Tom Gentleman

Commercial litigation is the core of Tom’s work. He regularly appears in large scale, high value and complex commercial litigation. He is recommended as a leading junior in the directories for both commercial chancery work (Chambers & Partners Band 1) and for commercial dispute resolution.  His recent work includes:

• acting for Dr Mike Lynch and his estate in the Hewlett Packard / Autonomy litigation, where Autonomy sued its former CEO for in excess of £5 billion for accounting fraud.
• representing Gordon Brothers at the trial of a claim to recover funds advanced for the purchase of a German steelworks.
• acting for the successful appellant in Mold Investment v Holloway, where the Court of Appeal laid down guidelines on applications to set aside freezing injunctions.
• acting for Credit Suisse in the “Tuna Bonds” litigation, defending claims brought by the Republic of

He also has experience in commercial arbitration, and in Commercial Court proceedings relating to arbitration.

Tom has many years of experience as a specialist in company law. He advises and litigates in relation to shareholder disputes, unfair prejudice petitions, claims concerning misleading financial statements under s.90A FSMA, disputes over directors’ duties and misuse of corporate information / opportunities, and reductions of capital. He is recommended as a leading junior in this field by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500.

His experience includes Autonomy v Dr Michael Lynch (the litigation over Hewlett Packard’s acquisition of Autonomy, and the leading case on liability for misleading information in company accounts), Tchenguiz v Grant Thornton (the litigation following the collapse of Kaupthing), and many petitions under s. 994 of the Companies Act 2006.

His company law work has an international element, involving litigation in the BVI, Cayman Islands and Bermuda. He has been called to the Cayman Islands bar.

Tom is instructed in insolvency matters in the High Court, by creditors, debtors and insolvency practitioners. Amongst other things, his experience covers:

• Officeholder claims and misfeasance
• Applications regarding officeholders’ remuneration
• Challenges to proofs of debt
• Challenges to antecedent transactions (transactions at undervalue and preferences)
• directors’

Many of Tom’s cases focus on financial services and banking. He is recommended as a leading junior in banking and finance by the Legal 500. An experienced advocate and adviser on claims by lenders, including asset backed lending.

Recent experience includes:

• Acting for Gordon Brothers at the trial of its claim to recover funds advanced for the purchase of a German steelworks: [2026] EWHC 160 (Comm).
• acting for Credit Suisse in the “Tuna Bonds” litigation brought by the Republic of Mozambique concerning sovereign guarantees / bond issues. This was a multi-billion dollar claim which generated many reported High Court decisions, including: [2024] EWHC 1957 (Comm) (trial): [2023] EWHC 1650 (Comm) (strike out application); [2023] 1 W.L.R. 2428 (third party disclosure).

He acted for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in its long-running claim to recover hundreds of millions of pounds paid out in compensation to investors after the collapse of the investment firm Keydata. The litigation in the Commercial Court involved several hundred defendants and claims relating to many thousand individual investors. He has particular experience in dealing with complex, multi-party disputes.

• MA (Oxon), Modern History, University of Oxford
• Christ Church, Oxford, Scholar
• Graduate Diploma in Law (City), Distinction
• Lincoln’s Inn: Lord Brougham Scholar

Chambers & Partners UK 2027: ranked for Chancery: commercial, Company and Commercial Dispute Resolution

• “Exceptionally hardworking, he balances strong advocacy with thoughtful judgement and is remarkably agile on his feet.” (Commercial dispute resolution)
• “Tom is a barrister with spot-on judgement who has encyclopaedic knowledge and a great eye for detail.” (Commercial dispute resolution)
• “A barrister with great intellectual prowess who provided prompt and effective advice and advocacy in challenging circumstances.” (Company)
• “A good team player who always produces great performances.” (Company)
• “Tom Gentleman was responsive and succinct.” (Chancery: commercial)
• “Tom is an effective and tidy advocate, well organised with a clear thinking.” (Chancery: commercial).

Legal 500 2027: ranked for Banking and finance; Commercial litigation and Company

• “First class in getting up to speed quickly and grasping complex cases, leading to helpful early advice that helps in winning a client’s confidence. Measured strategic approach to advocacy.  Intelligently designed to achieve an outcome without ostentation.” (Company)
• “Tom is a superb barrister, gets straight to the point and is very clever. A joy to work with.” (Commercial litigation)

Chambers & Partners UK 2026

• “Tom is an incisive and effective advocate who combines a forensic approach with being a great team player.” (Chancery: commercial)
• “Tom Gentleman is super clever and hard-working. You can get hold of him at any time of the day. His technical skills are excellent, and he is very commercial in his approach.” (Company)
• “Tom is very creative. He has a brilliant written style, and he is a very good oral advocate as well.” (Company)

Legal 500 2026

• • Tom is a tremendously able and knowledgeable commercial lawyer, with vast legal knowledge and an unerring eye for the simple killer points.”
  • “Tom has an excellent command of detail. He is a strong advocate who brings new perspectives to a case.”