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Gordon McAllister

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Areas of Focus

Overview

Clients from around the world trust Gordon McAllister to resolve their most complex and business-critical disputes. Gordon provides clear, commercial advice, counseling clients at all stages of their disputes: from advising on dispute prevention and avoidance strategies to obtaining and enforcing awards and judgments around the world.

Gordon is multilingual and qualified in three jurisdictions. He is often the first call for international businesses with issues arising under English or international law. He has worked on some of the largest litigation in the English High Court in recent years, including claims in excess of £1 billion, and some of the most complex international arbitrations, both commercial and investor-state.

Gordon has a track record of obtaining precedent-setting and frequently cited judgments, including in areas as diverse as competition law and the obligations of expert witnesses in English civil litigation.

Gordon is passionate about understanding clients’ businesses and works seamlessly as part of their teams, rather than as a traditional external counsel. He has experience across a wide range of sectors: aviation, finance, pharmaceuticals, transportation, logistics, and construction.

Gordon is a fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He is committed to pro bono matters and holds regular advice sessions at legal clinics in London. Gordon also has experience working at the Office of Capital Defense Counsel in Jackson, Mississippi.

Career & Education

    • University of Warwick, B.A., first class honours, english and german literature, 2007
    • Oxford Brookes University, LL.B., 2009
    • University of Warwick, B.A., first class honours, english and german literature, 2007
    • Oxford Brookes University, LL.B., 2009

    • Solicitor in England and Wales, Higher Rights of Audience
    • Solicitor in the Republic of Ireland
    • Solicitor in Northern Ireland
    • Solicitor in England and Wales, Higher Rights of Audience
    • Solicitor in the Republic of Ireland
    • Solicitor in Northern Ireland

  • Professional Activities and Memberships

    • Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
    • Fellow, Royal Society of Arts
    • ICC Young Arbitrators Forum
    • London Solicitors Litigation Association
    • Junior London Solicitors Litigation Association 
    • DIS (German Institution of Arbitration)
    • Solicitors' Association of Higher Court Advocates
    • International Bar Association

    Professional Activities and Memberships

    • Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
    • Fellow, Royal Society of Arts
    • ICC Young Arbitrators Forum
    • London Solicitors Litigation Association
    • Junior London Solicitors Litigation Association 
    • DIS (German Institution of Arbitration)
    • Solicitors' Association of Higher Court Advocates
    • International Bar Association

    • German
    • Spanish
    • Swedish
    • German
    • Spanish
    • Swedish
Clients want holes, not drills. For businesses, the law is a tool. They need advice that is practical, commercial, and outcome focused.

Gordon's Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 08.06.25

We bid farewell to the Shareholder Rule in England – a company can assert legal professional privilege against its own shareholders

The case of Jardine Strategic Limited v Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd and 80 others (No 2) (Bermuda) [2025] UKPC 34 addresses significant issues regarding shareholder rights and legal professional privilege in corporate transactions. In particular, the case concerned the Shareholder Rule. This was a principle shareholders relied on to prevent companies from asserting privilege over documents, thus requiring companies to hand privileged documents over to them. On 24 July 2025, the Privy Council unanimously held that the Shareholder Rule no longer applies. Although the case concerned the law of Bermuda, the Privy Council issued a declaration (known as a Willers v Joyce direction) that its decision is binding on English courts as well. In so doing, it overturned an aspect of English law in force for almost 140 years....

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Representative Matters

Examples of recent commercial litigation representations include:

  • Representing Qatar Airways in a claim against Airbus concerning the premature degradation of its fleet of A350 aircraft.
  • Advising defendants with respect to allegations of a $200 million fraud.
  • Representing a creditor in relation to large-scale, multijurisdictional insolvency proceedings.
  • Advising an aviation insurer with respect to a dispute arising from a ground handling agreement.
  • Representing a group of companies in a cartel follow-on claim in the English High Court seeking £20 million in damages for illegal price fixing across Europe.
  • Defending an airline in relation to an allegation of cartel activity.
  • Representing an AIM-listed transportation company in the English High Court in relation to the repudiation of an operating contract.

Examples of recent commercial arbitration representations include:

  • Representing a multinational chemicals and biotechnology company in London-seated arbitration proceedings for breach of a license agreement.
  • Acting as lead claimant for a French transportation company in an €800 million dispute arising from a construction project in Asia.
  • Representing a South American company in an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration against a Caribbean government in relation to the construction of an aluminum smelter.
  • Defending a claim for losses arising out of the operation of a state lottery.
  • Defending an insurer in a $50 million claim pursuant to a Bermuda Form insurance contract.
  • Advising an online accommodations reservation company in relation to an appeal against a decision of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to place an application for a generic top-level domain into a contention set.
  • Representing a South African mineral and mining company in a London Court of International Arbitration proceeding, claiming damages of $190 million.
  • Representing a Canadian company in an ICC arbitration against a government- and a state-owned entity, following the repudiation of a joint venture agreement.
  • Providing English law advice to a Middle Eastern company in a commercial arbitration under the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration.

Examples of recent investment arbitration representations include:

  • Representing an investor in an ad hoc arbitration under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Arbitration Rules.
  • Advising an international hotel developer as claimant in a $600 million dispute under Internal Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes rules.
  • Advising a European construction and development consortium as claimant in an investment dispute under ICSID rules.
  • Advising a claimant in relation to an application for the annulment of an ICSID award.

Gordon's Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 08.06.25

We bid farewell to the Shareholder Rule in England – a company can assert legal professional privilege against its own shareholders

The case of Jardine Strategic Limited v Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd and 80 others (No 2) (Bermuda) [2025] UKPC 34 addresses significant issues regarding shareholder rights and legal professional privilege in corporate transactions. In particular, the case concerned the Shareholder Rule. This was a principle shareholders relied on to prevent companies from asserting privilege over documents, thus requiring companies to hand privileged documents over to them. On 24 July 2025, the Privy Council unanimously held that the Shareholder Rule no longer applies. Although the case concerned the law of Bermuda, the Privy Council issued a declaration (known as a Willers v Joyce direction) that its decision is binding on English courts as well. In so doing, it overturned an aspect of English law in force for almost 140 years....

View All Insights

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 08.06.25

We bid farewell to the Shareholder Rule in England – a company can assert legal professional privilege against its own shareholders

Client Alert | 7 min read | 10.09.24

Getting Bond(s) Out of Russia: UK Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal and Upholds Anti-suit Injunction

Firm News | 3 min read | 10.07.24

Crowell Earns Top Rankings from Legal 500 United Kingdom 2025

Publication | 05.23.23

Key Takeaways From Recent UK Insolvency Disputes

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Practices

Gordon's Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 08.06.25

We bid farewell to the Shareholder Rule in England – a company can assert legal professional privilege against its own shareholders

The case of Jardine Strategic Limited v Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd and 80 others (No 2) (Bermuda) [2025] UKPC 34 addresses significant issues regarding shareholder rights and legal professional privilege in corporate transactions. In particular, the case concerned the Shareholder Rule. This was a principle shareholders relied on to prevent companies from asserting privilege over documents, thus requiring companies to hand privileged documents over to them. On 24 July 2025, the Privy Council unanimously held that the Shareholder Rule no longer applies. Although the case concerned the law of Bermuda, the Privy Council issued a declaration (known as a Willers v Joyce direction) that its decision is binding on English courts as well. In so doing, it overturned an aspect of English law in force for almost 140 years....

View All Insights