Harry Edwards

As Head of the Melbourne Disputes Group, Harry helps clients with heavyweight class actions and complex, strategically critical disputes and regulatory investigations. Harry has particular expertise in the wholesale and retail banking sectors and in securities and investment product class actions. Harry has led teams acting on some of the largest and highest profile disputes in the London and Australian markets. Before his move to Melbourne, Harry led our UK class actions practice.  Harry also co-leads our Global LIBOR Cessation Team, which has been engaging with clients, regulators and industry bodies on the issues which arise since its emergence as a critical topic for financial services firms.

Harry is an expert in claims involving securitisations and other complex derivative products, having advised various banks on litigation relating to the close-out of their derivative and other open positions facing Lehman-related entities.

He has written extensively on finance-related litigation, is co-author of the English law chapter of the Securities Law Review (Law Business Research) and is one of the authors of Class Actions in England and Wales (Sweet & Maxwell). Harry is described as "extremely hard working and clever", "a strong litigator with a deservedly rising profile" (Legal 500), "a star in the making" who "works hard and provides really inventive and thoughtful input on cases" and "responsive, tactical and engaged with a genuinely impressive ability to grasp complex detail" (Chambers & Partners).

Harry is a trustee of Steel Warriors, a charity that aims to reduce the number of young people carrying knives in the UK. It builds outdoor calisthenics gyms from the steel recycled from melted down knives confiscated from the street.

Harry's experience includes:

• advising Bayer in relation a product liability class action based on the alleged carcinogenicity of glyphosate products
• representing a number of listed companies or their underwriters in shareholder class action in the Australian, English and Danish courts including EML payments, Quindell, G4S and successfully defending Lloyds Banking Group and its former directors in the UK’s first shareholder class action to reach judgment which arose from the acquisition of HBOS at the height of the financial crisis
• advising a major Australian market infrastructure provider in relation to a regulatory investigation into an outage incident
• advising a large universal bank in relation to the transition of its loan books as a result of LIBOR discontinuance
• advising various Australian banks in relation to class actions brought in relation to the sale of retail products
• advising a rating agency in relation to misleading and deceptive conduct proceedings in the Federal Court
• successfully defending Goldman Sachs in a US$1.2 billion claim brought by the Libyan Investment Authority ([2016] EWHC 2530 (Ch)) in relation to a series of equity derivatives transactions, featuring allegations of undue influence and unconscionable bargain
• advising UBS on the regulatory enforcement action taken regarding trading losses of US$2.3 billion caused by the activities of Kweku Adoboli, and helping the bank support the prosecution in his criminal trial
• successfully defending UBS in Decura and others v UBS AG, London Branch ([2015] EWHC 171 (Comm)) relating to an alleged termination event under a joint venture agreement

Background

Harry has a First Class degree in Jurisprudence from University College, Oxford and is dual qualified as a solicitor in Australia and in England and Wales.

Harry trained with Herbert Smith Freehills in London and was promoted to partner in London in 2015. Prior to moving to Melbourne, he led the firm’s UK class action practice and now heads the Melbourne Disputes Team.