Julian Stait

Primary Focus & Experience

Julian specialises in the resolution of large, high-stakes and complex business and regulatory disputes and investigations. He has extensive experience of litigation before the English Courts (up to and including the Supreme Court), the resolution of complaints, disputes, and investigations before a number of regulatory authorities, international arbitration under the auspices of many of the major institutional rules, expert determination and other forms of ADR.

He has acted in a number of the largest and leading technology and communications cases to come before the English Courts; high-profile competition/antitrust cases and investigations; major cross-border investigations, particularly those in the financial services sector; complex banking disputes; major fraud litigation; as well as other high-profile business disputes.

His recent experience includes leading teams in the following matters:

• Acting for Visa in multiple sets of proceedings in the High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal (and subsequent appeals to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court) in relation to alleged infringements of competition law relating to the setting and implementation of multilateral interchange fees associated with the use of debit and credit cards, including in ‘opt-out’ and ‘opt-in’ collective proceedings in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
• Acting for a leading international bank in defending a High Court claim brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on behalf of several failed US banks in relation to alleged infringements of competition law and misrepresentations arising out of the setting of USD LIBOR.
• Acting for a leading UK energy company in high-profile proceedings in the Technology & Construction Court in relation to a failed IT project.
• Acting for Rabobank in relation to regulatory investigations into the setting of the LIBOR and EURIBOR benchmarks and settlements reached with the UK Financial Conduct Authority, the US Department of Justice, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Dutch Central Bank, the Dutch Public Prosecutor, and the Japan Financial Services Agency.
• Acting in litigation between two of the world's leading technology companies arising out of a contract relating to a £5 billion project for a UK government department.
• Acting on behalf of a leading global investment management firm in the defence of high-value claims brought by a UK pension fund alleging negligence and breaches of contract in relation to a £500 million investment in an enhanced cash portfolio of US MBS securities shortly before the financial crisis.
• Acting for AstraZeneca in its successful High Court litigation with IBM arising out of the termination of a US$1.5billion IT infrastructure project.
• Acting in LCIA arbitration proceedings between two leading satellite operators in relation to claims for breach of contract and misrepresentation arising from the critical malfunction of a communications satellite.
• Acting for one of the world's leading technology companies in defending claims brought by a major pay-TV company for breach of contract, negligence and deceit, amounting to over £700m. The trial of the action, which lasted for an entire court year, is one of the largest trials to come before the UK courts.
• Acting for a leading UK pay-TV company in relation to various appeals before the Competition Appeal Tribunal arising out of Ofcom's high-profile investigation into the Pay TV market.
• Acting for one of the world's leading IT companies in relation to disputes arising out of a US$1 billion global outsourcing agreement.
• Acting for Visa Inc. in its agreement to acquire Visa Europe for up to €21.2 billion.

Recognition & Accomplishments

Chambers and Legal 500 have said of him in recent years: “Julian Stait… has everything you’d want from a litigator: he’s a great team leader, excellent with clients and has superb analytical skill’”, “His great skill is in how to run a big, strategically important case”, “Julian Stait is variously described by senior market sources as ‘superb’ and the ‘go-to name, simple as that’”, “Julian Stait is ‘a master of litigation procedure and tactics’”, “Julian Stait is ‘simply superb; he is one of the best litigators around and stays exceptionally close to the detail without ever losing sight of the bigger picture’”, “Julian Stait is among the best trial lawyers in the UK”, “Julian Stait is a master strategist, who is always ready to challenge perceived wisdom and to ensure that the right strategic call is taken”, “Julian Stait is one of the wisest and most insightful partners I have ever worked with… he is one of the few people you can always count on to make a case-winning point. What really separates him from the crowd is his ability to step back from the minutiae of the litigation and find a commercial solution to a difficult legal problem”, "He is a strategic genius. He gets way behind the surface of the case and right down into the important business model of the client", “His experience and judgement are second to none and his client skills are superb”, “Julian Stait is my star pick. Fantastic in every way. Leads from the front and in the right direction. Brilliant lawyer and will instill confidence in everyone who entrusts their work to him”, “Julian Stait is the king of competition”, “Julian Stait must be one of the top commercial litigators in London, if not Europe”, “Julian Stait is a star individual in the banking litigation sphere” and “He has been involved in some of the most important and long-running cases in the last decade. He is superb on strategy, brilliant with clients, and his experience in this field is unmatched. The go-to name, without question”.

Julian was a co-author of the chapter on Evidence in the Encyclopedia of IT Law (Sweet & Maxwell), he was a co-author of Dispute Resolution in Project Finance Transactions (a chapter in International Project Finance – Law and Practice (Oxford University Press) and is a currently a co-author of the UK chapters of The Technology Disputes Law Review and The Private Competition Enforcement Review (both published by The Law Reviews).

Prior to joining Milbank in 2009, Julian had been a partner for over 13 years at a major international law firm where he had served as global co-chair of its Litigation & Arbitration Group. His move to Milbank was listed in Legal Business as one of the ten most significant lateral moves in 2009.  Julian founded the London Litigation team at Milbank, which he led from 2009 to 2026. Between 2014 and 2023, Julian also served as Co-Managing Partner of Milbank’s London Office.