Simon Carroll is a partner and solicitor-advocate in the dispute resolution group.
Specialisms
An experienced litigator and solicitor-advocate, Simon specialises in cross-border commercial litigation & arbitration, insolvency & company disputes, sports law, and public law. He also has expertise in construction disputes; regulatory disputes, often acting for professionals & directors; and reputational risk.
With significant experience acting for a range of household names, Simon provides practical and commercially focused advice.
Experience
Simon has conducted litigation in most civil divisions of the English High Court; in the Court of Appeal & the Supreme Court; and has gained significant experience in domestic, international, and industry-specific arbitrations. He deals with disputes across all commercial sectors, and has particular experience in environmental energy, construction/insurance, technology, pharmaceutical, and commercial sport & media.
Prior to joining B P Collins LLP, Simon was in-house counsel for a global FTSE 30 ‘fast moving consumer goods’ company, focusing on commercial and regulatory disputes. Simon is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. He was appointed to the list of arbitrators for CIArb’s Business Arbitration Scheme (BAS) and the ICC UK Arbitrator directory this year; and has received several (confidential) appointments as sole arbitrator.
Simon’s commercial experience includes:
- the UK’s first Article 7(2) challenge under the Defamation Act 2013, and the first exercise of judicial discretion to decline jurisdiction under Article 30, Recast Brussels Regs in a €34m defamation action for a foreign government-owned seaport;
- a multi-million USD ICC arbitration against a foreign state; and
- a judicial review challenge to provisions of the UK government’s renewable energy scheme.
With a growing sports law practice, Simon has also acted for a number of athletes, including a multi-time Olympian; and often advises businesses and stakeholders on commercial and ‘sports-related’ disputes. Simon is on the panel appointment list for the Australia & New Zealand Sports Law Association and sits as an arbitrator member of the Joint Disciplinary Panel for the British Basketball League, and the Dispute Resolution Panel for national governing body, Swim England. He is also Vice-Chair of Swim England’s Dispute Resolution Panel.
Other achievements
As an advocate, Simon has appeared before a range of courts and tribunals involving commercial and insolvency disputes, and won Solicitor-Advocate of the Year at the BB&O Law Society awards 2019.
Simon is often asked for media comment, and was recently interviewed on BBC Radio in connection with intellectual property issues in TV & media. He has also appeared as panel ’expert’, discussing data protection, and commercial and insolvency issues, for various industry bodies.
Simon was again invited as to lead a trade delegation from West London Business at COP29 in Baku, participating (virtually) in industry-specific discussions on science, technology and innovation during the event, and speaking on their podcast. This follows from his attendance at COP26 Glasgow and at COP 28 Dubai.
Simon is ranked in The Legal 500 UK as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ for Commercial Litigation. In Chambers UK, clients describe Simon as “…an excellent lawyer and advocate and certainly an expert within his fields” in addition to being a “a very tough litigator in a very understated way.”
Outside the office
Simon is a non-executive director of a multi-academy trust. He enjoys almost all sports, including triathlons, completing his first Ironman 70.3 in 2014; and in December 2017 was part of a five-man crew which successfully sailed unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean.
