Shipping And Commodities

1
Quadrant Chambers
Twenty Essex
2
36 Stone
4 Pump Court

Leading Silks

1
Michael Ashcroft KC–Twenty Essex 
Simon Croall KC – Quadrant Chambers 
Timothy Hill KC – Twenty Essex‘He is very commercial and quick on the technical issues.’
Chirag Karia KC–Quadrant Chambers 
Charles Kimmins KC – Twenty Essex
David Lewis KC–Twenty Essex  ‘David is able to dissect complicated issues and advise in a clear and concise manner. He is equally effective at communicating with tribunal and judges as well.’
Duncan Matthews KC–Twenty Essex‘Exceptional and inspirational advocacy. Seems to be able to do the impossible.'
Michael Nolan KC–Quadrant Chambers  ‘Michael is very experienced and well versed both in arbitration and litigation matters. He sees the issues very quickly and practically and offers excellent insights which puts the clients at ease immediately. Go-to counsel in an emergency.’
Luke Parsons KC–Quadrant Chambers ‘Luke is a deep-thinking and charming advocate.’ 
Lionel Persey KC–Quadrant Chambers  ‘Lionel is a tremendously diligent and his analysis is always spot on.’
Simon Rainey KC–Quadrant Chambers  ‘Brain the size of a planet. Judges and arbitrators love him. Really good with clients.’
Vasanti Selvaratnam KC – 36 Stone‘Excellent service; hardworking, dependable and client friendly.'
Robert Thomas KC–Quadrant Chambers 
2
Stewart Buckingham KC – Quadrant Chambers ‘Quick, prompt, flexible and effective.’ 
Nigel Cooper KC–Quadrant Chambers‘Nigel is focussed and crisp in his advice. Nigel is also very personable in nature and is always up for a challenge.'                                                                                 '
Michael Davey KC–Quadrant Chambers ‘His advocacy is excellent, as is the quality of all of his work.’
Nigel Jacobs KC–Quadrant Chambers'Hard working with good humour. Good sensible advice and will always try and make time no matter how busy he is.'
Yash Kulkarni KC–Quadrant Chambers‘Yash is very calm and very thorough.  He is fantastically intelligent and logical and can work through issues in a clear way.  He has the ear of the tribunal.'
Sara Masters KC – Twenty Essex
Jern-Fei Ng KC – 7BR 
Sean O’Sullivan KC–4 Pump Court 
Colin Ong KC – The 36 Group ‘Colin is a fine lawyer, who is qualified both at common law and also in civil law and he regularly practices in both fields.’
John Russell KC–Quadrant Chambers'John is a highly polished advocate able to cut directly to the heart of the matter both legal and commercial and to put the points succinctly and persuasively before the court. He is also able to do the same on paper and in conference with clients. The advocate you want to have fighting your corner.' 
Nicholas Vineall KC–4 Pump Court  
Timothy Young KC – Twenty Essex  ‘Tim is vastly experienced with a fantastically analytical and legally creative mind. Fun and lively to work with. He carefully builds up the case and pursues it with decisive cool and calm, and also deftly adjusts course at times depending on the apparent perception of the argument by the tribunal.’

2022 Silks

Tony Beswetherick KC – Twenty Essex
Simon Milnes KC – Twenty Essex ‘Simon is very commercial and practical in his advice and is able to understand Mandarin, which is extremely valuable in cases involving Chinese parties, particularly when the personnel and client representatives are more comfortable in Mandarin.’
Alexander Wright KC –4 Pump Court‘His key strengths are a stellar combination of hard work and intelligence.’

Leading Juniors

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Tom Bird–Quadrant Chambers  ‘Tom is as an intelligent and switched-on counsel. He is very diligent and delivers work very quickly. His work is always of high standard.’
Oliver Caplin–Twenty Essex‘Oliver provides sound and commercial advice, responds promptly and is able to quickly grasp concepts that may sometimes be pretty technical (especially in the shipping/commodities industry).' 
Nevil Phillips–Quadrant Chambers‘In the context of shipping and commodities cases, Nevil can do any sort of case and make his points well.  He is a great advocate and great fun to work with.  He is highly regarded by the shipping law arena as a superstar senior junior.  He is one of a handful of barristers in London who can claim to have all of those qualities and to be at that standard.'
Caroline Pounds–Quadrant Chambers ‘Detail-oriented, responsive and clever – everything you want in a top-notch commercial junior.’ 
Colin Wright–36 Stone ‘Colin has a number of strengths – a thorough understanding of the law in his chosen areas of practice; his awareness of the commercial context in which disputes arise and the ramifications for clients of different outcomes; his seniority as a junior, which engenders confidence – he is listened to and trusted in what he says; his responsiveness, whether he is located in Hong Kong or London.  He spans shipping both wet and dry.’   
2
Ravi Aswani –36 Stone'Ravi takes responsibility for matters and provides clear, concise and commercially astute advice.'
Stephen Du – 7 King's Bench Walk ‘Stephen  is excellent.  Legal analysis/advice is second to none.  Drafting is short and to the point (an underrated skill).’ 
Henry Ellis – Quadrant Chambers
Paul Henton–Quadrant Chambers  ‘Blunt and to the point - clients like that as often English is not their first language and they do not have time to read pages of advice. He is not afraid to get stuck in on aspects of a case where other barristers may see it as beneath them.’
Christopher Jay–Quadrant Chambers‘Chris is an outstanding junior. He is very bright, hugely industrious, gives 100% to every case, is responsive, calm in the face of adversity, and is an exceptional addition to any litigation or arbitration team. As an advocate, he is measured, careful and effective. Tribunals are attracted by his understated and gently persuasive style.'
Susannah Jones–Twenty Essex 
Andrew Leung–Quadrant Chambers ‘Andrew is someone who does not give up easily, but relentlessly pursues his clients’ interests and objectives.  He is practical, solicitor-friendly and definitely easy to work with.’
Natalie Moore–Quadrant Chambers ‘Good solid junior counsel - reliable and thorough.’
Gemma Morgan–Quadrant Chambers‘Extremely intelligent and excellent at strategy to develop a case theory to run. Extremely calm and persuasive.'
Rani Noakes  – 4 Pump Court
Ben Olbourne–39 Essex Chambers'A good choice.'
Saira Paruk–Quadrant Chambers‘Saira is very approachable and user-friendly, balancing knowledge of the law with commercial awareness and understanding.' 
Gideon Shirazi – 4 Pump Court
Andrew Stevens–4 Pump Court‘Andrew is excellent - very conscientious and on top of the detail of matters very quickly. Very good drafting skills and easy to work with - will always make himself available.'
Peter Stevenson – Quadrant Chambers
Mary Thomson–36 Stone
Paul Toms–Quadrant Chambers  ‘Paul is immensely experienced in shipbuilding contract disputes and it is very reassuring to have him as counsel. He is very responsive and a great pleasure to work with. Excellent drafting and solicitors can totally trust him to present the best possible case for the clients.’
David Walsh – Essex Court Chambers

Shipping and commodities in Asia Pacific: The English Bar

36 Stone

The 36 Group includes 36 Stone, a dedicated shipping and international trade set, whose members have had extensive experience relating to shipping contractual documents including charterparties, contracts of affreightments, bills of lading, ship building, ship sale and purchase contracts. Members of chambers are regularly instructed in high value claims in areas such as Singapore, Hong Kong and India. Vasanti Selvaratnum KC’s practice embraces all aspects of maritime law, while Colin Ong KC is a member of the Brunei, English and Singapore law. Ravi Aswani has a busy shipping practice spanning both wet and dry disputes, including areas such as ship building and ship repair.

Testimonials

Set

‘They are consistently my go-to set. Their juniors are also excellent and they are very experienced in shipping and commercial matters. The quality of leaders such as Vasanti is reflected in the calibre of the juniors. The clerks are also great – very responsive and willing to engage sensibly on fees etc.’

’36 Stone is a diverse and well regarded set.  I know and have high regard for Elizabeth Blackburn (pollution at sea) Charles Debattista (shipping) and Mary Thomson (shipping and insurance) as well as Mr Wright.’

Clerking

‘The clerks are great! Always highly responsive and willing to engage sensibly on fees. It is very useful to know that there is someone I can pick up the phone to on these types of issues in particular and have a sensible conversation, which is not something I can say of every clerks room!’

‘Excellent.’

4 Pump Court

The ‘great‘ 4 Pump Court is a leading set in maritime dispute resolution, with members bringing their expertise to shipping and commodities cases which are often high value, complex disputes. Members are frequently instructed in regions such as China, Hong Kong and Singapore. One of the chambers’ leading cases is the ongoing Noble Chartering v Priminds Shipping Hong Kong Co – also known as The Tai Prize - in which James Leabeater and Rani Noakes  acted for the appellant and Alexander Wright KC acted for the respondent in a case which raised issues of general importance to the shipping industry concerning whether a voyage charterer warrants the accuracy of statements, such as in bills of lading, made as to the apparent order and condition of cargo - the matter went in to the England and Wales Court of Appeal in 2021.

Testimonials

Set

‘4 Pump Court is a great English barrister chambers and there are several KCs and junior barristers who have a lot of dealings with the Great China region.  When there comes with thorny and sophisticated English law issues and demand for excellent advocacy, we always bear in mind this set.’  

Clerking

‘They are quick and professional.  I am used to work with Carl Wall and he is a professional clerk.’ 

‘Carl Wall is fantastic and very experienced. He is always available and very user-friendly. I would highly recommend Carl.’ 

Quadrant Chambers

Quadrant Chambers continues to be a leading set within shipping and commodities in the Asia Pacific region, with barristers frequently representing all parties in various disputes. The chambers is uniquely positioned to offer their shipping expertise at all levels and matters, from dry and wet shipping matters to marine insurance and fraud. Simon Rainey KC and Nigel Jacobs KC are both highly regarded for their work in the shipping sphere, dealing with issues involving limitation of liability and unsafe ports. In the English courts, Caroline Pounds  was successful in her role in Navig8 Chemicals Pools Inc v Aeturnum Energy International Pte Ltd where she acted on behalf of the claimant seeking to enforce performance of the defendant’s obligations under a Letter of Indemnity in respect of the cargo without production of the original bill of lading.  Lionel Persey KC has a wide-ranging practice, including private international law and arbitration matters in the shipping context.

Testimonials

Set

‘Excellent all round chambers.’

‘Excellent. My first choice of UK counsel, extremely helpful.’

‘Very good. Our first choice of the UK chambers.’

‘Leading shipping set.’

‘I think Quadrant is the strongest set for shipping and trading counsel. The clerks are very helpful, counsel themselves are very flexible and willing to work to the demands of a case and client (including while on holiday or over weekends if the urgency requires). I think counsel at Quadrant are also generally good at saying if they do not have capacity instead of taking on the work and not being able to deliver in a timely fashion.’ 

Clerking

‘Clerks are excellent. Simon Slattery is particularly helpful.’

‘Very good.’

‘Always prompt responsive, very good quality.’

‘Paul Bloxham is very responsive and helpful.’

‘Efficient and friendly.’

Twenty Essex

Twenty Essex is well-regarded in Singapore for the work conducted in shipping and maritime issues such as letters of indemnity, unsafe port claims, enforcement of parent company guarantees, mis-delivery disputes and oil trading disputes. Timothy Young KC and Simon Milnes KC were against David Lewis KC and Alistair Wooder  in an arbitration concerning delay to platform supply vessels which pushed them past the deadline to comply with the new MARPOL standards in 2016.

Testimonials

Set

’20 Essex Street is a very strong shipping and commercial arbitration set.’

‘Chambers is excellent.  Very strong across the shipping and energy space.  Good availability of counsel at all levels and responsive to requests for support.’ 

‘Helpful and professional.’

’20 Essex is pretty good all round in the shipping and commodities field.’

Clerking

’20 Essex Street have a very strong clerks’ room and excellent service.’  

‘Happy with the support provided by the clerks. Friendly and approachable.’

‘Anthony Carroll is very responsive, flexible and accommodating of clients’ requests and demands, and ensures a seamless service provided by the Chambers.’