Gareth Keillor
Partner
Gareth has over 20 years’ experience in a wide range of commercial disputes of varying size and complexity.
With experience of litigation in both the High Court and in offshore jurisdictions, as well as international arbitration, he has acted for a wide variety of international clients, from major companies to ultra-high net worth individuals.
He has a particular interest in fraud cases, commercial contract disputes, shareholder disputes and disputes involving injunctive relief, and has considerable experience in disputes arising out of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Gareth is also experienced in trust disputes, both acting for beneficiaries and for trustees, and disputes involving allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and is a full member of STEP (the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners) and a member of the committee of STEP’s City of London branch.
Prior to founding Seladore Legal, Gareth was Of Counsel in the London office of Herbert Smith Freehills (now Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer). Gareth studied law at the University of Warwick.
TESTIMONIALS
“A star partner, combining superb technical ability and experience with excellent case management and focus on clients’ wider strategic objectives. A formidable opponent in any case.”
LEGAL 500 2025
“A very experienced litigator who adopts a detailed and collaborative approach to his cases.”
LEGAL 500 2025
“Very clever, very creative, commercial and pragmatic.”
LEGAL 500 2025
WWL Recommended (Asset Recovery)
WHO'S WHO LEGAL 2024
"Gareth Keillor is an exceptional litigator – solutions focused, responsive, bright and sensible."
LEGAL 500 2022
“Gareth Keillor is extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful; has a lot of cross-border dispute resolution experience.”
LEGAL 500 2020
A “rising star” for London Private Clients
LEGAL 500 2019
“Very experienced and capable in offshore and in Russia/CIS/Ukraine matters”.
LEGAL 500 2019
“Gareth Keillor ‘is very experienced, thoughtful and level-headed’”.
LEGAL 500 2019
“Gareth Keillor is ‘bright, thorough, hardworking and is destined to become a major player in the contentious private client market’.”
LEGAL 500 2019
“Knowledgeable and responsive and is a very solid lawyer”.
LEGAL 500 2019
- Acting for a defendant in the mammoth High Court proceedings brought by the Kuwaiti Public Institution for Social Security against the Estate of Fahad al Rajaan and Others.
- Acting for Ziyavudin Magomedov and his companies in proceedings in a number of jurisdictions in relation to disputes concerning FESCO and NCSP.
- Advising in relation to the recognition in England of Russian bankruptcies and the successful identification and recovery of assets from the bankrupts.
- Advising a mining company in relation to a dispute concerning an offtake agreement.
- Acting for a multinational energy company in a dispute arising out of a Bulgarian joint venture.
- Acting for a major property developer in a dispute in the High Court, and subsequent litigation in New York and the BVI (including successfully resisting fraudulent attempts to wind-up corporate vehicles), in relation to control of a luxury hotels business.
- Advising a large corporate in a dispute with its rating agency concerning a ratings downgrade.
- Acting for PacifiCorp in its claim against HMRC for the recovery of unlawfully levied SDRT (part of the Stamp Taxes Group Litigation Order).
- Advising a hydrocarbon exploration and production company in defending a Commercial Court application by a sovereign state to set aside a UNCITRAL arbitration award.
- Acting for BNP Paribas in a dispute with NIDCO regarding claims pursuant to standby letters of credit.
- Acting for a UK law firm in defending a claim based upon alleged fraudulent activity by one of its partners in an overseas office.
- Advising a law firm in relation to an investigation (and related SRA issues) following the discovery of irregular financial conduct by one of its senior employees.
- Acting for a major private bank in relation to an LCIA arbitration, including obtaining a worldwide freezing injunction in support of an arbitration and a successful application for committal of the respondent.
- Acting for the United States Department of Justice in Section 25 Freezing Injunction proceedings in England in support of civil forfeiture proceedings in the US.
- Acting for a major CIS bank in its Supreme Court appeal against a prominent businessman, and in related proceedings in the British Virgin Islands.
- Acting for Rawlinson & Hunter Trustees SA, the trustees of the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust in relation to complex multi-party proceedings in Guernsey involving claims for circa £160m.
- Acting for a private individual in defending a challenge pursuant to sections 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 in relation to an arbitration of a trust dispute.
- Advising a major trust company in relation to potential claims for breach of trust in relation to fees incorrectly charged in relation to trusts.
News & Insights
Seladore confirms Singapore office launch following licence approval
Seladore Legal has confirmed the official opening of its Singapore office, effective Monday 1 September, with partner Liang-Ying Tan leading the practice.
Case Note: RFC Seraing v FIFA
The CJEU opens the door for national courts to review CAS decisions, but what is the relevance for clubs and players?
Failure to prevent fraud: countdown to commencement
On 1 September 2025, the failure to prevent fraud offence under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 comes into force for UK and overseas…