Ella Higgs-Sharrock
Barrister
Call 2025
Ella has a broad commercial practice spanning all areas of Chambers' work, with a particular focus on civil fraud, group litigation, and banking and finance disputes. Alongside regular instructions as part of a counsel team in complex, high-value disputes, Ella is often instructed as sole counsel in a wide variety of commercial disputes.
Ella's recent cases include:
- Gutmann v Apple: Acting (with Niranjan Venkatesan KC and Daniel Benedyk) for Apple in a high-profile class action in the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Consumers claim that Apple abused its dominant position in the market by failing to be transparent about the impact of certain iOS updates on iPhone performance. The case involves complex issues of causation, loss, and theory of harm.
- Bourlakova v Bourlakov: Acting (with Neil Kitchener KC, Michael Fealy KC, Patrick Harty, Daniel Fletcher, Patricia Burns, James Gardner, Tom Foxton and Matthew Hoyle) for the Claimants in a $3 billion fraud claim involving allegations of conspiracy, deceit, forgery, asset misappropriation, and the deliberate destruction of evidence.
- Catarina Oliveira da Silva & Ors v Brazil Iron & Anr: Acting (with Nicholas Sloboda KC and Veena Srirangam) for the Defendants in a mass tort claim arising in connection with mining activities in Brazil.
- Various Claimants v Glencore Plc & Ors: Assisting Alex Polley KC and Andrew Lodder (for Ivan Glasenberg) in the multi-billion dollar group claims brought by investors in Glencore's $11 billion 2011 IPO and 2013 mega-merger with Xstrata in respect of alleged, and in some instances admitted, bribery, corruption and price manipulation (during pupillage).
Ella's recent unled work includes:
- Representing a major airline company in connection with a dispute over its terms of carriage.
- Representing a business owner in a dispute with his former solicitor, involving issues of professional misconduct, unjust enrichment, and non-party disclosure.
- Representing a chartered surveyor in connection with a dispute over unpaid debts and s49 of the Consumer Rights Act (instructed by Garfield AI in its second-ever case).
- Advising a charity on obtaining a Restoration Order following its compulsory dissolution under s1000 of the Companies Act 2006.
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Examples of Recent Cases
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Civil Fraud
- Bourlakova v Bourlakov: Acting for the Claimants (with Neil Kitchener KC, Michael Fealy KC, Patrick Harty, Daniel Fletcher, Patricia Burns, James Gardner, Tom Foxton and Matthew Hoyle) in a $3 billion fraud claim involving allegations of conspiracy, deceit, forgery, asset misappropriation, and the deliberate destruction of evidence.
- Alliance Petrochemical Investment (Singapore) Pte Limited v Francesco Mazzagati & Ors: Assisted (during pupillage) David Wolfson KC and Henry Hoskins with a jurisdiction challenge in respect of a Part 20 claim which involved allegations of breach of trust, dishonest assistance, knowing receipt, unjust enrichment, conversion, and conspiracy.
- Asean International Ltd v Axis Bank Ltd: Assisted (during pupillage) Andrew Lodder in relation to a fraudulent misrepresentation claim arising from allegations that Asean was induced to enter into a loan participation scheme for a shipping company by false representations that the loans were secured by ship mortgages.
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Group Litigation
- Catarina Oliveira da Silva & Ors v Brazil Iron & Anr: Acting (with Nicholas Sloboda KC and Veena Srirangam) for the Defendants in a mass tort claim arising in connection with mining activities in Brazil.
- Various Claimants v Glencore Plc & Ors: Assisted (during pupillage) Alex Polley KC and Andrew Lodder (for Ivan Glasenberg) in the multi-billion dollar group claims brought by investors in Glencore's $11 billion 2011 IPO and 2013 mega-merger with Xstrata in respect of alleged, and in some instances admitted, bribery, corruption and price manipulation.
- Whilst working in Shell's Global Litigation Team, Ella spent a year working on the high-profile mass environmental tort claim Okpabi v Shell. The case raises a number of novel legal issues, including in relation to parent company liability.
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Competition
- Gutmann v Apple: Acting for Apple (with Niranjan Venkatesan KC and Daniel Benedyk) in a high-profile class action in the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Consumers claim that Apple abused its dominant position in the market by failing to be transparent about the impact of certain iOS updates on iPhone performance. The case involves complex issues of causation, loss, and theory of harm.
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Banking and Financial Services
- Dexia SA v Comune di Torino: Assisted (during pupillage) Andrew Lodder and Matthew Hoyle in relation to a claim for declaratory relief in connection with several swaps transactions entered into under an ISDA master agreement. The claim forms part of the long-running Italian Swaps litigation, which involves a series of legal disputes between international banks and Italian local authorities concerning interest rate swap agreements entered into before the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
- Ella also undertook an internship at the Financial Conduct Authority in 2024, working across the FCA's supervision and enforcement departments. She retains a particular interest in financial services and FS regulatory disputes.
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Commercial Litigation
- IBM United Kingdom Ltd v LzLabs Gmbh: Assisted (during pupillage) Henry Hoskins in respect of highly confidential consequential directions arising from the first instance decision.
- DMA Resources Ltd v Brazilian Nickel Ltd: Assisted (during pupillage) Eleanor Campbell in an unjust enrichment and contractual quantum meruit claim relating to services provided by the Claimant in the form of the "introduction" of new investors to the Defendant. The case also involved complex issues relating to free acceptance and its position within the law of restitution.
- Singularis Holdings Ltd v ChapelGate Credit Opportunity Master Fund Ltd: Assisted (during pupillage) Sonia Tolaney KC and Andrew Lodder in respect of a claim in unjust enrichment for restitution of payments made under a litigation funding agreement that is unenforceable following the Supreme Court's decision in PACCAR.
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Scholarships and Awards
Scholarships:
Lord Denning Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn
Lord Haldane Scholar, Lincoln’s Inn
Fletcher Scholarship, University of Oxford
Fletcher Exhibition, University of Oxford
Awards:
Sweet & Maxwell Prize (Best Performance in Company & Insolvency Law, City University)
Chris Stallard Memorial Prize (Financial Services Lawyers Association, Essay Prize)
Kington Oliphant Prize (Outstanding Examination Performance, University of Oxford)
Joan Thirsk Memorial Prize (Best Undergraduate Thesis on Early Modern, Medieval or Ancient History, University of Oxford)
Undergraduate Dissertation Prize (Society for the Study of French History)
Moots:
Judicial Review Moot, Human Rights Lawyers Association (Second Place)
Mediation Competition, Worshipful Company of Arbitrators (Second Place)
Helga Pedersen Moot (Held at and by the European Court of Human Rights) (Finalist, Highest Scoring Advocate in the Preliminary Rounds)
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Education
2023-2024: Bar Vocational Studies (City University, Distinction)
2022 – 2023: Graduate Diploma in Law (City University, Distinction)
2021- 2022: MSt Medieval History (University of Oxford, Balliol College)
2018 – 2021: BA History (University of Oxford, Balliol College, Double First Class)
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Other
Alongside her academic and legal work, Ella is a competitive athlete. At University, she captained Oxford’s Cross-Country club and was awarded blues in Cross-Country and Athletics. She now competes in triathlon, recently qualifying for the 2025 Ironman 70.3 World Championships.