Adam Kramer Call 2004; BA Law (Oxon); LLM (McGill) E-mail: akramer@3vb.com

Practice

Before coming to the Bar, Adam was a law lecturer in contract, land and crime at Durham University and University College, Oxford. Adam continues to publish in the fields of contract and tort law, principally focusing at present on the law of damages.

Currently part of Clydesdale Bank's three counsel team in the overdraft charges test case, Adam has been instructed as a junior in some of the most important pieces of commercial litigation in the last few years. In the last year he was led in a 52-day fraud and money laundering trial arising out of embezzlement by the former Zambian Government, and before that acted in a three counsel team for the insurance brokers in the film finance trial and appeal in HIH v JLT.

He also has extensive experience as sole counsel appearing at trials and interlocutory hearings, and advising, in a broad range of commercial disputes in the county courts, High Court and the Court of Appeal. Significant past and current experience is set out below.

Banking and Related

• Author of the Guarantees section in the Encyclopaedia of Banking Law (LexisNexis looseleaf, ongoing)
  
  
• OFT v Abbey National and others (Comm Court 2008). Test case concerning the legality of overdraft charges on consumer current accounts, acting for Clydesdale plc, led by Richard Salter QC and John Odgers; instructed by Addleshaw Goddard LLP.
  
  
• Tatch v Claughton [2007] EWCA Civ 559 (Lloyd LJ). Application to Court of Appeal to strike out appeal against decision extending time beyond a limit in a consent order; underlying dispute related to enforcement of a legal charge, sole advocate; instructed by Addleshaw Goddard LLP.
  
  
• Advised in relation to an insider loan subordination agreement (2006).
  
  
• Involved in a substantial claim relating to the Box Clever securitisation of receivables; instructed by Lovells LLP (2006).
  
  
• Advising a major investment bank in relation to its involvement in a split-capital investment trust (2005), led by Andrew Onslow QC and Adrian Beltrami; instructed by Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw.



• Appeared at various strike-out, stays and other hearings related to bank charges and early redemption fees, guarantees, mortgages and possessions, lender's subrogation claims, stopped cheques, credit card agreements etc.
  
  
• Also: Advised a local council on possible claims against installer of computer software and banks arising out of erroneous BACS payments (2006), advised in relation to action for negligent preparation of a credit reference (2006).

Commercial Fraud

• Attorney General of Zambia v MCD & Others [2007] EWHC 952 and [2007] EWHC 952 (Peter Smith J). Dishonest assistance and conspiracy, embezzlement of $55m by the former President of Republic of Zambia, laundering by solicitor through client account. Acted for a partner in the 1st defendant. 52-day trial resulted in judgment for the Claimant. Also [2007] EWHC 1540 (Ch) on credit for realisations. Led by David Head; instructed by Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP.
  
  
• HSBC v 5th Avenue & Others (Comm Ct. 2006) Represented investors in freezing order and other interim applications and skirmishes in the early stages of this major fraud case. Led by Gregory Mitchell QC and Ian Wilson; instructed by Goodman Derrick LLP.

Company and Insolvency

• Dispute concerning the timing of periodic certificates of assets prepared under a share purchase agreement pursuant to a deferred consideration clause (2007), led by Richard Salter QC. Instructed by Goodman Derrick LLP.
  
  
• Dispute concerning the calculation of deferred consideration under a share purchase agreement (2007). Instructed by Chiltern plc.
  
  
• Share sale agreement, dispute concerning registration following purchase of share capital in a Lloyd's underwriting company (2007). Instructed by Kendall Freeman.
  
  
• Hill v RFS Ltd (Salisbury CC, 2006) and [2006] All ER (D) 227 (Nov) (HC, Mark Cawson QC). Application to set aside £0.7m statutory demand, personal guarantee. Acting for the creditor (who won at the hearing and on appeal; I only conducted the paper part of the appeal). Instructed by DWF.
  
  
• Petition for director's disqualification for unfit conduct, acted for the Government.

Construction

• Pearson Education Ltd v The Charter Partnership Ltd [2005] EWHC 2021 (TCC) (Thornton QC) and then [2007] EWCA Civ 130. Professional negligence of architect, intermediate examination of building and effect on duty and causation. Acted for the claimant/respondent (who won at trial and on appeal). Led by Mark Pelling QC until his judicial appointment, and then Colin Edelman QC; instructed by Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP.
  
  
• Advised brokerage firm on professional indemnity insurance policy coverage of construction professionals (2006).
  
  

Employment

• Restraint of trade, acting for former employee (2006).

Financial Services

• Dispute between financial services company and financial adviser (2007); dispute between financial advisor and customer concerning loss of commission upon early cancellation of life policy (2006).
  
  
• FSA enforcement, two directors of a plc, response to preliminary findings of unfitness, one complaint dropped, other led to a financial penalty. Led by Ali Malek QC; instructed by Lawrence Graham LLP (2005).
  

Insurance and Reinsurance

• HIH Casualty & General Insurance Ltd v JLT Risk Solutions Ltd [2006] Lloyd's Rep IR 493 (Langley J) ) and [2007] 2 Lloyd's Rep 278 (CA). Post-placement brokers' duties of care, film finance, back-to-back insurance and reinsurance, $42m. Acting for the brokers (who won at trial and on appeal). Led by Tom Weitzman QC and Jonathan Davies-Jones; instructed by Eversheds LLP.
  
  
• Reinsurance broker's negligence, failure to promptly pass on claim notification to reinsurer, $350k claim, acting for reinsurer (2007).
  
  
• Also: Motor insurance, theft by close acquaintance, acted for insured, case settled (2007); advised brokerage firm on professional indemnity insurance policy coverage of construction professionals (2005); insurance claim for hurricane damage, advice to the insured (2005).

IT

• IT company, installed computer software, led to erroneous BACS payments, acting for local council customer (2006).

Media

• HIH Casualty & General Insurance Ltd v JLT Risk Solutions Ltd [2006] Lloyd's Rep IR 493 (Langley J) and [2007] 2 Lloyd's Rep 278 (CA). Film finance and brokers’ duties. Led by Tom Weitzman QC and Jonathan Davies-Jones; instructed by Eversheds LLP.
  
  
• Dispute between Lindsay Lohan and a luxury hotel over possible agreement to pay for a celebrity appearance at a party, acting for the hotel (2007).
  
  
• Development contract, TV series, acting for a media consultancy, instructed by Schillings and then licensed access (2006).
  

Professional Negligence

• HIH Casualty & General Insurance Ltd v JLT Risk Solutions Ltd [2006] Lloyd's Rep IR 493 (Langley J) ) and [2007] Lloyd's Rep 278 (CA). Post-placement brokers' duties of care, film finance, back-to-back insurance and reinsurance, $42m. Acting for the brokers (who won at trial and on appeal). Led by Tom Weitzman QC and Jonathan Davies-Jones; instructed by Eversheds LLP.
  
  
• Reinsurance broker's negligence, failure to promptly pass on claim notification to reinsurer, $350k claim, acting for reinsurer, instructed by Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP (2007).
  
  
• Pearson Education Ltd v The Charter Partnership Ltd [2005] EWHC 2021 (TCC) (Thornton QC) and then [2007] EWCA Civ 130. Professional negligence of architect. Led by Mark Pelling QC until his judicial appointment, and then Colin Edelman QC; instructed by Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP.
  
  
• Advising a major investment bank in relation to its involvement in a split-capital investment trust, with Andrew Onslow QC and Adrian Beltrami; led by Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw (2005).
  
  
• Also: accountant's negligence re: taxation of family settlement (2007), financial adviser's negligence (2007).
  
  

Sale of Goods and Supply of Services

• Sale of goods and guarantee claims: industrial machinery, telecomms equipment, second-hand bus engines, a caravan, high-performance and other cars, springer spaniels etc.
  
  
• Supply of services claims: taxi advertising, Hindi translation, construction, financial, IT, property consultancy, energy consultancy, recruitment, promotional services, hotel booking etc.
  
  

• Funding agreement relating to a nursery (2007); copyprinting franchise agreement dispute (2007); partnership dispute (2006); debt assignment (2005).

Publications

• 'Guarantees' in the Encyclopaedia of Banking Law (LexisNexis looseleaf, ongoing).
  
  
• Contract Law Commentaries - A Digest of Articles, Chapters and Monographs (forthcoming: Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2008)
  
  
• 'Remoteness: New Problems with the Old Test' (published in R Cunnington and D Saidov (editors), Contract Damages: Domestic and International Perspectives (Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2008).
  
  
• Bewigged and Bewildered? A Guide to Becoming a Barrister in England and Wales (Oxford Hart Publishing, 2007)
  
  
• 'Smoothing the Rough Justice of the Fairchild Principle' (published in (2006) 122(4) Law Quarterly Review 547-553)
  
  
• 'An Agreement-Centred Approach to Remoteness and Contract Damage' (published in N Cohen and E McKendrick (editors), Comparative Remedies for Breach of Contract  (Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2005) 249-286
  
  
• ‘The Implication of Contract Terms as an Instance of Interpretation’ (2004) 63 Cambridge Law Journal 384-411



• ‘Common sense principles of contract interpretation (and how we’ve been using them all along)’ (2003) 23 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 173-196



• ‘Proximity as principles: Directness, community norms and the tort of negligence’ (2003) 11 Tort Law Review 70-103
  

• Honourable Society of Gray's Inn
  
• Society of Legal Scholars (SLS)
  
• Bar Pro Bono Unit
  
• Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR)
  
• London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association (LCLCBA)
• Professional Negligence Bar Association (PNBA)