One Essex Court is delighted that 23 members of chambers are involved across 6 of the cases featured in The Lawyer’s recently published Top 20 Cases of 2026.
A summary of those cases are, as follows:
Siccar Point v Ithaca Energy
Laurence Rabinowitz KC, Laurence Emmett KC and Jarret Huang
will represent the defendant Ithaca Energy, instructed by Clyde & Co, in this 4-day Commercial Court trial in January concerning the sale of oil assets in the North Sea. Siccar Point sold Ithaca a significant interest in the rights to extract oil and gas from the Rosebank Field off the Shetland Islands in 2022. Following the deal, the Supreme Court’s Finch ruling determined that oil and gas projects should assess and disclose the impact on the climate of the fuel they produce, which led to Scottish courts declaring consent previously granted to develop the Rosebank Field was void. This $100m dispute centres on whether payment is due under the contract of the sale, and is likely to have significant implications for the UK oil and gas market.
Hipgnosis Music (In Liquidation) v Mercuriadis and others
Listed for four and a half weeks in the High Court’s Business List from 23 February, this high-profile, high-value trial will see Merck Mercuriadis defend a claim brought by the now-liquidated Hipgnosis Music alleging he breached his director’s duties by diverting a business opportunity to Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which saw the Fund invest in huge music catalogues. Hipgnosis Songs Fund was listed on the FTSE 250 before it was sold to Blackstone in 2024 for $1.5bn. The liquidators are also alleging the Fund and Hipgnosis Song Management unlawfully assisted in the breach. Neil Kitchener KC, Patrick Harty
and Dominic Li
represent Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Hipgnosis Song Management, instructed by HSF Kramer.
David Hamon and others v University College London
This four-week High Court trial, listed from 23 February, will see David Hamon lead a claim brought by 5,000+ former students of University College London (UCL) arising out of industrial action at UCL between 2018-2021, where it is alleged UCL breached its contractual obligations when it replaced in-person teaching with online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is alleged UCL also restricted campus facilities access during the pandemic, and cancelled teaching due to lecturers being on strike. The claimants are seeking damages. The trial, which will be the first case in court featuring former students seeking compensation from a university, will commence with an initial nine claims that will be heard as test claims. Anna Boase KC
and Alyssa Stansbury represent the UCL student claimants, instructed by Asserson Law Office and Harcus Parker.
Elizabeth Helen Coll v Alphabet and others
Gideon Cohen
will form part of the counsel team acting for the class representative Elizabeth Helen Coll, instructed by Hausfeld, against Alphabet, Google’s parent company, in these 14-week opt-out collective proceedings before the CAT in September. The class representative is seeking damages of £1bn+ on behalf of an estimated 19.5 million UK Android device users for losses resulting from Google’s alleged market dominance, which it is claimed led to consumers being overcharged on app sales, subscriptions and in-app content purchased through the Google Play Store. The proceedings will be heard together with claims brought by Epic Games (known for online video game Fortnite) and Professor Barry Rodger, who are alleging similar anti-competitive practices against Google.
Crane Bank v DFCU Bank
In October, the 12-week Commercial Court trial between Crane Bank and DFCU Bank will commence, which concerns claims of unlawful means conspiracy, bribery and dishonest assistance. In 2017, the Central Bank of Uganda granted a resolution allowing the sale of most of Crane Bank’s assets and liabilities to DFCU Bank. The claimants allege the resolution was not carried out for proper purposes and that aspects of the transaction should have alerted the defendants of potential bribery and corruption. Crane Bank seeks an estimated $200m for losses stemming from the alleged conspiracy between the defendants and the Central Bank of Uganda. The claim also calls into question the Foreign Act of State Doctrine (FASD). Hannah Brown KC, David Caplan, Owain Draper, Ben Zelenka Martin and Lauren Hitchman form the claimants’ counsel team, representing Crane Bank & others and instructed by Greenberg Traurig. Conall Patton KC and Emma Jones represent the 8th defendants, instructed by Milbank LLP.
Various investors v Glencore and Steven Kalmin
Listed for 12 weeks in the Commercial Court from October, this trial focuses on four sets of investors seeking compensation for the drop in share price caused by accusations against Glencore of misconduct, which resulted in law enforcement investigations including by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office. The 300+ institutional investors claiming include Legal & General and Aabar Holdings, an investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. The SFO, running criminal proceedings against six former Glencore employees over similar facts, has also intervened. The securities claims are brought under s.90 and s.90A FSMA. It is argued that the revelation of the alleged conduct caused the company’s shares to plunge with a serious impact on the claimants’ investments. Glencore is accused of misleading investors by not disclosing the purported issues. Sonia Tolaney KC, Henry Hoskins
and Matthew Barry act for the Pallas Partners claimants, instructed by Pallas Partners. Richard Mott
and Sabrina Nanchahal act for the Stewarts claimants, instructed by Stewarts. Laurence Rabinowitz KC, Alexander Polley KC and Andrew Lodder
act for Ivan Glasenberg, instructed by Steptoe International UK LLP.
The full list of featured cases can be seen here.