The Legal 500 > Asia Pacific > Asia Pacific: The English Bar > Shipping and commodities

Leading Silks

1
Simon Croall QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ A very excellent and experienced, leading advocate who is a safe option for major maritime cases. ’
Timothy Hill QC - Twenty Essex ‘ A superb big-case heavyweight QC, he works harder and gets involved in strategy and every single detail of a dispute to a greater extent than any other barrister. ’
Charles Kimmins QC - Twenty Essex ‘ He thinks out of the box in terms of providing not just the legal answer but also a practical solution. ’
David Lewis QC - Twenty Essex ‘ Fantastic to work with, he has an incisive intellect and is very responsive. ’
Luke Parsons QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ A litigator with prodigious skill in the court room, one of the leaders of the shipping Bar. ’
Lionel Persey QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ Few manage so well to combine charm and agility with gravitas and hard work. ’
Simon Rainey QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ He demonstrates a sharp mind and is able to bring extensive subject-matter expertise. ’
Robert Thomas QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ He fully understands the commercial nuances of a case, his advocacy is very robust and also first-class. ’
Nicholas Vineall QC - 4 Pump Court ‘ Engaging and persuasive advocacy style with a good understanding of scientific and engineering principles. ’
2
Michael Ashcroft QC - Twenty Essex ‘ A leading shipping silk. ’
Nigel Cooper QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ Very sharp and concise, simplifying complicated cases. ’
Michael Davey QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ He is phenomenal for charterparty, ship transaction, collision, salvage and bill of lading disputes. ’
Nigel Jacobs QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ His advocacy can be exceptional and he has a manner which goes down extremely well with judges and arbitrators alike. ’
Chirag Karia QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ He provides commercial and pragmatic advice, and his attention to detail is excellent. ’
John Kimbell QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ Intellectually one the brightest counsel around and that combined with the thoroughness of his preparation makes him a truly formidable force. ’
Yash Kulkarni QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ Good at distilling the facts and legal issues to isolate the relevant matters that need to be dealt with. ’
Duncan Matthews QC - Twenty Essex ‘ Excellent in advocacy and organising strategy of the case, thorough in legal analysis and persuasive in presentation. ’
Jern-Fei Ng QC - 7BR 'Energetic and thorough, a pleasure to work with and an excellent drafter.'
Michael Nolan QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ Clear advice and prompt attendance regarding difficult matters, friendly approach, always ready to assist. ’
Sean O'Sullivan QC - 4 Pump Court ‘ Incredible work ethic, immediate and timely availability with well-grounded grasp on the law. ’
John Russell QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ He is a good, instinctive lawyer with clear views at the outset of a case and is very approachable. ’
Vasanti Selvaratnam QC - 36 Stone ‘A class act and a good advocate, she will always work with the client and fight their corner for them.’
James Turner QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘He is an outstanding silk who is extremely easy to work with and always on the ball.’
Timothy Young QC - Twenty Essex ‘ Knowledgeable, hardworking and conscientious, recommended without hesitation. ’

2019 Silks

Christopher Smith QC - Quadrant Chambers ‘ A recommended option for both wet and dry shipping disputes. ’

2020 Silks

Stewart Buckingham - Quadrant Chambers ‘ Knowledgeable, organised, rigorous, thorough, practical and a pleasure to work with. ’

Leading Juniors

1
Simon Milnes - Twenty Essex ‘ Proficient in Mandarin and well-connected in Singapore and experienced in Asia Pacific-based arbitrations. ’
Alexander Wright - 4 Pump Court ‘ He is very reliable and has a good reputation for cases with a maritime flavours. ’
Colin Wright - 36 Stone ‘Very easy to work with and practical, an excellent tactician.’
2
Ravi Aswani - 36 Stone ‘He is pragmatic, learned, erudite, and to the point.’
Tom Bird - Quadrant Chambers ‘ A first-rate barrister and very precise when it comes to preparing pleadings; very easy to work with. ’
Oliver Caplin - Twenty Essex ‘ Extremely thorough and very responsive. ’
Benjamin Coffer - Quadrant Chambers ‘ He has a very sound technical knowledge about the commodities trading industry. ’
Stephen Du -  King's Bench Walk ‘A junior to watch, excellent value and very bright with good judgement.’
Henry Ellis - Quadrant Chambers ‘ He has an ability to understand complex technical issues and excellent responsiveness. ’
Paul Henton - Quadrant Chambers ‘ Responsive and decisive, will put up a strong fight for clients. ’
Christopher Jay - Quadrant Chambers ‘ He can process large quantities of information quickly and goes the extra mile for the client. ’
Susannah Jones - Twenty Essex ‘ She always impresses as an opponent. ’
Andrew Leung - Quadrant Chambers ‘ A future start of the Bar, he is an excellent junior who gives good and constructive advice quickly. ’
Simon Milnes - Twenty Essex ‘ Proficient in Mandarin and well-connected in Singapore and experienced in Asia Pacific-based arbitrations. ’
Natalie Moore - Quadrant Chambers ‘ An intelligent and persuasive advocate and equally impressive advising on paper or in conference. ’
Gemma Morgan - Quadrant Chambers ‘ She has a laser-like focus, sees the big picture and is able to set out the approach in a clear and precise way. ’
Ben Olbourne - 39 Essex Chambers ‘ Licensed to practice in Singapore and highly-regarded for an array of shipping disputes. ’
Saira Paruk - Quadrant Chambers ‘ She is very bright, remains steadfastly calm under pressure, great on her feet and very pleasant to work with. ’
Nevil Phillips - Quadrant Chambers ‘ Very thorough, unflappable and easy to work with. ’
Caroline Pounds - Quadrant Chambers ‘ Thorough and sharp, able to provide sound and considered advice as well as practical solutions. ’
Gideon Shirazi - 4 Pump Court ‘ Good at seeing the wood for the trees and dealing with a slippery defendant, he is approachable and easy to work with. ’
Andrew Stevens - 4 Pump Court ‘ He is excellent at getting on top of the detail in a case quickly and providing clear and succinct advice. ’
Peter Stevenson - Quadrant Chambers ‘ He has an incredibly impressive ability to navigate the complex and deftly get to the heart of any issue, he is razor-sharp. ’
Mary Thomson - 36 Stone ‘Based full-time in Hong Kong and is also well-connected in Singapore.’
Paul Toms - Quadrant Chambers ‘ An insightful and intellectual barrister, he is easy to work with and one of the leading senior juniors at the Bar. ’
David Walsh - Essex Court Chambers ‘ A go-to junior for complex marine insurance coverage cases. ’

Shipping and commodities in Asia Pacific: The English Bar

36 Stone

Members of 36 Stone are instructed on the full gamut of Asia Pacific-related shipping disputes, including contractual, shipbuilding, collision, and environmental matters among many others. Colin Wright maintains a noteworthy presence in Hong Kong (where he also practices as a member of Gilt Chambers) regularly acting on arbitrations and litigation pertaining to charterparties, the international carriage of goods, and admiralty issues. Vasanti Selvaratnam QC is joint head of chambers; she is an expert on both wet and dry shipping law with a documented involvement in several market-leading cases.

39 Essex Chambers

39 Essex Chambers’s Ben Olbourne holds extensive experience in representing clients across Asia and is licensed to practice foreign law in Singapore. His expertise on the shipping front spans admiralty actions, ship sale and purchase disputes, marine insurance, collisions and on-board incidents.

4 Pump Court

4 Pump Court offers ‘an abundance of choices in the shipping area’ with several of its members enjoying a strong reputation with Asia Pacific-base firms, trading houses and P&I clubs, particularly those in Hong Kong and Singapore. In addition, Nicholas Vineall QC, joint head of chambers, has carved out a leading reputation in China with close relations with local shipyard. Elsewhere, Sean O’Sullivan’s practice covers the full array of commodity sales while Alexander Wright recently succeeded in an arbitration appeal concerning, among other issues, whether the Hague Rules serve as an exclusive code for warranties providing in a bill of lading.

7 King's Bench Walk

A native speaker of Mandarin and active in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, Stephen Du of 7 King's Bench Walk is acclaimed for his work on dry shipping and commodities matters.

Essex Court Chambers

At Essex Court Chambers, David Walsh is instructed for a variety of dry shipping disputes, such as delivery and redelivery obligation matters, incident-related casualties and unsafe port claims. He is well-versed in HKIAC and ICC arbitrations, among others.

Quadrant Chambers

‘Well-known for its shipping and maritime work’, Quadrant Chambers is home to ‘top-notch barristers at every level’. The set covers the entire array of marine insurance, dry and wet shipping matters, frequently appearing in the market’s most complex and high-profile disputes. One recent example of note being Simon Rainey QC and Nigel Jacobs QC’s current involvement in the United Kingdom Supreme Court matter of Evergreen Marine v Nautical Challenge, a vessel collision appeal in which the court sat with two nautical assessors brought by a Taiwanese party. Elsewhere, Chirag Karia QC is involved in the high-profile Singapore High Court matter of Unipec Singapore Pte. Ltd v Hin Leong Trade (pte) Ltd and others which concerns ownership of $225m of oil cargo distributed across four different ships.

Twenty Essex

Twenty Essex is home to several market leaders for commodities and dry shipping disputes, at both silk and junior level. The set, which has offices in both London and Singapore, has a track record in precedent setting Court of Appeal and Supreme Court disputes and is particularly acclaimed for its handling of ship and rig build-related litigation. Timothy Hill QC is notably engaged for the matter of CMA CGM LIBRA (Alize 1954 and another v Allianz Elementar Versicherungs AG and another), a dispute which relates to the grounding of a containership carrying $400m of cargo near the Port of Xiamen in China. Elsewhere, David Lewis QC is currently instructed in the long-running, ultra-high-value LME arbitration claim of Gunvor Singapore Pte Ltd v Uttam Galva Steel concerning the dishonour of numerous bills of exchange. Phillip Riches took silk in the 2020 round.