Clifford Chance London litigation partner Alex Panayides is set to appear before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) in relation to his role in the controversial Excalibur case.

A notice published on the SDT website states that there will be a case management hearing in private at noon today (24 November).

Capsticks London disputes partner Daniel Purcell is representing the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) at the hearing.

The hearing relates to Panayides' involvement in the long-running Excalibur case, for which CC is under investigation by the SRA.

The case centres around a $1.6bn claim brought by Excalibur Ventures, an aspiring oil exploration firm, against two US oil companies, backed by a group of litigation funders.

Excalibur, which claimed that the defendants cheated it out of an exploration deal in Iraq, was represented by Panayides, who was working on a partial contingency fee.

Last year the Court of Appeal upheld a 2013 High Court ruling which found that the litigation funders were liable for the defence costs of the two defendants.

CC was criticised by the Court of Appeal for its role advising Excalibur, after it emerged that there were family ties between Panayides and one of the funders.

The Court of Appeal's ruling also revealed that CC was working for a contingency fee in which it could have recovered 140% of its usual fees, plus a discretionary success fee. This was the first time the magic circle firm had entered into a contingency arrangement, the court said.

In the 2016 ruling, Lord Justice Tomlinson stated: "CC themselves had from the outset an acute conflict of interest, the extent of which worsened as their own investment in the case increased over time. It should have been obvious to any astute businessman."

The SRA launched a formal investigation into CC over its role in the case in July, with the magic circle firm turning to Clyde & Co for advice.

CC and the SRA declined to comment.