Gary Oliver
Senior Clerk
+44 (0) 207 822 7325
Charles Flint QC is a leading mediator and arbitrator, particularly noted for his expertise in financial services.
He is recognised as a leading mediator in Chambers UK 2021 and Legal 500 2021. Charles is included in the Legal 500 "Hall of Fame" in recognition of his role as a mediator.
In May 2018 Charles mediated the settlement of the claims brought against the Secret Intelligence Service arising out of the rendition of Abel-Hakim Belhaj to Libya in 2004. On 10 May 2018 the Attorney General made a statement in the House of Commons reading the apology given by the Prime Minister to the claimants following the mediation.
Charles is a director of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, a member of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which judges claims brought against the UK intelligence agencies, a member of the UEFA Adjudicatory Chamber which decides financial fair play cases, President of the National Anti-Doping Panel, which decides doping cases in UK sport, and Chairman of the International Tennis Federation tribunal.
Although Charles primarily mediates in financial services and banking cases he also mediates human rights, employment, fine art, insurance, professional negligence, public procurement, and sports law disputes. He has mediated in the UK, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Charles also acts as an arbitrator in commercial, banking and sports disputes.
Charles has been an accredited mediator for 20 years. He is included in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for excellence as a mediator and in Who’s Who Legal UK Bar 2015 Charles was rated as one of the five most highly regarded QC mediators. He is rated in Chambers and Partners 2020 and Legal 500 2019 as a leading mediator.
In May 2018 Charles mediated the settlement of the claims brought against the Secret Intelligence Service by Abdul-Hakim Belhaj arising out of his rendition to Libya in March 2004 (Financial Times 10 May 2018). In June 2019 he mediated the claims of Bank Mellat against HM Treasury, following the 2013 decision of the Supreme Court that the imposition of sanctions on the Iranian bank was unlawful (Financial Times 18 June 2019). In December 2019 Charles co-mediated the group litigation brought by 555 postmasters against the Post Office (The Times 12 December 2019).
Although Charles primarily mediates in financial services and banking cases he has also mediated in human rights, employment, fine art, insurance, professional negligence, public procurement and sports law disputes. He has mediated a number of international disputes in Asia and Africa. In January 2021, Charles conducted a 7 day mediation by video conference which led to a successful settlement of the human rights claims brought against a multinational corporation arising out of its operation in Kenya.
His mediation experience includes resolving:
He has also mediated a number of claims by former employees against financial firms for payment of discretionary remuneration.
Charles
also makes use of his wide experience as a commercial barrister to mediate
professional negligence, insurance, employment and commercial cases, as well as
sports and fine art cases in which he has a particular interest. He has
mediated a number of disputes between airports and police forces over the level
and costs of security measures required at regional airports. He has
successfully resolved a number of public procurement disputes between service
providers and central Government departments.
In 1999 Charles qualified as an accredited mediator with CEDR in London. He has spoken at a number of mediation events including speaking on “Mediation and the FSA” to the Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers and at the Tony Curtis mediation debate in 2007 against the motion “Barristers are giving mediation a bad name”. Charles contributed the section on mediating financial services disputes to David Richbell’s book on Mastering Commercial Mediation (2015).
Unsolicited feedback includes:
“Can I also reiterate my sincere thanks to you for your tireless professionalism and good humour through a very lengthy and difficult mediation. I think a deal was finally struck largely because you were able to find solutions to the numerous complex issues which arose.”
" I have availed myself of the services of about 8 mediators, and I think that you dealt with this one more adroitly than any of the others …”
"You will doubtless have heard that, perhaps against all odds, the parties managed to settle this dispute last night. I wanted to thank you for fantastic efforts to assist both parties, which proved invaluable. I think this is one of the more remarkable succesful mediations I have encountered, and I shall certainly keep it - and you - in mind next time someone opposes a mediation order saying "There is no point".
"I am writing to let you know that the litigation has now been settled on satisfactory terms. Your impeccable and incisive handling of the mediation proved to be a major factor in encouraging the two parties to reach a settlement, and we would like to thank you very much for your help."
“We would not have reached a settlement without your calm approach, determination and nuanced understanding of both sides’ positions. I appreciated your tireless efforts during the mediation to reach a fair solution that reflected our interests and values.”
“It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that it would certainly not have happened without your input, encouragement and persistence.”
“I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for your role in bringing this mediation to a successful conclusion. Your calming influence and determination to see this through was much appreciated throughout – as was your desire to see ‘fair play’ done and ensure that the investors’ position was not forgotten.”
“You are a very good mediator and even if we had no success this time, it was a thoroughly worthwhile process. You had the complete confidence of my clients”
His approach to mediation is not to seek to impose his own evaluation of the legal merits of any dispute, but to focus on ensuring that parties have properly assessed the risks of their respective positions, creating consensus and exploring alternative solutions.
Charles is a respected neutral with wide experience of business and commercial disputes. He is a member of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the judicial body responsible for oversight of the intelligence services in the UK. He is a director of the Dubai Financial Services Authority and former deputy chairman of the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Limited. He is President of the National Anti-Doping Panel, the independent tribunal which adjudicates on anti-doping disputes in sports, a member of the adjudicatory panel of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body, and chairman of the International Tennis Federation tribunal.
Charles' LinkedIn page can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-flint-qc-4729604a/?originalSubdomain=uk
“Charles is an excellent mediator who is very charming, great with clients and works hard to get a deal.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“Charles is an excellent mediator who is very charming, great with clients and works hard to get a deal.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“Calm and measured throughout, and able to identify the key issues and facilitate meetings between the parties.”
Legal 500, 2022
“His breadth and depth of knowledge in the sector is unmatched.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“Flint has established a strong reputation as a commercial and human rights mediator.”
Legal 500, 2021
“A financial services and regulatory specialist, he is highly experienced in mediating disputes arising in that sector.”
Chambers and Partners, 2020
“good operator with great presence and a stature that impresses people.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
Charles acts as an arbitrator in commercial, banking, financial services and sports cases. He is a Fellow of the Charted Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the LCIA.
As President of the UK National Anti-Doping Panel and as Chairman of the International Tennis Federation tribunal Charles is responsible for the appointment and supervision of about 50 arbitration panels each year, as well as deciding a number of cases or issues referred to arbitration under the aegis of Sports Resolutions. He has also arbitrated a number of commercial disputes in football, under Rule K of the Football Association rules.
He has arbitrated commercial cases under ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL rules.
Charles Flint QC is a leading specialist on the regulation of financial services under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. He has advised and acted for institutions, and the regulators, in regulatory proceedings and investigations and judicial review and was involved in many of the major regulatory cases which arose leading up to and after the financial crisis in 2009. He has been rated by Chambers as a star in financial services for over 15 years.
Charles mediates and arbitrates banking and financial services cases and is a director of the Dubai Financial Services Authority. He is on the panel assisting Sir William Blackburne in his independent review of complaints brought against the Royal Bank of Scotland in relation to its Global Restructuring Group. He is a member of the panel of chairmen for the AIM Disciplinary Committee established by the London Stock Exchange.
He has been retained by investment banks, fund managers, hedge funds, stockbrokers, insurers, retail banks and building societies in connection with regulatory investigations and proceedings relating to insider dealing and market abuse, market manipulation, endowment and derivative based product mis-selling, including interest rate swaps, split capital investment trusts and structured capital at risk products. He advised a number of the major banks on the LIBOR and FOREX investigations.
He has advised on senior management regulatory responsibilities arising out of the banking crisis, and acted on the first major case brought by the FSA in that area. He has also advised and acted for the regulatory bodies, FCA, PRA, FOS and FSCS.
He acted for Legal and General in the first major challenge in the Financial Services & Markets Tribunal to the powers of the FSA, the case which resulted in the complete overhaul of the FSA enforcement system. He acted for Philippe Jabre in the first market abuse case brought against a hedge fund, and for Winterfloods in the first market abuse case to reach the Court of Appeal.
He is a member of the Lawyers Consultative Group established by the FCA & PRA to advise on legal issues arising out of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. He was an invited speaker on the future of financial regulation at the City Debate 2002 organised by the Futures and Options Association. He is a contributor to "A Practitioner's Guide to FSA Investigations and Enforcement" (City & Financial Publishing). He is on the board of the Financial Services Lawyers Association.
In 1999 he was retained as leading counsel advising the Singapore Stock Exchange in its dispute with the Malaysian Central Depository over the freezing of the $4 billion CLOB portfolio.
Recent Cases
Between 1988 and 1994 Charles Flint acted as counsel for the Arab Monetary Fund in a major fraud action in the Chancery Division, and on appeals to the Court of Appeal and House of Lords. In 2000 he acted for the defendant in the proceedings brought by the State of Brunei against HRH Prince Jefri Bolkiah claiming the return of assets of $15 billion. In 2008 he appeared in the House of Lords in HMRC v Total Network, a leading case on the law of conspiracy.
In 1991 he was appointed a Junior Counsel to the Crown (Common Law). He acted for Government Departments, particularly the Ministry of Defence, in contractual and public procurement disputes.
He has appeared in the courts of Antigua, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, the Cayman Islands and the West Indies Court of Appeal, and in the court of the Dubai International Financial Centre, and in the Privy Council.
“He's a formidable player and intellectual. He's extremely respected.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He's a formidable player and intellectual. He's extremely respected.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He's so incredibly knowledgeable and immersed into this area, there's nothing he doesn't know.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“He's so incredibly knowledgeable and immersed into this area, there's nothing he doesn't know.”
Chambers and Partners, 2022
“A great name in the market: his advice is very clear, commercial and to the point, so he is very much in demand.”
Chambers and Partners, 2020
“His experience in financial services work is exceptional. His breadth and depth of knowledge in the sector is unmatched.”
Chambers and Partners, 2021
“A high-quality barrister.”
Legal 500, 2021
“Thinks on his feet and works well under pressure, he has a confident and reassuring manner with clients.”
Legal 500, 2019
“A first-rate lawyer who has the ear of the court and great experience”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“Vast experience and bags of courage.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019
“Brings a great deal of authority to any matter in which he is instructed.”
Legal 500, 2018
“Absolutely first-rate for any financial regulatory matter.”
Chambers and Partners, 2018
“Absolutely brilliant. So sure-footed, so calm, and judges just love him because he's so reliable and he gets it right”
Chambers and Partners, 2017
“An excellent practitioner whose depth of experience is unrivalled.”
Legal 500, 2017
“His depth of knowledge and wisdom with regard to financial services regulation is invaluable”
Legal 500, 2016
MA (Cantab), First in Law
Charles was joint head of Blackstone Chambers from 1997 – 2005.
VAT registration number: 245251577
Barristers regulated by the Bar Standards Board
Gary Oliver
Senior Clerk
+44 (0) 207 822 7325
Derek Sutton
Deputy Senior Clerk
+44 (0) 207 822 7327
Adam Sloane
Deputy Senior Clerk
+44 (0) 207 8227326
Dean Tolman
Clerk
+44 (0) 207 822 7331
Billy Brian
Clerk
+44 (0) 207 822 7339
Marc Armstrong
Clerk
+44 (0) 207 822 7330
Adam Fuschillo
Clerk
+44 (0) 207 8227329
Danny Compton
Clerk
+44 (0) 207 822 7338
Sophie Floydd
Clerk
+44 (0) 207 822 7324
Rio Sully
Clerk
+44 (0) 207 822 7299