Ali is the firm’s Senior Partner. He has a wide breadth of legal experience with particular focus in Civil, Commercial, Insolvency and Financial Services Litigation. He acts for a wide range of clients from entrepreneurs, high net worth individuals, SMEs to listed PLCs. He brings to the practice his sound legal knowledge obtained through many years of legal learning and advisory experience together with his ability to put clients at ease.
Ali battles to ensure the best possible resolution (and compensation) is achieved from opponents. He is a tenacious and strategic problem solver who strives to get results for his clients.
Ali read law at the University of Leicester, University College London, the London School of Economics and the Inns of Court School of Law. He has both a Bachelors degree in Law and a Masters degree in the Law of International Finance and Securities Regulation (with Banking Law and Companies Law) and is called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn (Hardwicke Scholar) and admitted as a Solicitor-Advocate of the Senior Courts.
He previously worked as a specialist financial services regulatory consultant at big four accountancy firm, KPMG LLP where he became a member of the Securities Institute. He subsequently worked at leading City law firm, SJ Berwin LLP (which became international firm King & Wood Mallesons LLP) and gained extensive experience of managing and responding to high value and high profile litigation for both financial services institutions as well as their high net worth customers. He has worked on secondment in the Legal departments of ING Barings and Goldman Sachs International merchant banks and has advised on issues such as Fraud, Money Laundering, Insider Dealing and Regulatory Compliance.
As well as Civil, Commercial, Insolvency and Financial Services Litigation, Ali represents clients in Professional Negligence matters against Solicitors (particularly for breach of warranty of authority in property fraud cases); against HMRC in complex MTIC VAT assessment and penalty surcharge appeals before the Tax Tribunals (formerly the VAT and Duties Tribunal); in Derivatives Litigation against retail banks relating to their mis-selling to UK SMEs of complex financial instruments, commonly known as FX, Currency or Interest Rate Swaps; and in claims against bank recovery teams such as RBS’ Global Restructuring Group (GRG) in respect of their engineering of loan defaults to take property assets or take shares in businesses into bank-controlled SPVs (Westregister), such conduct amounting to breach of a duty of good faith for commercial parties to treat each other honestly and responsibly and unjust enrichment.
Ali has full rights of audience before all Courts and Tribunals in England & Wales. He appears as an advocate before: the Companies Court in relation to Winding Up Petitions and connected matters such as Validation Orders; the High Court and County Court in relation to financial services, commercial and civil litigation; and the First-Tier Tribunal (Tax) on behalf of Appellants in appeals against HMRC and in Duties based restoration/seizure disputes.
Ali is a member of the PNLA (Professional Negligence Lawyers Association) and has is always keen to advocate the views of his clients and the legal profession (the Civil Justice Council, All-Party Parliamentary Groups and numerous media appearances). Ali lives in Mayfair in West London. Outside the law, he serves as a Non-Executive to an NHS general practice near his community and is a Friend of the UCL Hospitals Trust.