Rory McAlpine

Rory McAlpine is a recognised leader in the field of international dispute resolution, and is the head of Skadden's Asia Pacific Litigation Group, based in Hong Kong. Mr. McAlpine acts for corporates and financial institutions on complex and multi-jurisdictional disputes. He handles domestic and international court litigation, as well as alternative dispute resolution. He was one of the very first solicitors to appear in the High Court in England and has conducted more High Court hearings in London than almost any other solicitor working for a major law firm. 

Mr McAlpine's recent experience includes representing: 

 - Taiwanese clients, since 2013, in multi-billion dollar court proceedings, in one of the world's highest value and most complex disputes, involving court actions in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Bermuda and the U.S.;

- Roman Abramovich (the Russian oligarch) in 2013 and in a landmark victory in a US$6 billion dispute with Boris Berezovsky over alleged interests in the oil company Sibneft and the metals company Rusal. The court dismissed the claims, ruling in favor of Mr. Abramovich. This was the largest and most high-profile case ever to be heard in the English Commercial Court and the largest private dispute in the world;

- various Greek and Cypriot banks in multi-billion Euro litigation (in London and in Cypriot) arising out of the Hellenic Banking Crisis in 2012; 

- Bermuda Sugar Corporation (the world's largest sugar producers), from 2012 to the present in multi-billion pound litigation relating to the growth of sugar cane in Cambodia. 

In addition, he has acted for many of the world's leading banks (including Citi, Lloyds, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale, Credit Agricole, NatWest/RBS, BNP and Lloyds Banking Group). 

Prior to joining Skadden in 2011, Mr. McAlpine was, for more than 20 years, a partner, head of advocacy and head of litigation at another major international law firm, of which he was a member of the global management team and the Deputy Chairman from 2007 until 2011. 

While at his previous firm, his notable cases included: successfully defending a major international bank on multi-billion pound shared appreciation mortgage group action; successfully defending a multinational oil company on a US$100 million ICC arbitration relating to alleged breaches of operating agreements in an offshore Nigerian oil block; achieving a successful recovery for a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer in an LCIA arbitration relating to the default of an Indian passenger airline; and defending Royal Bank of Scotland in a multi-million pound action relating to breach of confidence and use of trade secrets, resulting from the take-over of the UK Conoco fuel station network.

Mr. McAlpine has consistently been recognized as a leading individual for dispute resolution in Chambers UK, Chambers Global and The Legal 500. The 2015 Legal 500 Asia Pacific describes him as "truly excellent" and states that he is a "very effective and commercially orientated lawyer" and has "excellent industry knowledge".