David Simpson

Call 2003; BA(Hons)(Oxon)(Double First)
Email: dsimpson@3vb.com

David's practice combines specialist financial services work with more general banking and commercial litigation.

He is currently representing leading investment banks in defending claims worth over £100m arising from the sale of financial products, including structured notes and CDOs. Other recent cases have related to the sale or marketing of contracts for differences, tax schemes, pension transfers and collective investments schemes.

David has extensive experience of advocacy in County Court and High Court trials and interlocutory actions, appellate proceedings and LCIA Arbitration.

He has acted for financial services regulators in three countries and been particularly involved in the development of new financial centres in the Middle East. He has also contributed five chapters to the Blackstone Guide to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (ed Michael Blair QC) and co-edits the European law section of the Encyclopaedia of Banking Law, to which he has recently contributed a new chapter on the highly technical subject of Basel 2 implementation in the UK.

David's practice has, in recent years, become increasingly international with focus particularly on the Middle East and Africa. In the Middle East David has detailed knowledge of the legal systems in the GCC, having worked in Doha as a consultant to the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority, appeared in the court of the Dubai International Financial Centre on behalf of the DFSA and spoken in Riyadh on terrorist financing at the invitation of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. David has a particular interest in Islamic financial products including sukuk, murabaha and takafal. David's African caseload has included arbitrations relating to the coffee trade in Uganda and High Court litigation involving car dealerships in Mali and mineral exports from Burundi. David sits on the Combar Africa committee and is particularly keen to develop links between Combar and African commercial bar associations.

Publications

Blackstone's Guide to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (ed. Michael Blair QC), Second Edition 2009
Encyclopaedia of Banking Law (ed. Mr Justice Blair), co-editor of European Banking Law Division

Scholarships and Awards

Somerset Ivor Scholarship, Brasenose College, Oxford, 1998
David Karmal Entrance Award, Gray's Inn, 2001
Lord Justice Holker Award, Gray's Inn, 2002

Professional Membership

Gray's Inn
COMBAR

Before coming to the Bar David worked for the Busoga Trust, a charity which installs clean water sources in rural Uganda. He is still involved in raising funds for this work.