cyprus
  • Sheianov v Sarner International [2020] EWHC 1214 (QB), [2020] 1 WLR 3963: as sole counsel, successfully obtained summary judgment for delivery up of an historic collection of Second World War motorcycles held by an exhibition design company, which was claiming a lien for its unpaid fees. The judgment was reported in the Weekly Law Reports and contains the first modern analysis of the principles of the common law lien

Russia/CIS

Commercial Law and Civil Fraud

Company and Insolvency Law

Professional Background

Русский Профиль

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