View full CV

Practice Summary

Maximilian Schlote undertakes a broad range of commercial work. As well as appearing unled in the County Court and the High Court, Max has experience of being led in high-value litigation at all levels. 

Max is currently acting for a large joint-venture contractor in an LCIA arbitration relating to a construction project in the energy sector. The main hearing took place over four weeks in November 2018.  A further hearing is listed for February 2019.  

Max is also currently acting for the Additional Liquidator of Herald Fund SPC in his appeal to the Privy Council in the long-running dispute between Herald and Primeo (Herald’s largest shareholder) concerning the rectification of Herald’s register of shareholders.  This case, like the Reichmuth and Fairfield cases mentioned below, arises out the Madoff ponzi scheme. 

Max’s recent work has included the following:

  • For Dana Gas PJSC the Middle East’s largest regional private-sector natural gas company, in its (now settled) dispute with the holders of ca. US$700 million exchangeable and ordinary bonds (or ‘sukuk’).  The case was one of the first and largest in the English Commercial Court raising issues concerning the validity and enforceability of Islamic financing arrangements.  See:[2018] EWHC 278 (Comm); [2018] EWHC 277 (Comm); [2017] EWHC 2928 (Comm); [2017] EWHC 2605 (Comm); [2017] EWHC 2340 (Comm); [2017] EWHC 1896 (Comm);
  • For the claimant financial institutions in the £4bn RBS Rights Issue Litigation in the Chancery Division;
  • For Barclays Bank PLC, in its successful application to the Commercial Court to adjourn the eight-week trial of a damages claim brought by PCP Capital Partners LLP (Amanda Staveley’s investment vehicle) until the conclusion of related criminal proceedings: PCP Capital Partners LLP v Barclays Bank PLC [2017] EWHC 2897.  For more information, please click here
  • For Littlewoods (most recently before the Supreme Court) in its £1.2bn claim in restitution in respect of compound interest on overpaid VAT in Littlewoods Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2017] UKSC 70;
  • For Reichmuth & Co, a Swiss private bank, in its intervention in an appeal to the Privy Council concerning the redemption of shares from a feeder fund of Bernie Madoff’s investment Company: Pearson v Primeo Fund [2017] UKPC 19;  
  • For Credit Suisse before the Privy Council in another case also related to the Madoff ponzi scheme: Credit Suisse London Nominees Ltd & Anr v Fairfield Sentry Ltd (In Liq) [2014] UKPC 9;
  • For the buyers of a vintage Ferrari in Copley Motorcars Corporation & Anr v Bonhams 1793 Limited & Ors in multi-party proceedings in the Commercial Court involving, inter alia, claims of fraud and misrepresentation;
  • For the defendant in substantial claims in the Commercial Court between the Russian parties to a trust deed relating to the sale of shares in a Russian bank in Kolyada v Yurov;
  • For the claimant in the arbitration award enforcement proceedings in the Commercial Court in Cruz City 1 Mauritius Holdings v Arsanovia Ltd & Ors; and
  • For the claimant in Sabre v Standard Bank, a £50 million claim in the Commercial Court relating to the banking of an oil and gas project.

Max is fluent in German.

Prior to transferring to the bar in 2012, Max worked for two years at Slaughter and May.