Harmish Mehta

Call: 2023

Barrister

Harmish Mehta is a commercial and chancery barrister. He specialises in commercial, insolvency and private client work. His commercial work spans arbitration, civil fraud, companies and shareholder disputes, and banking and financial services.

Harmish has extensive experience of working in counsel teams with senior colleagues on complex and high-value disputes, and complements this experience with his busy unled practice.

His ongoing and recent work includes defending civil fraud proceedings allegedly valued at more than £300 million (led by senior and junior counsel), preparing an application for worldwide freezing injunctions (led by senior junior counsel) and assisting senior counsel with preparation for a six-day trial of an unfair prejudice petition.

Harmish received First Class Honours in his LLB (London School of Economics and Political Science) and LLM (Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge).

Prior to pupillage, Harmish was Judicial Assistant in the Court of Appeal to the Rt. Hon. Sir Brian Leveson, who was President of the Queen’s Bench Division at the time.

For the two years preceding pupillage, Harmish worked for James Ramsden KC as a Senior Legal Assistant at Astraea Group, a boutique commercial litigation firm. There he assisted with commercial, commercial chancery, arbitration, civil fraud, financial regulatory and cryptoasset-related work.

Harmish taught law at the University of Cambridge for three years and continues his academic interest in the law by authoring publications. His work has been cited by the Law Commission.

COMMERCIAL AND ARBITRATION

Harmish is regularly instructed in commercial matters. His experience spans arbitration, contracts of guarantee, sale of goods and economic sanctions. His experience of arbitration includes anti-suit injunctions, interlocutory relief such as security for costs, and award enforcement. Harmish also draws on extensive exposure gained from commercial specialist supervisors during pupillage (Stuart Benzie, Alexander Kingston-Splatt and Zachary Kell) and his work at Astraea Group.

Recent or ongoing matters include:

UNCITRAL Arbitration [ongoing]: acting (led by Stuart Benzie) for an investor in an arbitration concerning impugned debt-to-equity conversions. Instructed by Laytons ETL.
Appeal regarding facility agreement [2025] (High Court, ChD): assisting Zachary Kell with an appeal concerning the basis of unpaid fees under a facility agreement.
Application to set aside stay for arbitration [2025]: acting for a defendant bringing an urgent application to set aside a stay of proceedings under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996.
Advice regarding commercial agent’s referral fees [2025]: advising a commercial agent on entitlement to referral fees at common law and under the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993. Instructed by Knights.
Claim regarding alleged guarantees and indemnities [2025]: acting for company directors denying liability under alleged guarantees and indemnities (in respect of a hire-purchase agreement), and bringing an additional claim against third party finance brokers, on the basis of misrepresentation of documents signed and an undisclosed commission.
Claim regarding allegedly unpaid commission [2025]: acting for a principal contracting business against an agent claiming entitlement to commission under an alleged oral agreement. Instructed by Mishcon de Reya.
Advice regarding shareholder loan agreements [2025]: advising a shareholder on the construction of a loan agreement between them and a company.
Advice regarding allegedly erroneous payments [2025]: advising a commercial entity on the recoverability of allegedly erroneous payments. Instructed by Birketts.
Statutory demand regarding guarantees and indemnities [2025]: acting for a lender against a surety under guarantees and indemnities (in respect of hire-purchase agreements). Instructed by Bermans.
Dispute regarding software service agreement [2025]: acting for a software provider in a dispute concerning alleged breach of a software development agreement. Instructed by Ellisons.
Claim regarding unpaid invoices [2025]: acting for a reputation management consultancy business claiming in respect of unpaid invoices. Instructed by Harwood & Co.
Advice regarding sale of goods [2024]: assisting senior junior counsel with advice on claims available for unpaid invoices for supplied goods.
Claim regarding purchase-and-lease agreement [2024] (High Court, London Circuit Commercial Court (KBD), B&PC) (as a pupil): assisting Zachary Kell with a claim worth £1.8 million concerning purchase and lease of renewable energy equipment.
Stati v Kazakhstan (whilst at Astraea Group): assisting James Ramsden KC, external counsel and various fee-earners in a multi-jurisdictional action, in which the firm acted as Global Counsel for the Stati Parties, to enforce a $500 million arbitration award against the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Enforcement of an arbitral award (whilst at Astraea Group): assisting James Ramsden KC in a cross-border shipping dispute in Singapore concerning enforcement of an arbitration award.
Advice on proposed arbitration proceedings (whilst at Astraea Group): assisting fee-earners on potential arbitration proceedings in a software dispute worth $2 million.
Advice relating to economic sanctions (whilst at Astraea Group): assisting James Ramsden KC, external counsel and fee-earners with advice in various matters relating to economic sanctions.

INSOLVENCY

Insolvency is a key part of Harmish’s practice. His experience spans bankruptcy, winding up, appointment of administrators (both in court and out of court), voluntary arrangements, special administration (under the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021), claims against directors and ancillary relief. He has extensive experience of working as part of a counsel team for an office-holder, building a strategy for the bringing in of the company’s assets, advising on interlocking matters as the office-holder’s investigations develop, and litigating claims and related interim applications on the office-holder’s behalf. Harmish also assisted with various insolvency matters during his pupillage seats with Stuart Benzie, Alexander Kingston-Splatt and Zachary Kell.

Recent or ongoing matters include:

Application under section 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 [ongoing] (High Court, ChD, B&PC): acting (led by senior junior counsel) for a liquidator in an urgent application for an order requiring a third party to provide an account of dealings with the company and produce records in their possession.
Dispute regarding director’s duties [ongoing] (High Court, ChD, B&PC): acting (led by senior junior and junior counsel) for a liquidator in respect of various proposed claims for breaches of director’s duties.
Application under section 112 of the Insolvency Act 1986 [ongoing] (High Court, ChD, B&PC): acting (led by senior junior counsel) for a liquidator in an application for a declaration as to the ownership of goods, an interim order permitting sale of such goods and a Berkeley Applegate order.
Appeal against winding up order [2025] (High Court, ChD): assisting Zachary Kell with an appeal against a winding up order presented on the basis of unpaid fees under a facility agreement.
Application in special administration [2025] (High Court, ChD, B&PC): acting for proposed representative respondents in an application for directions in a special administration under the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021. Instructed by DLA Piper.
Advice regarding liquidation procedure [2025]: advising a commercial entity on the procedure of creditor’s voluntary liquidation to assist with the entity’s efforts to enforce a foreign arbitral award worth more than €500 million. Instructed by Greenwoods.
Application under section 216(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986 [2025] (High Court, ChD, B&PC): acting for an applicant seeking leave to be a director and otherwise concerned in a company known by a prohibited name. Instructed by Keystone Law.
Advice regarding claims against defaulting director [2025]: advising a liquidator on claims available against a director for causing the company fraudulently to obtain finance, failure to cause the company to discharge consequent liability, and other defaults.

PRIVATE CLIENT

Harmish is regularly instructed in private client matters. His experience includes claims by and against personal representatives, applications to remove trustees, applications under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 and claims relating to testamentary capacity. During his pupillage seat with Daniel Burton, Harmish gained exposure to the full range of typical private client work, including claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975, “disappointed beneficiary” claims, rectification and variation of wills, deathbed gifts (donation mortis causa) and proprietary estoppel claims.

Recent or ongoing matters include:

Claim for executor removal [2025] (High Court, ChD, B&PC): acting for beneficiaries seeking removal of executors.
Claim under Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 [2025]: acting for executors seeking an order for sale pursuant to an agreement settling claims by the estate. Instructed by Greene & Greene.
Advice regarding insolvent estate [2025]: advising on the remedies available to a creditor of an insolvent death estate.
Advice regarding probate and proposed distribution [2024]: advising beneficiaries on formal validity of a will and a contemplated challenge to a grant of probate and the proposed distribution of an estate.
Claim against executors [2024]: acting for executors in a claim alleging breach of duty. Instructed by Greene & Greene.
Hirachand v Hirachand [2024] UKSC 43 (as a pupil): assisting Sophia Rogers (led by Constance McDonnell KC and Christopher Wagstaffe KC) with the appeal to the Supreme Court regarding whether a success fee under a conditional fee agreement is a debt the satisfaction of which may constitute a “financial need” for which the court may make provision in an award under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Lane v Lane [2024] EWHC 275 (Ch) (as a pupil): assisting Daniel Burton with the trial of a claim for will construction and removal of an executor, addressing for the first time whether a testamentary gift of a “share and interest” in a partnership adeemed on the basis that, at the time of death, the partnership had been dissolved but not yet wound up. Harmish and Daniel co-authored an article for the journal Private Client Business (click to view the article) which was cited in the Law Commission’s report Modernising Wills Law (Law Com No 419).
Folds Farm Trustees Ltd v Cutts [2024] EWHC 12 (Ch) (as a pupil): assisting Daniel Burton with the trial of a claim by trustees of discretionary will trusts for approval (or “blessing”) of their decision to appoint Folds Farm, the trusts’ primary asset, to one of the beneficiaries.

CIVIL FRAUD

Harmish has a busy civil fraud practice, as part of which he draws upon his commercial, insolvency and trusts expertise. His experience spans the full range of civil fraud causes of action and interim relief applications. Harmish is also well-versed in cryptoasset-related matters, having worked on landmark cases in the field, and cross-border issues.

Recent or ongoing matters include:

Claim regarding alleged fraud [ongoing] (High Court, ChD, B&PC): acting (led by senior and junior counsel) for the defendant in civil fraud proceedings allegedly valued at more than £300 million.
Dispute regarding fraud [ongoing] (High Court, ChD, B&PC): acting (led by senior junior and junior counsel) for a claimant in a proposed civil fraud claim and preparing an application for a worldwide freezing injunctions.
Application for interim relief [ongoing] (High Court, ChD, B&PC): acting (led by senior junior counsel) in an urgent application for an interim injunction and non-disclosure order and in support of a proposed civil fraud claim.
Arif v Sanger [2025] EWHC 1540 (KB): acting (led by Zachary Kell) for the claimant in a five-day preliminary issue trial concerning a limitation defence pleaded against a fraud claim.
Claim regarding deceit and undisclosed commissions [2025]: acting for company directors denying liability under alleged guarantees and indemnities on the basis of deceit and an undisclosed commission.
Application for interim relief [2024] (High Court, London Circuit Commercial Court (KBD), B&PC) (as a pupil): assisting Alexander Kingston-Splatt (led by Simon Mills) with an urgent application for Norwich Pharmacal, non-disclosure and anonymity orders to support investigations into suspected fraud in a commercial arrangement.
Upham v HSBC UK Bank plc [2024] EWHC 849 (Comm) (as a pupil): shadowing Zachary Kell (led by Philip Coppel KC) during the 8-week trial before Bright J of a £240 million deceit claim concerning the “Eclipse Partnerships” film financing and tax avoidance schemes.
Tulip Trading Ltd v van der Laan (whilst at Astraea Group): assisting James Ramsden KC in resisting a claim alleging that Bitcoin software developers owed fiduciary duties and duties in tort to apply a code to reverse the alleged theft of Bitcoin worth $4.5 billion. Harmish assisted with the jurisdictional challenge, which gave rise to hearings before the Court of Appeal ([2023] EWCA Civ 83, Birss LJ, with whom Lewison and Popplewell LJJ agreed) and High Court ([2022] EWHC 667 (Ch) and [2022] EWHC 2251 (Ch), Falk J, as she then was) and contested applications for security for costs ([2022] EWHC 2 (Ch) and [2022] EWHC 141 (Ch), Master Clark).
Wright v BTC Core (whilst at Astraea Group): assisting James Ramsden KC and external counsel in resisting a claim to ownership of alleged database rights in Bitcoin blockchain databases (see description in [2023] EWHC 1893 (Ch) at [14]).
Claim under section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (whilst at Astraea Group): assisting James Ramsden KC, external counsel and fee-earners with a cross-border civil fraud claim worth more than $50 million.

Harmish Mehta

Connect

Visit Portfolio