Bird & Bird is advising a group Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) shareholders on a £2.4bn lawsuit brought against the bank and a group of former directors including former chief executive Fred Goodwin.

The firm is representing the RBoS Shareholders Action Group, which said it is bringing the lawsuit as a "last resort" after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) had failed to help them recover losses incurred by a 2008 rights issue.

The £12bn rights issue, which came months before the bank was bailed out by the Government amid the financial crisis, saw the claimants buy additional shares in the bank at 200p each, set against the current value of around 25p.

The shareholder group, which has around 7,500 members, is claiming £2.4bn, including lost interest, due to the decline in the value of their investment.

Bird & Bird partner Steven Baker is leading the team acting for the shareholders, having taken the work with him in a lateral move from Olswang in January this year. Baker has instructed Serle Court barrister Philip Marshall QC to pursue the claim in court.

It is understood that RBS has instructed Herbert Smith to defend the claim, although the top 10 UK law firm declined to comment.

Mike Neil, the director of the claim at RBoS Shareholders Action Group, told Legal Week: "Our hopes were with the FSA but they have failed us in this instance. As such, bringing this claim is a last resort for us. We feel that we have lost out and now want to put the facts in front of the High Court to decide on an outcome."

The latest developments come after news emerged last week that Herbert Smith and McGuireWoods are set to take lead roles on a multibillion-pound lawsuit brought against former Lloyds TSB directors for allegedly misleading investors over its merger with Halifax Bank of Scotland in 2008.