Perfil
Claire Broadbelt, Co-Chair of the UK Civil Fraud & Business Disputes Practice, represents clients on multi-jurisdictional civil fraud matters, both pursuing and defending complex claims. Her cases (which have included some of the highest value cases ever before the English High Court) often involve serious allegations of fraud or misconduct, including the diversion of business opportunities, claims of deceit, breach of confidence, breaches of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, bribery, and secret profits. She regularly handles matters which include worldwide asset-tracing and recovery, freezing and search orders, and other associated injunctions. She advises clients across a wide range of sectors including banking and finance, commodities trading, IT, retail, and property.
A skilled commercial litigator, Claire has deep experience executing and defending search and seizure orders and acting as a supervising solicitor. She frequently represents individuals and businesses seeking the return of money and other valuable property seized by regulatory or criminal authorities internationally.
Claire frequently deals with simultaneous investigations by regulatory and prosecuting authorities both in the UK and abroad. She has advised clients in major cases involving prosecutors in Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, and Italy, serving as co-counsel with international lawyers.
Claire is known for her strategic approach and client support during what is often a challenging time professionally and personally. She works with clients to devise strategies to deal with the most complex factual and legal issues.
Claire is recognised for Civil Fraud in The Legal 500 UK 2025 and described as “a fantastic lawyer and team leader, who is very calm under pressure and has great judgement”.
She is also recommended in Chambers & Partners 2025 for both Civil Fraud and Global Asset Tracing & Recovery where she is referred to as “a brilliant leader”, “very responsive and has great judgement and “hard-working and technically excellent: strategic, pragmatic and commercial”.
Claire is recommended as a Thought Leader for Asset Recovery in GIR 2024 and as a Global Elite Leader for Asset Recovery in Who's Who Legal 2024.
Capacidades
Experiencia
- Acting for a Russian businessman in respect of a claim brought by an organ of the Russian State, in relation to alleged participation in a large-scale fraud leading to the collapse of a bank.°
- Acting for a HNW judgment creditor in respect of the multi-jurisdictional enforcement of a multimillion-dollar foreign judgment which included asset tracing in several jurisdictions and the use of disclosures orders in England and the US followed by freezing and attachment orders.
- Advised the main individual defendant in one of the most aggressively pursued and largest claims ever brought before the Commercial Court (quantum – US $2.1bn), which was listed for a 13-week trial in April 2017 (number 6 in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases 2017). The case involved complex developing legal issues, including the use of confidentiality clubs to protect the physical security of people based in Libya. The action, which involved serious claims of intimidation and bribery, was discontinued with an agreed payment of £16.5m in respect of the client's costs.°
- Represented private individuals and a number of overseas corporate entities in defending a substantial multi-jurisdictional shareholder dispute arising out of the management and subsequent liquidation of an offshore investment fund which involved the setting aside of a worldwide freezing order and proprietary injunction and bringing counterclaims, some of which were double derivative claims on behalf of a foreign company. The case settled on confidential terms shortly prior to the hearing of the defendants' application for permission to continue their derivative claims.°
- Advised in relation to retaining a worldwide asset-freezing injunction against a member of the royal family of Qatar and one of the world's most prolific collectors of art and antiquities in support of U.S. proceedings and the subsequent recovery in full of the outstanding debt.°
- Acted for one of the world’s largest privately owned property and investment groups and its directors in their defence of two sets of High Court proceedings concerning the central London building, First Avenue House. The proceedings were brought in 2010 by the previous owner, Standard Life, and the Government tenant, the Secretary of State for Justice. Both sets of proceeding were settled on confidential terms without admission of liability with confirmation that the Secretary of State for Justice and the group will continue to work together to ensure that the building continues to meet the operational needs of the Courts and Tribunal Service.°
- Advised a City of London banker in defending civil proceedings brought by the bank to recover substantial bonuses paid by the bank for alleged misconduct, deceit, and breach of contract and in the parallel investigation by the Financial Services Authority. The allegations concerned the pricing of sophisticated financial products. The proceedings were settled.°
- Acted for a senior executive summarily dismissed on spurious grounds of dishonesty and/or gross misconduct. Negotiated a financial award for the client and a full written retraction of the dishonesty allegations after actively pursuing claims in the High Court and Employment Tribunal.°
- Acted for a major dairy distributor involving multiple search orders and disclosure orders in a case of alleged fraud, breach of confidence, conspiracy to injure and malicious falsehood against the client’s major competitor in the dairy industry. The proceedings were settled.°
- Acted for private equity investment companies and an Administrative Receiver. Achieved innovative Interlocutory Orders allowing the companies whose ownership was in dispute to trade (by virtue of a Court appointed Board of Directors) whilst proceedings were extant. A Strike Out Judgment was obtained against the two main Defendants (who had asset stripped the companies and by virtue of an illegal share allotment had awarded control to themselves) to return control of the companies to their clients, damages and Costs Orders. The proceedings were settled with all the Defendants.°
- Acted for a high street manufacturer and retailer of jewellery. Obtained a freezing, asset preservation, disclosure and delivery up order against ex-employees, employees and others who had stolen money, stock, and confidential information, and set up a competing business. Achieved Judgment at the earliest opportunity, third party debt orders, charging orders and significant cost orders against all the defendants.°
°The above representations were handled by Ms. Broadbelt prior to her joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
Reconocimientos y Liderazgo
- Listed, Chambers and Partners UK, “Fraud: Civil – UK-Wide,” 2017-2025
- Listed, Chambers and Partners Litigation Support Global-Wide, “Asset Tracing & Recovery - Notable Practitioner,” 2023-2024
- Listed, The Legal 500 UK, 2017-2025
- “Banking Litigation: Investment and Retail,” 2023
- “Fraud: Civil – London – Crime, Fraud and Licensing,” 2017-2025
- “Commercial Litigation Premium”, 2025
- Selected, Who’s Who Legal, 2019-2024
- “Thought Leaders – GIR – Asset Recovery,” 2019-2024
- “Global Leader – Asset Recovery,” 2019-2024
- Winner, "Mentor of the Year" – British Legal Awards, 2022
- Chairperson of Greenberg Traurig’s London DEI Committee 2022-Present
- Deputy Chair, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), 2023 – Present (non-executive director from 2019)
- Non-Executive Director, London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation (LCAM), 2019-Present
- Chairperson of LCAM’s Legal Think Group, 2021-2023
- Member, Women’s White Collar Defense Association, 2012-Present
- Member, International Bar Association (IBA) and member of the IBA Global Asset Recovery Committee
- Member of the Global Steering Committee of the Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses (ERE)
- Member of the Fraud Lawyers Association (FLA)
- Former Chairperson, Young Fraud Lawyers Association (YFLA)
Credenciales
- LPC, College of Law London
- M.A., Criminology, Scarman Centre for the Study of Public Order, University of Leicester
- LL.B. (Hons), University of Leicester
- England and Wales