Fiona Simpson

Areas of expertise

• Civil Fraud and Investigations
• Shareholder and Director Disputes
• Commercial and Contract Disputes
• Professional Negligence
• Financial Services Disputes
• International and Cross-Border Disputes

Professional Societies and memberships and Awards

• Commercial Fraud Lawyers Association (committee member)
• Commercial Litigators’ Forum (committee member)
• London Solicitors Litigation Association
• Fraud Lawyers Association

Recent Work

Civil Fraud

• Acting for one of over 50 defendants in one of the biggest claims ever brought in the High Court in England by the Danish Customs and Tax Administration (SKAT) seeking to recover around £1.44 billion that SKAT claims it was induced to part with by a sophisticated fraud which took place between 2012 and 2015
• Acting for four of twenty-eight defendants, all clients based outside England and Wales, in a claim brought by Cayman liquidators of various funds for (i) conspiracy to defraud and/or injure by unlawful means, (ii) dishonest assistance in relation to breach of trust and/or fiduciary duty, (iii) knowing or unconscionable receipt of property belonging to the claimant funds and (iv) procuring breaches of contract (included an application to set aside an order granting permission to serve the proceedings out of the jurisdiction)
• Acting for a private company in a long running dispute successfully bringing a claim against a director and his personal company for defrauding the company, making a secret profit and for breach of directors’ duties
• Obtaining freezing orders, for example (i) against an individual who unlawfully and in breach of trust removed several million pounds from a joint bank account, and recovering those monies in full plus costs and (ii) against a firm of accountants/its partners who had removed monies from clients’ trust accounts and obtaining Bankers Trust orders against the defendants’ bank
• Acting for a former non-executive director of NMC Health plc (a London-listed healthcare operator primarily running hospitals in the Middle East) (NMC) resulting from a substantial fraud (in excess of US$4billion) uncovered in 2020, in claims threatened by the joint administrators of NMC (i) for breach of directors’ duties, (ii) for wrongful trading, (iii) for breach of letters of appointment and (iv) to recover monies allegedly improperly paid to our client by NMC and connected companies
• Defending a claim brought by investors in a fraudulent scheme attempting to trace their losses into a family home owned by our client – Ward and others v Savill [2020] EWHC 1534 (Ch) and [2021] EWCA Civ 1378
• Acting for individual and corporate defendants defending a claim brought by a South African company for conspiracy to injure by unlawful means and/or deceit and/or inducing breaches of contract by a Ghanaian company, in relation to the execution and performance of an agreement permitting the distribution of beauty products in a number of west African countries. This involved responding to a worldwide freezing order and an imaging order
• Acting for the successful defendant in the High Court and Court of Appeal in JSC BTA Bank v Mukhtar Ablyazov & Madiyar Ablyazov [2018] EWCA Civ 1176
• Defending freezing orders obtained against, for example (i) an individual without notice, and in support of arbitration proceedings, by a major Russian bank in seeking payment of EUR 64.4 million and (ii) an individual based in Switzerland, including challenging the jurisdiction of the English court
• Defending a finance director against allegations of fraud, misrepresentation and breach of duty relating to the sale of the company of which he was director
• Acting as the court appointed independent Supervising Solicitor on Search Orders obtained in fraud proceedings
• Advising a client who was served with a Search Order by text and What’sApp and advising on compliance with that Order and defending the underlying claim
•  Acting for a UK company, its directors and shareholders defending allegations of advanced fee fraud brought by claimants based in Iraq and the Turks & Caicos Islands

Directors and Shareholders Disputes

• Acting for 2 director/shareholders seeking to protect the business of their company from the actions of the other 2 directors (also shareholders) and seeking to remove deadlock at board and shareholder level, including bringing a court claim for a declaration that pursuant to ss 292 and 293 Companies Act 2006 the board of the company is required to circulate to all eligible members written resolutions requisitioned by members. This case also involved proceedings before the Royal Court in Guernsey as one of the shareholders is a Guernsey Trust.
• Successfully representing a company in respect of an EGM at which a director/shareholder attempted to have 2 individuals appointed to the board and obtaining an injunction to prevent those 2 individuals holding themselves out/acting as directors of the company -Findmyclaims.com Ltd v Howe [2018] EWHC 1833 (Ch)
• Successfully defending a claim brought against our company client by an individual purporting to be a shareholder of the company for rectification of the register of members
• Acting for a restaurateur (director and majority shareholder) and one of his co-directors successfully defending an unfair prejudice claim brought against them by a minority shareholder/director
• Defending a high profile individual facing multiple directors’ disqualification proceedings

Commercial Litigation

• Successfully bringing a claim to enforce the terms scheduled to a consent order in Tomlin form – Trebisol Sud Ouest SAS and another v Berkley Finance Limited and others [2021] EWHC 2494 (QB)
• Acting for a private investment vehicle and its private equity funds in several breach of contract matters
• Advising a company incorporated in Hong Kong on (i) the impact on it of a proprietary injunction granted by the English court against parties with whom it had contracted and from whom it had received contractual payments and (ii) the validity of the contract between it and the injuncted companies
• Advising directors of a company on proceedings brought by employees against them personally and against the company, for the company’s failure to comply with the terms of a business purchase agreement which required the setting up and financing of an employee benefit trust
• Successfully defending an individual defendant against claims of financial and sexual abuse brought against him by 7 claimants – Samrai and Others v Kalia [2024] EWHC 3143 (KB)
• Obtaining Norwich Pharmacal orders for clients to obtain disclosure and information from non-parties to proceedings
• Challenging the jurisdiction of the English court, for example acting for (i) a Swiss based director of a BVI company, (ii) a US based director of an English company and (iii) a Guernsey incorporated company
• Acting for a company and its sole director who allegedly acted in breach of referral and joint partnership agreements relating to the purchase and sale of, and borrowing against, digital assets
• Advising parties to contracts bringing and defending breach of contract claims
• Pursuing and defending professional negligence claims against surveyors, insurance brokers, solicitors, barristers, accountants and tax advisers
• Advising companies and individuals who have fallen victim to Phishing/Vishing frauds or who have been “debanked” to recover monies from banks

What clients and directories say

“I also would love to take this moment to say thank you. You and the team are fantastic. There is no doubt in my mind that I would work with you again, and also recommend you to others. I felt at all times as though no stone was left unturned, and the attention to detail is what ensured a good outcome.” Client

“Fiona Simpson is the person overseeing everything and comes with bags of experience. I have no doubts that I am getting full justice when she is handling my affairs.” The Legal 500, 2026

“She has very good commercial nous and can understand the realities of a situation.” Chambers and Partners, 2025

“She is incredibly commercial.” Chambers and Partners, 2025

“Fiona is very experienced and explains things in an easy manner.” Chambers and Partners, 2025

“Fiona Simpson is a standout individual. She has good commercial instincts, and the ability to see the wood for the trees.” The Legal 500, 2025

“Sue Thackeray and Fiona Simpson are two star individuals with great experience and market reputation. They are both great.” The Legal 500, 2025

“Fiona is a superb lawyer with real specialism and expertise.” Chambers and Partners, 2024

“Fiona Simpson leads a good team. Experienced and easy to work with.” The Legal 500, 2024

“Fiona is very organised, skilled, eloquent and driven.” Chambers and Partners, 2023

“Fiona is conscientious, efficient and knowledgeable.” Chambers and Partners, 2023

“Commercially astute, tough, an excellent lawyer and possesses great litigation judgment.” The Legal 500, 2023

“A seasoned commercial litigator, with particular capabilities in civil fraud. She always has a complete grasp of a case and has a sharp focus on the client’s objectives.” The Legal 500, 2023

“Fiona Simpson stands out because she is both tough and sympathetic and she has an excellent tactical judgement in litigation when difficult calls have to be made.” The Legal 500, 2023

“Sue Thackeray, William Christopher, Mary Young and Fiona Simpson are all highly regarded civil fraud practitioners.” The Legal 500, 2023

“Fiona Simpson is a highly experienced partner who is no-nonsense and applies a huge amount of common sense to every problem, always seeking the right practical solution for the client.” The Legal 500 UK, 2022

“She is very good with clients, commercially astute and is able to see the bigger picture.” Chambers & Partners, 2022

“A very experienced and strong colleague in the asset recovery market.” Who’s Who Legal: Asset Recovery Global Guide 2022

“A stand-out name among sources who commend her as “very commercial and completely dedicated to the client’s objectives.” Who’s Who Legal: Asset Recovery Global Guide 2021

“Extremely good in relation to fraud, freezing injunctions and claims against directors.” The Legal 500 UK, 2021

“Partners Sue Thackeray and Fiona Simpson are both also excellent – tough and hard working, again with an excellent litigator’s sense for judging the strengths and weaknesses of both sides’ cases.” The Legal 500 UK, 2021

“Extremely polished.” The Legal 500 UK, 2021

“Fiona has an eye for detail, which is so important in fraud work. She can process all that complex information and make it simple enough to move the case forward.” Chambers and Partners 2020

“Incredibly organised, puts together a really good team and manages matters very well.” Chambers and Partners UK, 2020

“She is meticulous, organised and efficient.” Chambers and Partners 2020

“Clients love Fiona and she has the ability to drive litigation in the right direction.” Chambers and Partners 2020

“Very committed and commercially minded.” Legal 500, 2020

“Thank you for being a strong pillar in my life for the past few years!” Client

“Your support and the way you took things in charge have been of great comfort as I was very worried with the whole situation.”Client

“I can’t recommend you and KN enough in our dealings with [other side] and thank you once again for all your efforts.” Client

“I was so relieved to hear you this morning. Congratulations for this outcome.” Client

“Thanks from my whole family for the excellent work you and your team did for me this year.” Client

“You are prepared to put your all into even the toughest cases where the chances of any judicial sympathy are zero.” Client