Adam Holliman

Areas of Practice

Litigation and advice in the fields of Company Law, Corporate Fraud, Insolvency,
Shareholder Disputes, Commercial Litigation, Public Law.
Adam's recent experience includes:

Company Law

Advising in relation to shareholder disputes concerning issues of unfair prejudice, breach of directors' duties and
winding up on the just and equitable ground.
Advising (with Robert Miles QC) and acting in a dispute concerning an issue of
shares as one element of a multi-national dispute between shareholder factions interested
in numerous of companies.
Advising and acting (with Robert Hildyard QC and Orlando Fraser) in
a dispute involving allegations of breach of fiduciary duty by a director
of a substantial property investment company.
Advising (with John Brisby QC) in a dispute between family
shareholders of a company.
Advising (with John Brisby QC) on the prospects of lifting the
corporate veil in a case involving a state-owned oil company.
Drafting a share option scheme for key employees of a residential
property company.
Advising on a shareholder agreement as to whether it was void for perpetuity or
for infringing the insolvency regime.
Advising a company in relation to the redemption of preference shares.

Insolvency

Advising and appearing on an application by an administrator under the old regime
for permission to make a distribution to creditors prior to the commencement of liquidation.
Regularly appearing on and advising in relation to winding-up petitions
and connected issues such as restraining the presentation of petitions
and supervening applications for administration orders.
Advising and acting for both creditors and debtors in bankruptcy
proceedings including applications for annulment and for possession
and sale of the family home.
Advising in relation to the standing of persons wishing to object to an application to
restore a company to the register.

 
Commercial Litigation

Advising a commercial agent selling goods on behalf of its principal to the
garment industry in relation to The Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993.
Advising and drafting in relation to a dispute between a commercial tourist coach provider
and a tour operator.
Appearing (with Richard Hill and Alastair Tomson) for a Middle East
cigarette distributor against a major tobacco manufacturer in the
Commercial Court.
Appearing (with John Brisby QC) in a dispute concerning jurisdiction
under the Jurisdiction Regulation and the requirements of personal
service in a case concerning the ownership of shares in a major Russian
aluminium company.
Advising (with John Brisby QC and Richard Hill) in connection with
the preparation of an affidavit on various commercial aspects of
English law for proceedings in the United States.

 
Public Law

Instructed by the Government as part of the defence team in an action claiming damages
for alleged complicity in the rendition to and detention in Guantanamo Bay of terrorism suspects.
Competition law: Working for the Office of Fair Trading on a large
cartel investigation.

 
Other

Appearing in directions hearings and case management conferences,
applications to strike out and for summary judgement, and applications
for charging orders against residential property on matters in line with
Chambers' areas of practice.
Advising and drafting in various matters including those involving the
non-payment of sums under a building contract, resisting a claim by a
public relations company against a charity involving allegations of non-
payment and a defence to an action for non-payment of consultancy
fees coupled with a counterclaim for negligent performance.

Cases of Interest

Re Transocean Equipment Manufacturing and Trading Ltd, Carman v The Cronos Group SA
and Others [2006] EWHC 1324 (Ch);

Cherney v Deripaska [2007] EWHC 965 (Comm).

Publications

Contributor to ‘Annotated Companies Acts' (OUP, 2007, ed. John Birds) including on
provisions relating to the registrar of companies, financial assistance and the redenomination of sharecapital.

 

Academic

LLB King's College, London.
BCL St John's College, Oxford.
BVC (Outstanding), Inns of Court School of Law.

Lincoln's Inn: Buchanan Prize, Shelford Scholarship, Lord Denning Scholarship and
Hardwicke Scholarship.

King's College London: Strand Trust Prize, Prize in Jurisprudence, and Helen Gibbons prize
in Commercial Law.

Professional

Member of the Commercial Bar Association, Chancery Bar Association.