Sam Neaman

Recognised as a “leader in the field” by both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, and shortlisted for Legal 500 “Sports Law Junior of the Year” in 2024, 2025 and 2026, Sam has special expertise in boxing, Formula 1/motor racing, and professional football matters, where he has extensive experience of both contractual  disputes and regulatory/licensing issues.

A former successful boxer himself, Sam’s boxing clients have included numerous professional boxers (including four World Champions), managers, and promoters in licensing, regulatory, and contractual disputes. Sam has also drafted and advised on Bout Agreements for World Championship fights, boxer-promoter contracts, boxer-manager contracts, and other commercial contracts for world champion boxers.

Elsewhere within Sport, Sam is regularly instructed in commercial claims and arbitrations, and by top-level players, coaches, agents, promoters, managers, clubs and sporting bodies on issues ranging from misconduct hearings in international ice hockey to professional golf sponsorship disputes, and from football transfer disputes and FA disciplinary hearings to the entitlement of a jockey to ride in the Agra Diamond Stakes at Royal Ascot. Himself a former member of Bristol City FC’s youth squad, Sam has represented Premiership and Championship football clubs, and in Rinaldi v Rugby Football League, Sam was instructed in a European discrimination law test case on the legality of the RFL’s overseas players quota system.

Most of Sam’s work in this area is highly confidential but recent example cases of note in the public domain include

• Standing & Anr v Power (ongoing): High Court litigation relating to the ownership of Swindon Town Football Club.
• FA v Power & Ors (2024): related FA disciplinary proceedings against Sam’s client and others over alleged breach of the FA’s intermediary rules.
• Hartlepool United Football Club v Fulham Football Club (2022): widely reported successful claim by Sam’s client Hartlepool Utd, for compensation following the move of a Hartlepool player to Fulham.
• Collinge v Watford Football Club Ltd (2018): high profile discrimination claim brought by the club’s former Head of Medical.
• Turn One SA v Lotus F1 Team Ltd (2015): high profile dispute with the Lotus Formula 1 team in a complex and wide-ranging case involving IP rights to the Lotus website, defamation and breaches of contract.
• Axon & Ors v Caterham Sports Limited (in administration) (2014): high profile and complex class action by 38 former employees of Formula 1 team Caterham following their summary dismissals.
• Legion Concierge (UK) Ltd v Con Questa BV (2014): A complex dispute surrounding alleged illegal ticketing practices for the Paris Open Tennis at Roland Garros and the European Football Championships in Ukraine.
• Wirth Research Ltd v Green (2010): instructed by F1 team Force India to defend a confidential information non-compete injunction application brought against the Defendant who moved to become Technical Director of Force India.

Sam is noted in the directories as “particularly recommended for High Court injunctions”, and as “brilliant with confidential information and international business protection elements”.

He has a thriving injunction practice in employment contract restrictive covenants, and in related confidential information and commercial law fields where he has broad knowledge of preservation of evidence, freezing, search and seizure, and anti-suit applications.

Equally at home in all industry sectors, Sam is recognised by Legal 500 in commercial litigation and banking/finance, and has particular experience in the insurance broking and allied banking and finance arena, and in the areas of recruitment consultancy, in sport, where he is listed in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 as a leading individual and “go to sports lawyer”, and in the Medical/NHS Sector where Chambers & Partners describes him as possessing a “recognised speciality” in medical employment law where he has represented numerous consultants in injunction proceedings. He regularly represents clients in “team move” injunctions, and in all areas in which business protection is at a premium.

Example injunction cases of note include:

• Nio Performance Engineering Ltd v Roy (2022): Confidential Information injunction claim brought by Sam’s client, China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer and the company behind the Nio Formula E racing team;
• URM UK Ltd v Wilson & ors (2021): Unlawful means conspiracy “Team Move” injunction brought by Sam’s client, the UK’s largest recycling company, against nine defendants;
• Nigel Frank International Ltd v Radford & ors (2018): “Team Move” injunction application by Sam’s recruitment consultancy client.
• Dyson Technology Ltd v Pellerey (2016): leading Court of Appeal case relating to Dyson’s confidential plans for an electric car, establishing the correct approach to the grant of injunctive relief in restrictive covenant cases.
• Petter v ECM Corporation & Anr (2015): leading Court of Appeal anti-suit injunction and jurisdiction challenge involving parallel proceedings in the UK and Massachusetts.  Settled shortly before the Supreme Court appeal in 2016.
• Adib-Shahraki v Royal Bank of Scotland Plc (2013): important, high profile injunction claim to prevent the closure of banking facilities. Sam, acting for the Bank, successfully defeated the application.
• Jesudason v Alder Hey Childrens’ NHS Foundation Trust (2012): high profile case representing a paediatric surgeon who obtained an injunction to prevent his dismissal.
• Lauffer v Barking Havering & Redbridge NHS Trust (2010): landmark injunction obtained by Sam’s consultant surgeon client to nullify a dismissal which had already occurred.
• Wirth Research Ltd v Green (2010): instructed by F1 team Force India to defend a confidential information non-compete injunction application brought against the Defendant who moved to become Technical Director of Force India.
• Everett v University of East London (2009): injunction claim brought by a University vice-chancellor to prevent a disciplinary hearing going ahead. Sam’s university client successfully defeated the application in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal.
• Fourie v Le Roux (2007): landmark House of Lords freezing injunction claim in a £1 Billion cross border corporate insolvency fraud dispute.

One of very few employment barristers to be ranked as a “Band 1” junior in both Chambers UK and Legal 500, Sam is recognised as a “go-to” employment junior for high value, sensitive/high profile, or complex employment claims, launched either in the High Court, or in the employment tribunal, as well as for providing strategic advice at a corporate level, and conducting/advising on internal disciplinary investigations and inquiries.

With numerous leading cases to his name, including the seminal authority of Johnson v Unisys Ltd, many of Sam’s cases have gone to the Court of Appeal or House of Lords/Supreme Court.

In the High Court, Sam’s employment law experience ranges from restrictive covenant/confidential information injunctions and speedy trials, to multi-million pound breach of directors’/fiduciary duty, and unlawful means conspiracy, claims. Sam also has invaluable experience in taking test cases on the construction of employment contracts.

In the employment tribunal, Sam has particular expertise in discrimination and whistleblowing cases, where he is regularly instructed by household name clients in high profile claims.

Sam is particularly known for his experience taking cases to contested trials. Described by Chambers & Partners as “an excellent trial advocate” Sam has conducted several multi-week trials in the tribunal or High Court in recent years.

Notable employment cases include:

• North of England Coachworks Ltd v Khan (2024): High profile fraud claim in which Sam achieved judgment for his client against its former Finance Director accused of stealing over £1 million from his employer;
• Boza v Verizon UK Ltd (2024): multi week tribunal claim in which Sam obtained complete victory against a Claimant who brought numerous discrimination, victimisation, harassment and unfair dismissal claims against his client;
• Mitchell v Enotrac UK Ltd (2023): substantial six-figure fraud/breach of fiduciary duty claim by UK subsidiary of the Swiss railtrack company Enotrac against its former Managing Director. After a lengthy trial Sam defeated the Claimant’s claim and obtained judgment for his client on its fraud counterclaim;
• CPS v Aquila Advisory Ltd (2022): Supreme Court fiduciary duty claim brought against two former director- employees who had unlawfully profited to the tune of c.£4.5 million from the sale of the IP rights in their employer’s software;
• URM UK Ltd v Wilson & Ors (2022): unlawful means conspiracy claim brought by Sam’s client, the UK’s largest recycling company, against its entire senior management team;
• Capital Markets (UK) Ltd v Being Technologies ors (2017): £250 million fraud/unlawful means conspiracy and confidential information claim brought against a former MD of the Claimant and seven other individuals/corporates. Click here to read coverage from the Evening Standard;
• Radia v Jefferies International Bank (2017): high profile whistleblowing and disability discrimination claim brought by former director of a City Bank. Click here to read The Times coverage.

Listed as a leader in the field of both Commercial Litigation, and Banking and Finance, and described in the directories as “ferociously bright, technically excellent, and a consummate advocate”, Sam has a prominent and wide ranging commercial litigation and arbitration practice, instructed by global corporations, and UK PLCs and liquidators, on high value commercial contract claims. Sam’s commercial injunction, cross border and international work includes the leading injunction cases of Fourie v Le Roux (House of Lords), Dyson v Pellerey, and Petter v EMC Corporation (Court of Appeal).

Co-author of the text book “Security for Costs & other Court Ordered Security” (Jordans), and regularly instructed to put his knowledge into practice in court hearings, Sam brings this particular expertise to the complex and important areas of security, funding, and non-party costs issues.

Sam is also recognised in commercial arbitration as a “go-to” alternative to magic circle arbitration counsel. Sam’s practice is primarily focused on international commercial arbitrations, arguing cases governed by foreign laws for major overseas clients under ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL rules.

Notable cases include:

• Standing & Anr v Power (ongoing) High Court: multi million pound dispute over the acquisition, ownership, running and then disposition of Swindon Town Football Club;
• Aquila Advisory Ltd v Faichney & Ors (2022) Supreme Court: successful £4.5 million breach of fiduciary duty claim relating to the misappropriation of corporate opportunities in respect of software rights owned by Sam’s client, and the interrelationship between criminal confiscation orders and third party proprietary rights;
• Trebisol Sud Quest SAS & Anr v Berkeley Finance Ltd & Ors (2021) High Court: successful international commercial contract and civil fraud case relating to the financing of solar power plants in Eastern Europe;
• C21 Estates Ltd v Maurice MacNeill Iona Ltd (2018) Court of Appeal: successful claim by Sam’s client in respect of the Chelsea franchise of the international Century21 estate agency brand;
• Capital Markets Co (UK) Ltd v Tarver & Ors (2017) High Court: £250 million pound unlawful means conspiracy claim relating to the software rights to the revolutionary “Vault” banking platform, and the alleged diversion of the business of an entire division of the Claimant company. Sam represented seven parties in the litigation;
• Gaia Ventures Ltd v Abbeygate Helical Ltd (2017) Court of Appeal: successful multi-million pound overage claim by Sam’s client in respect of the redevelopment of the Milton Keynes ice rink;
• Government of the Kyrgyz Republic v Nadel & Ors (2016) Commercial Court: multi-million dollar Commercial Court banking fraud claim in which Sam acted for the Claimant National Government against various individuals, obtaining judgment against the former Chairman of one of the largest banks in Kyrgyzstan;
• Petter v ECM Corporation & Anr (2015) Court of Appeal: leading case on clashes of jurisdiction and anti-suit injunctions involving parallel proceedings in the UK and Massachusetts.

Examples of international arbitration include:

• L v G (2020): A multi million-pound ICC arbitration relating to major infrastructure project financing contracts in Angola;
• G v X (2014): A highly complex $25 million UNCITRAL international commercial arbitration involving contracts for the importation of heavy machinery from China to Brazil under contracts governed by Brazilian law;
• G v X (no.2): (2015) A second UNCITRAL arbitration, this time worth over $50 million, between the same parties;
• B v U (2015): Multi-million dollar LCIA international commercial arbitration involving alleged breach of distribution agreement in respect of importation and sale of sports goods to the Middle East.

Sam has represented both clients and all the major High Street banks in cutting-edge litigation in the High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as providing high-level strategic advice to several High Street Banks on matters ranging from the Consumer Credit Act to Bank Charges.

Chambers UK recognises that Sam “possesses recognised specialism in medical employment cases”. His experience in medical law, coupled with his expertise in employment, disciplinary and regulatory matters, has resulted in a thriving court and disciplinary/regulatory practice, representing both Trusts and individual doctors.

Ranging from high profile disputes attracting nationwide media interest to confidential investigations Sam is regularly instructed in:

• Disciplinary, capability and other MHPS internal hearings;
• Investigations and reviews of NHS Trusts;
• Injunctions to prevent dismissal or enforce contractual procedures, where Sam has unrivalled experience of numerous injunction cases over many years for both consultants and trusts, including handling emergency “without notice” applications;
• High Court and appellate contractual disputes, usually regarding interpretation of terms and conditions of doctors’ employment contracts;
• Employment tribunal claims and EAT appeals, usually with a whistleblowing or discrimination element;
• GMC and other regulatory hearings;
• Acting as mediator in disputes between medical professionals and their employing Trusts.

Regularly instructed to give high level strategic advice on matters of national importance in the medical profession, including

• payment of doctors while suspended by the GMC;
• the rights of junior doctors to free hospital accommodation;
• the construction of the Consultant Contract in the area of overtime (Additional PAs);
• the applicability of standard terms and conditions on transfer/promotion of doctors from England to Wales or Scotland.

An accredited mediator since 2003, experienced and fully at home conducting mediations remotely (via Zoom), Sam is described by Chambers UK as “a practical and down to earth team player whose client skills are second to none”, and “wonderful at making clients feel at ease”. He brings to his mediation practice an “ability to think outside the box” which has resulted in an impressive track record of achieving settlement in complex cases, especially employment cases with a commercial crossover.

Sam is recorded in the directories as being “great to work with – very flexible and commercial”, “concise and approachable”, “straightforward and insightful”, understanding the importance of a practical and imaginative approach to mediation.

Recent mediation highlights have included a sensitive and high-profile dispute at the highest level of a major local authority, and a dispute with significant public policy implications over the rights of a disabled doctor to become a consultant.