Cate Barbour, Senior Counsel, Walkers

Cate is a litigator specialising in fraud and asset recovery. She has advised and represented international financial institutions, high net worth individuals and government-owned entities in the investigation and prosecution of claims involving complex multi-jurisdictional corporate and commercial fraud, breaches of fiduciary duties, enforcement of foreign judgments, and the recovery and tracing of assets globally.

She has particular experience in assisting clients in relation to freezing orders and other urgent injunctive relief, often in support of foreign Court and arbitration proceedings, most recently acting for a large state owned bank in securing a US$2.6 billion freezing order from the Cayman Islands Grand Court, in support of English proceedings, and securing injunctive relief over a Yacht under the Merchant Shipping Act. She regularly advises on the enforcement of judgments and arbitral awards, most recently opposing the enforcement an interim arbitral award, in the first case to be considered by the Court on the enforceability of such awards.

Before joining Walkers she acted for the Central Bank of Bahrain in respect of the US$1.5 billion claim brought against AHAB in the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution for the recovery of loan monies advanced to Saudi Arabian borrowers through AHAB’s Money Exchange Branch. Her most recent matters have covered commercial fraud litigation, tracing and proprietary claims, and injunctive relief to prevent the compulsory redemption of shares.

Cate is currently based in Walkers' Dubai office and is involved in some of the largest offshore disputes for financial institutions and government owned entities from the GCC and wider region. She has been named as a Future Leader in the Who's Who Legal 2022 and 2023 guides and is regularly recognised in Legal 500.