Hill Dickinson LLP

Commodities

Partner

Iain is a Partner in Hill Dickinson’s Marine, Trade and Energy Group and Commodities team. Iain leads the Singapore office’s International Arbitration practice.

He trained in London at Boodle Hatfield (1996-1998) and qualified in 1998. Having spent a number of years in Hong Kong with Richards Butler, in 2003 Iain returned to London. In 2008 he made Partner at RPC and was a founding Partner of the International Trade & Arbitration Group. Iain relocated to Singapore in 2010.

He has a wide range of experience (both contentious and non-contentious) and has been involved in matters ranging from international trade and commodities, oil and gas, mining and natural resources, shipping, banking and finance disputes, defence products, pharmaceuticals, civil fraud, intellectual property and technology (including trademarks, image and author rights, sponsorship and endorsement), and insurance/reinsurance. In addition to resolving disputes through litigation and alternative dispute resolution (including mediation and negotiation), Iain has conducted major arbitrations including in London, Scandinavia, Continental Europe, Dubai, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and South Korea under institutional rules ICC, LCIA, DIFC-LCIA, LMAA, HKIAC, SIAC, CIETAC, CMAC, Swiss Rules and ad-hoc arbitrations (UNCITRAL). He has also conducted arbitrations under trade association rules including LME, GAFTA, FOSFA and ICA.

Iain regularly advises on a wide range of legal issues, including contracts for the sale and purchase of commodities, agency/distribution agreements, joint-ventures and marketing agreements, general trading terms and conditions, charterparties, letters of indemnity, trade and economic sanctions and anti-money laundering (AML), operational and legal risk management, trade finance (including facility agreements and guarantees), and letters of credit.

As former Head of Legal, Asia Pacific for one of the world’s largest independent commodities trading houses, Gunvor, Iain advised on contract terms (spot and term) across various desks including tender documents and GTCs, law, jurisdiction, ABC/sanctions, force majeure (including COVID-19 related clauses), indemnities, warranties and other key terms. Iain also oversaw complex legal proceedings (litigation and arbitration) in multiple jurisdictions (including Singapore, China, India, UK and US) involving the sale and purchase and transportation of energy products and metals, letters of indemnity and allegations of fraud/misrepresentation. Iain also handled a number of successful anti-suit and anti-anti-suit injunctions which were widely reported (Clearlake Shipping Pte Ltd and Gunvor Singapore Pte Ltd v Xiang Da Marine Pte Ltd [2019] EWHC 2658 (Comm); [2019] EWHC 2284 (Comm); The Chang Hang Guang Rong [2020] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 61).

Iain regularly writes and publishes articles on International Arbitration, Trade and Commodities.

https://www.lexology.com/firms/hill-dickinson/iain_sharp

Iain is a contributing author to Oil and Gas Trading: A Practical Guide published by Globe Law and Business.

French – fluent, Swedish – advanced conversational/written, Spanish and Italian – basic conversational/written, Cantonese and Mandarin – basic conversational

Law Society of England & Wales Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) Member of the LCIA Asia Pacific Users' Council

Caledonian Club Singapore Polo Club

University of Birmingham, UK 1989 – 1993 Bachelor of Arts (French)

Université François Rabelais, Tours, France, 1991-1992 DEUG II, Lettres Modernes in French, Danish and Dutch

University of Birmingham, School of Law, UK 1993-1994 Common Professional Exam (CPE)

University of Birmingham/De Montfort University, School of Law, UK 1994-1995 Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC)

PADI Dive Master Martial Arts (including BJJ, Muay Thai and Taekwondo) Fencing Polo Travel, reading, writing