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© 2012 Dorsey & Whitney LLP

  • Oxford University (M.A., 2005)
  • Oxford University (1995)
  • Inns of Court School of Law (Bar Vocational Course, 1997)

  • England & Wales
  • Called to the Bar of England and Wales in October 1997
  • Admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales in May 2002

Matthew Blower

Associate
London
P: +44 (0)20 7826 4585
F: +44 (0)20 7588 0555
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Matthew is a litigator in the Trial Group in London with over ten years’ experience. He specialises in commercial litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution and has broad experience of international and domestic disputes.

He joined Dorsey & Whitney in April 2006, having previously worked for six years at Slaughter and May. Prior to this, Matthew practiced at the English Bar as a barrister specialising in criminal defence and prosecution.

He is a member of the Electronic Discovery Practice Group. He has particular expertise in:

  • contractual disputes 
  • banking and financial services litigation 
  • fraud investigations and prosecutions 
  • international arbitration 
  • oil and gas disputes 
  • regulatory investigations and prosecutions 
  • enforcement of employee post-termination restrictions

Representative Litigation

  • Porton Capital Technology Funds and others v 3M UK Holdings Ltd and 3M Company [2011] All ER (D) 171 (Nov) 2895 (Comm) – Acting for 3M in this claim arising from the acquisition by 3M of a device for testing for MRSA. The issues included whether 3M was in breach of an earn out provision in the contract by the way that it conducted its business manufacturing and selling the product, whether 3M was entitled to cease the business and what sales would have been achieved. The case was widely reported in the media for the meeting which the former UK Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox held with a representative of the Claimants which ultimately led to the Secretary of State's resignation. 
  • Consub Delaware LLC v. Schahin Engenharia Limitada [2009] – Acting for a subsidiary of SIEM Offshore in a dispute arising from a contract for the maintenance of transatlantic subsea telecommunications cables. 
  • 889457 Alberta Inc v. Katanga Mining Limited and Others [2008] EWHC 2679 (Comm) – acting for Canadian mineral mining company in a dispute with one Bermudan and two British Virgin Island companies as to the ownership of shares in a mining company registered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The dispute raised complex jurisdictional arguments and questions of Congolese law. 
  • Acting for FTSE 100 company in a fraud claim against a former employee and sub-contractors, including applying for freezing and search orders and supervising ancillary proceedings in various offshore jurisdictions. 
  • Mahonia Limited and JP Morgan Chase Bank -v- WestLB AG [2004] EWHC 1938 (Comm); [2004] All ER (D) 10 (Aug) - acting for the Claimants in a successful action to enforce a $165 million letter of credit issued as security for a complex structured finance transaction entered into by the Claimants and a subsidiary of Enron Corp. 
  • Acting for clients in disputes with former employees, enforcing employee post-termination restrictions. 
  • Acting for a FTSE 100 company in a Financial Services Authority investigation into suspected market abuse. 
  • Conducting a case in the Technology and Construction Court concerning the alleged breach of environmental warranties.

Matthew is the London office’s pro bono co-ordinator. He has a particular interest in representing Jamaican prisoners serving life sentences in appeals to the Privy Council. He has conducted a number of such appeals including Noel Campbell v The Queen [2010] UKPC 26 and Peter Stewart v The Queen [2011] UKPC 11.

Presentations

  • Keynote Speaker, "European, English and U.S. Cross-Border Privilege Issues," IBC In-House Counsel Conference, Amsterdam, Holland, October 29-30, 2007