Shyam Thakerar

Shyam has assisted numerous businesses and individuals with contractual, shareholding and insolvency issues and has represented clients in the High Court both as sole and junior counsel. He has acted both for and against multinational corporations and accepts instructions at all stages of proceedings. Some recent examples of his work include:

• Acting on behalf of the successful Claimant on every single issue in a 2-day County Court trial concerning the structure of a commission-based agreement between the parties.
• Acting on behalf of the Defendant in a share sale dispute listed for a 2-day multi track trial. Following Shyam’s introduction to the case and after providing advice, a favourable settlement agreement was entered into with Shyam’s client not having to make any further payment to the Claimant.
• Advising a creditor on how they can set aside an undervalue transaction in potential insolvency proceedings.
• Advising a creditor on potential claims that can be brought against them for loans that have been repaid, in the event the debtor becomes bankrupt.

Shyam’s commercial practice also incorporates cyber and data protection issues. Shyam is the co-author of the book: Cyber Risks and Insurance: The Legal Principles (Bloomsbury Professional, July 2021). Shyam can advise on a range of issues in this field, including crypto fraud, initial coin offerings and regulatory and compliance considerations.

He further regularly deals with data protection issues, including breaches of the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, as well as the related issues of misuse of private information and breach of confidence.

Some examples of Shyam’s recent work in cyber and data protection include:

• Advising on whether a claimant could claim the value of lost Bitcoin at the time of a default judgment hearing or whether she was bound to only recoup the value of the Bitcoin at an earlier period. The value of the Bitcoin had risen by approximately £4 million by the time of the default judgment hearing.
• Drafting Particulars of Claim for a blockchain developer following the Defendant’s failure to pay digital tokens in breach of contract.
• Advising a client on the likely damages to be awarded for a data breach involving over 1,300 potential claimants.

Shyam regularly undertakes work with an international dimension. He has dealt with jurisdictional issues and worked on foreign-seated arbitrations under varying arbitral institutional rules.

Shyam has undertaken a placement at a leading law firm in the MENA region, Al Tamimi & Co. He worked in the international litigation team and played an integral role in numerous cases. Some of Shyam’s work during his time there included:

• Leading the drafting of a successful application, and evidence in support, for urgent interim relief and a freezing order for the value of c. US $110 million. Shyam also assisted in drafting the Request for Arbitration to the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC).
• Assisting David Holloway (Partner and Head of Advocacy) in successfully defending an application to set aside a consent order based on lack of jurisdiction. Acted for a multi-billion-dollar company.
• Assisting in pre-arbitration correspondence for a claim with an estimated value of US $10-20 million.
• Drafting a claim in the DIFC courts for a claim worth an estimated US $7.5 million.

Shyam also recently undertook a secondment in the international arbitration team at a leading London city firm where he worked on a variety of international litigation matters, including:

• Drafting advice and letters before action for a Middle Eastern-based company on a range of issues, including breaches of confidentiality of an arbitration.
• Advising a client on a potential claim under ICC arbitration for US $4.2 million following the sale of a majority stake in a pharmaceutical company.
• Drafting an application to secure the attendance of witnesses based in the UK under the Arbitration Act 1996 for a foreign-seated arbitration.

Shyam is an experienced and high-quality junior in all areas of employment law. He frequently appears in the Employment Tribunal in preliminary hearings and multi-day trials. He acts on behalf of both Claimants and Respondents and has dealt with complex discrimination, unfair dismissal, whistleblowing, deduction from wages and worker status claims.

In addition to his advocacy work, Shyam is often instructed to draft pleadings and advice, as well as represent clients in Judicial Mediation.

Whilst with Al Tamimi & Co, Shyam worked on an employment matter in the DIFC Courts concerning the breach of a secondment agreement governed by Dutch law. Shyam welcomes employment instructions with an international dimension.

Shyam has also worked and advised on cases concerning post-employment restrictive covenants (including non-compete and non-solicitation clauses) and their validity.

Selected Cases

Parnell v (1) Diamond Blaque R Limited & (2) The London Borough of Camden (Case no. 2202841/2023)

Appeared on behalf of the Second Respondent in successfully defending all claims in a five-day whistleblowing claim in the Employment Tribunal.

Grant-Ryder v (1) The Governing Body of the Maelor School (2) Wrexham County Borough Council (Case no. 1600885/2020)

Appeared on behalf of the successful claimant in a five-day substantive hearing in the Employment Tribunal concerning disability discrimination and unfair dismissal. Shyam also appeared for the Claimant at a separate remedies hearing where she was awarded approximately £78,000. This case attracted media attention with articles featured in the Daily Mail and Metro.

Hancock v Hollinway Ltd t/a WOWYAUCHOW Altrincham (Case no. 2405920/2020)

Appeared on behalf of the successful Claimant in her claims for pregnancy discrimination and automatic unfair dismissal. Represented the Claimant in a separate remedies hearing.

Teanne Andrews v London Borough of Waltham Forest (Case no. 3213017/2020)

Appeared on behalf of the Respondent in its application for deposit orders. Following a one-day hearing the Tribunal issued deposit orders in respect of the majority of the Claimant’s claims, including her claims for redundancy pay, race discrimination and victimisation.