Charlie Griggs

Recent representations (includes matters prior to joining Kirkland) include acting for:

• a London-based mining focused private equity firm in a Commercial Court dispute against the purchaser of two of its portfolio mines in Brazil following the termination of a US$1 billion transaction;
• an American news network in a US$2 billion defamation lawsuit arising out of activities surrounding the 2020 U.S. presidential election;
• an American private equity firm in a dispute before the English and Spanish Courts relating to its acquisition of a multibillion Euro portfolio of distressed real estate assets in Spain;
• a leading Italian biopharma business in enforcing post-termination restrictive covenants in the High Court and Court of Appeal;
• a luxury group of Greek hotels in litigious aspects of their EUR 2.3 billion acquisition by a sovereign wealth fund;
• a leading European private equity firm in Commercial Court litigation against the seller of a EUR 1 billion portfolio business on the grounds of material non-disclosure;
• the administrators of an Emirati healthcare business in defending third party disclosure requests before the Abu Dhabi Global Markets Courts;
• an American heavy equipment manufacturer in a global debt recovery claim arising out of the Bolivar Republic of Venezuela (including litigation in the courts of Tennessee, Switzerland, Curacao and arbitration before ICC and LCIA administered tribunals);
• a Swiss pharmaceuticals company in US$300 million Swiss and Belgian seated ICC administered arbitration proceedings against its licensee (and related litigation before the courts of Texas);
• a group of global investment firms in London High Court applications relating to events on the London Metal Exchange’s nickel market on and around 8 March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine;
• an American construction management and engineering company in US$4 billion ICC administered arbitration arising out of the construction of an airport in the Middle East*;
• an American private equity fund in London High Court litigation arising out of the administration of Debenhams plc;
• a British mining company on disputes and government regulatory issues arising out of a subsidiary mine in Brazil*;
• a well-known American social network in litigation arising out of a data breach before various courts in the United States and Europe*;
• a Swiss investment bank in various pieces of litigation relating to alleged market manipulation, such as the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme (including London High Court follow-on proceedings concerning over EUR 2 billion of foreign exchange trades and Competition Appeals Tribunal matters involving over US$1.24 billion in trades)*;
• an American pharmaceuticals company in a dispute against its licensee in the People’s Republic of China;
• a Brazilian investment fund in London High Court class action proceedings (and related litigation before the Brazilian courts) arising out of a price-fixing industrial cartel (involving over 1,500 claimants)*;
• an American luxury real estate developer in London High Court civil fraud proceedings and related freezing injunctions arising out of the purchase of a Scottish castle (involving the embezzlement of client funds to an offshore jurisdiction)*;
• an American television network on contentious issues arising out of alleged bribery in various African countries*;
• an Egyptian infrastructure investor in billion dollar ICSID arbitration arising out of an investment in Algeria*;
• an Indonesian gas to power generation company in Singapore seated SIAC arbitration*;
• a Kuwaiti asset manager on contentious matters arising from its Wealth Management arm (including arbitration matters and Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation litigation)*;
• a German clearing bank on contentious matters*;
• a French aircraft maintenance company in an international debt claim against an airline based in the United Arab Emirates*; and
• a Silicon Valley technology company on human rights matters*.

Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher UK, London, 2020–2022

Charlie has also acted for a wide range of pro bono clients on issues such as: international human rights abuses; unlawful imprisonment for espionage charges; individuals on death row in the United States; emergency / disaster responses; enhanced sentencing and the incrimination of sexual offences; same-sex equality issues in Africa; poverty alleviation; and, African wildlife trafficking and poaching.