Louis Castellani

Partner

Louis is a partner specialising in commercial litigation, with over 25 years of experience covering a range of contentious work across many of the firm’s core sectors.

He advises global businesses at board level and private office investors, leading industry-specific and financial disputes in sectors that include music, film & TV, sport & sponsorship, live entertainment and hospitality & leisure. His experience covers challenges such as corporate investigations, urgent injunctions, royalty audits and KPI disputes, complex cases at trial, appeals, references to the Copyright Tribunal, arbitration under various rules and advising clients appearing before public bodies. He co-ordinates cross-border litigation all over the world, including enforcing against, and defending, valuable assets.

Louis also supports his clients with early strategic risk management decisions and helps guide them towards ways in which litigation can be avoided where that is in their interests.

Louis’ case highlights include (clients are listed in italics):

Investigations

• UK plc (internal investigation into financial malpractice)
• Nasdaq listed company (investigating secret commissions)
• NYSE listed company (investigating “syphoning” of confidential information)
• General partner, private equity (investigation into underlying investments)
• UK regulated sector (investigating personal misconduct)
• Sportsperson “A” (defending an FA investigation)
• Persons “A & B” (defending an internal investigation into secret commissions)

Media, entertainment and sport

• Virtus Leisure v Universal Pictures VP Ltd (contractual and fraud dispute)
• PRS for Music v LiveNation (Music) UK Ltd & others (Tariff LP)
• Lucasfilm Ltd v Ainsworth (Supreme Court) (the “Stormtrooper helmet” case)
• LiveNation (Music) UK Ltd v Leighton-Pope & Homer (confidential information)
• Experience Hendrix LLC v Times Newspapers Ltd (breach of contract)
• Concert Promoters’ Association (PRS Tariff Consultation)
• Ticketmaster UK Ltd v Gaming International Ltd (contractual claim)
• Association of British Concert Promoters v PRS for Music (Reference to Copyright Tribunal)
• PRS for Music v Festival Republic Ltd (royalty claim)
• Xtravaganza Recordings Ltd v Modena Recordings Ltd pka “Chicane” (was an album contractually “delivered”?)
• British Association of Concert Halls (PRS Tariff Consultation)
• News Group Newspapers v Littlejohn (breach of contract)
• Cardiff City FC v Moody (search order)
• Sells Goalkeeper Products Ltd v Allan McGregor (breach of contract)

Commercial and arbitration

• BNP Paribas v AHAB v Al-Sanea (jurisdiction challenge)
• Saad Investments Company Ltd (in liquidation) v Al-Sanea (Court of Appeal) (put-option claim)
• LCIA arbitration (breach of warranty claim under SPA)
• Victoria Beckham Limited v NJ Richards (professional negligence)
• Al-Muzein & Al-Subaihi v Al-Sanea (Court of Appeal) (contractual construction)
• LCIA arbitration (assessment of damages)
• Zennström v Barlow & others (professional negligence)
• Y v Attorney-General (acting for the trustees in Re Beddoe applications)
• Hyde & others v Tyshchenko (possession proceedings)

Civil law processes

• Representing a core participant in The Litvinenko Inquiry
• Acting for families and other interested persons in a number of coronial inquests

Louis qualified as a solicitor-advocate and spent the early years of his career at Clyde & Co.