Hugh Sims KC is the silk that has financial institutions worrying after he brought the scope of the Quincecare duty back into the spotlight. Acting for the appellant Fiona Lorraine Philipp against Barclays Bank at the Court of Appeal early last year, Sims made it significantly more difficult for banks to successfully strike out a Quincecare duty case. The court ruled the duty, which sees banks refrain from acting on payment instructions if it believes it’s an attempt to misappropriate funds, does not depend on whether the bank is instructed by an agent of the customer of the bank.
The banking workload continues for Sims as he acted for a CEO in a £1bn LIBOR rigging claim against the Bank of Scotland. He also took on NatWest over allegations of dishonesty in a case involving a commercial residential development in Nottingham.
When he’s not busy taking banks to court, Sims is putting his legal skills to work in his village as part of a community buy-out of the local pub.