Nick Segal

Selected cases as a solicitor

Nick had lead partner roles in many of the large cross-border and domestic restructurings during the period 1990-2005. He also specialised in banking and financial law (including public debt issues and structured finance) and advised financial institutions in structuring and documenting a wide range of financial products and debt instruments. In addition, he specialised in bank and financial institution resolution and was one of the lead partners advising the Bank of England on resolution and recovery issues (including advising the Bank over Lehman weekend). Notable cases include lead partner roles in the restructuring of the BCCI Group (acting for the Abu Dhabi Government and BCCI for over a year in preparing restructuring proposals and investigating the fraud before the collapse of the bank); the global restructuring of the Heron Group, advising the administrators of the Maxwell Group; advising the Bank of England in connection with, and then the administrators of, Heritable Bank, Kaupthing Bank and the Dunfermline Building Society; advising the board of Northern Rock during the financial crisis and in connection with its nationalisation; advising the board of BMI on the airline’s integration into British Airways; advising the Government of Trinidad and Tobago on the resolution of the CLF Group; advising Stemcor on its global restructuring and advising the senior creditors in the Lehman ‘Waterfall’ litigation in the UK Supreme Court.

Recent Judgments

• Re BJB Career Education Company Limited – [2025] CIGC 102 – the court’s jurisdiction under the rules to permit a provisional liquidator to apply for his discharge and its inherent power to order that the provisional liquidator be released from liability
• Re Cassatt Insurance Company Ltd – Bermuda Supreme Court – 14 October 2025 – after the filing of an unfair prejudice petition under section 111 of the Companies Act 1981, the respondent shareholders agreed to sell their shares in the company and the petitioner sought an injunction to restrain the sale pending the determination of the petition
• Jafar v Abraaj Holdings and others – FSD 203 of 2020 (NSJ) [2025] CIGC (FSD) 69 – The open justice principle – application by Plaintiff for an order that the Court’s trial judgment not be made public until thirty days after he had filed his notice of appeal – Plaintiff intended to challenge on appeal the findings made and comments in the judgment that were critical of the Plaintiff, his principal witness and his son who was neither a party nor gave evidence – Plaintiff asserted a risk that publication would cause him and them very serious and irreparable harm.
• Jafar v Abraaj Holdings and others – FSD 203 of 2020 (NSJ) [2025] CIGC (FSD) 70 and 71 25 July 2025 – Judgment after trial of claims in deceit (under Cayman and UAE law) and unjust enrichment (under UAE law) based on oral misrepresentations by controller of the Abraaj group of companies and quantification of damages claim.
• In the matter of Hangzhou v Zaichang – [2025] CIGC (FSD) 70 – 30 June 2025 – Ex parte without notice application (made by a summons) for service out of the jurisdiction of the writ of summons and statement of claim – Ex parte without notice application (made by a summons) for a freezing injunction prohibiting the disposal of assets. The applications were made following and to enforce a judgment of the Shanghai Financial Court.
• In the matter of Productivity Media Inc – FSD 360 OF 2024 – 18 December 2024 – Ex parte application made by a summons seeking freezing order in support of proceedings in Ontario Canada pursuant to section 11A of the Grand Court Act (2015 Revision) 
• Laggner and others v Uphold Limited – FSD 0134 OF 2022 – 5 December 2024 – Winding up petition – liability for costs of strike-out applications – applications for indemnity costs and payment on account of costs

Cases in which Nick’s judgments have been considered by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

• Shanda Games Limited v Maso Capital Investments Limited [2020] UKPC 2; [2020] I BCLC 577 – appraisal action – minority discount
• Perry v Lopag Trust Reg [2023] UKPC 16; [2023] 1 W.L.R. 3494 – claim that transfer of shares to Liechtenstein trustees should be set aside for mistake or breach of Israeli matrimonial property law; test to be satisfied for appeal seeking to disturb concurrent findings of fact reached at first instance and on appeal
• Tianrui (International) Holding Co v China Shanshui Cement Group Limited [2024] UKPC 36; [2025] A.C. 709 – company law; do minority shareholders have a personal right of action against the company where directors act in breach of duty by issuing shares for an improper purpose and to dilute the minority’s shareholding?
• Cayman Shores Development Ltd v Proprietors of Strata Plan No 79 [2025] UKPC 27 – real estate and registered land; whether proprietors had a recreational easement over adjacent land; whether the easement had been properly registered and if not whether rectification of the register should be permitted
• Maso Capital Investments Limited v Trina Solar Ltd [2025] UKPC 48 – appraisal action; assessment of fair value by first instance judge; the proper scope of appellate review of that decision
• IGCF SPV 21 Limited v Al Jomiah Power and another JCPC/2025/0005: appeal argued and heard on 6 October 2025 [judgment awaited] – anti-suit injunctions in relation to foreign proceedings – proceedings in Pakistan – whether the applicant had submitted to the jurisdiction.

• Judicial member of the Judicial Insolvency Network and the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts
• Formerly, Chair of the UNIDROIT UK Foundation for International Law
• PRIME Finance (Panel of Recognised International Market Experts in Finance) expert in financial law
• Member of the International Insolvency Institute (one of the founding members and a member of the board for many years)
• Member of the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL)
• Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies
• Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy
• Formerly, Trustee of BAILLII (British and Irish Legal Information Service)
• Member, Advisory Board for the Oxford Centre for Commercial Law Studies
• Formerly, Chair of the Oxford University Alumni Board
• Formerly, Member, Steering Committee and Executive Committee of the Secured Transactions Law Reform Project
• Lecturer, BCL, Oxford University
• Member, Conference of European Restructuring and Insolvency Law (CERIL)
• Formerly Visiting Fellow at University College and at Queen Mary & Westfield College, London

• Carl Albert Prize 1979 (best first class degree in finals in Oxford college)

• Consulting Editor, Totty, Moss & Segal: Insolvency (Sweet & Maxwell)
• Contributing author, Lightman & Moss: The Law of Receivers and Administrators of Companies (Sweet & Maxwell)
• Contributing author, Moss, Fletcher and Issacs: The EU Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings (Oxford)
• Contributing author, Rose, Restitution and Banking Law (Oxford)
• Journal articles include: The impact of Insolvency on the right to rescind – the flaw in the Crown (29 Insolvency Intelligence 27 (2016)

Commercial Judicial Review, Adjudication, Arbitration as arbitrator, Expert Determination, Commercial Mediation, Bankers’ Duties, Credit Financing, Financial Mis-selling, Moneylenders’ Actions, Securities Law, Contract, Conflict of Laws, Equity, Tort, Unjust Enrichment, Insurance Law, Negotiable Instruments, Partnerships, Sale of Goods, Corporate Governance, Derivative Action, Unfair Prejudice Petition, Bankruptcy, Restructuring, Schemes of Arrangement, Winding-Up, Letters of Credit, Sale and Carriage of Goods, Auditors’ Negligence, Disciplinary Proceedings, Solicitors’ Negligence, Trusts, Wills, Probate and Administration of Estates, Anton Piller Relief, Asset Tracing, Bankers’ Books Orders, Discovery, Injunction, Norwich Pharmacal Orders, Conveyancing, Easements