Alan Watts

Partner, Head of Class Actions, UK and EMEA

London

Alan jointly leads our global class action group, heads our commercial litigation team in the UK and jointly heads our partnership team.

Alan works with clients on all forms of dispute resolution including High Court litigation, arbitration and mediation proceedings.

Alan has nearly 30 years dispute resolution experience and is an extremely versatile dispute resolution lawyer.

Alan has significant expertise encompassing commercial disputes, partnerships, media and entertainment law and defamation and privacy. He is sought out for difficult and complex cases often involving proceedings and the use of injunctions in numerous jurisdictions. He is a go-to specialist for companies and individuals whose reputation or privacy may be under threat and is regularly called upon to prevent the unauthorised use of confidential information.

He is recognised as "one of the best litigation lawyers in the City" by Legal 500 UK 2021 and as a "very well-respected litigator" who "handles a number of complex and highly sensitive matters across a range of sectors" by Chambers UK 2020.

In Legal 500 UK 2021 he is ranked in their “Hall of Fame” category for Commercial Litigation, Reputation Management and Partnerships.

Experience & capabilities

Selected matters

Commercial Litigation

Jon Hillary in respect of a claim brought against him and his co-defendants by Ocado Plc alleging misuse of confidential information and breach of duty
Ron Dennis in a fraudulent misrepresentation claim relating to a design and build contract entered into with the Defendants
a Chinese owned company on potential fraudulent misrepresentation claims in relation to the acquisition of 65% of a media rights company which almost immediately entered administration
Certain of the former non-executive directors of Carillion plc in relation to all aspects of the insolvency of the Carillion Group, including advising in relation to appearances before Parliamentary Select Committees and successfully defending them in disqualification proceedings brought by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade
an aircraft leasing company to successfully secure the consent to the transfer of existing leases to a third party as required under a long term contract including preparing an application for injunctive relief
a Virgin Group Entity in relation to a claim against a third party regarding the use of the Virgin brand under a trademark licensing agreement which led to a judgment in excess of $100 million in Virgin's favour

Class Actions

UEFA in relation to personal injury claims brought on behalf of certain Liverpool fans in attendance at the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris
BHP in relation to claims arising out of the collapse of the Fundão dam in Brazil
Post Office Ltd in connection with a current high profile class action brought in the English courts by more than 500 of its sub-postmasters
a global technology company in connection with a threatened class action to be brought in the English High Court involving at least 12,000 claimants alleging unlawful means conspiracy
RBS in relation to claims brought by thousands of shareholders arising from a rights issue, including advising on settlement and reputational issues

Reputation Management

Lord Alan Sugar on various reputational matters
an entrepreneur in the international energy sector in relation to the publication of a false and highly defamatory article by a weekly Persian language online publication
Associated British Foods on various reputational matters
a large corporate and retail bank in relation to reputational issues arising from an issue that occurred in 2018. This involved advising the bank regarding its appearance before a parliamentary select committee and also in relation to an independent report produced regarding an issue
a European supermarket chain in respect of allegations made in the press regarding their solvency and the solvency of their corporate group
a charitable training provider on a pro-bono basis regarding certain false and misleading statements made on various online blogs regarding the conditions faced by individuals training as part of their programme. This involved advising both pre and post publication
certain directors of the Stobart Group in relation to defamation and malicious falsehood claims made against them by one of Stobart Group's former directors
an international technology and financial services provider on potential claims arising from the publication of a number of online news articles
Primark on its successful complaint against the BBC over broadcast of the Panorama programme which included faked footage of Primark's supply chain and Associated British Foods generally
an international bank in relation to a successful application to obtain an injunction to prevent the misuse of a highly confidential internal report that was published online

Shareholder and Partnership Disputes

Sir Ron Dennis, Dermot Desmond and John Kelsey-Fry KC in relation to litigation regarding Queenwood Golf Club Limited
an international patent and trademark attorney practice in relation to a dispute between certain members of the board. We also advised in relation to the resolution of this issue and consequential matters
an international law firm in respect of an arbitration with one of its former partners who sought to resign from the firm and commence work for a direct competitor in alleged breach of their restrictive covenants
a ‘big four’ accountancy firm in relation to a dispute surrounding an alleged breach of the Limited Liability Partnership Agreement in connection with the retirement of a former partner
a 'big four' accountancy firm in relation to the move of their firm in Denmark to a rival
a 'big four' accountancy firm in proceedings in the Privy Council in relation to the rights of administrators to seek documents and information from PwC in relation to companies that they audited and which are now in administration
an international law firm in defending multiple claims of discrimination and victimisation