Michael Ashcroft KC > Twenty Essex > London, England > Barrister Profile

Lauded as ‘one of the pre-eminent shipping sets’, Twenty Essex’ strengths are well-distributed along the full range of maritime disputes. The charterparty dispute Trafigura Maritime Logistics Pte Ltd v Clearlake Shipping Pte Ltd kept a number of members busy, with Michael Ashcroft KC, Daniel Bovensiepen, and Timothy Young KC all being involved. The latter also led Colleen Hanley in the Shagang Giant, a case dealing with the interpretation of a force majeure clause in light of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. Damages caused by the detention of a vessel and the subsequent claim for demurrage are central in Rhine Shipping v Vitol, where Patrick Dunn-Walsh is led by Philip Edey KC on behalf of Rhine Shipping.

Twenty Essex is ‘a first-rate chambers for commodities and shipping disputes, with excellent depth of quality at all levels of seniority’. The set ‘certainly has the greatest depth of coverage of the commodities field of any other chambers’, with members well versed in major arbitrations under the rules of GAFTA, FOSFA and the other well-known commodity associations.Michael Ashcroft KC is currently involved in LCIA arbitrations concerning multiple sale contracts between mine operators, sellers of metals and Swiss traders concerning the compliance of metal products with contractual specifications. The ‘highly responsive, commercially savvy and incisive’ Oliver Caplin KC, who specialises in dry shipping and commodities disputes, is among the market’s most prominent juniors.

Twenty Essex has ‘some of the best and broadest expertise in international trade, shipping and insurance, whether amongst skills and juniors’, and those skills see members increasingly involved in complex and high-value matters in the energy sector, particularly the oil and gas market. Their work also encompasses LNG, mining, drill and rig disputes, and there is a growing volume of work arising from the renewable energy sector and issues related to climate change and energy transition. Members couple industry-specific knowledge with expertise in financial, fraud and contractual disputes, as well as engineering and construction both onshore and offshore. David Lewis KC is an increasingly prominent presence in energy disputes, frequently acting for large trading houses in matters concerning price reviews and supply contracts. Michael Ashcroft KC recently acted for BP Oil in a $20m Commercial Court claim, BP Oil International Ltd v Vega Petroleum Ltd and Dover Investments Ltd, concerning the return of payments for 211,387 barrels of Gulf of Suez Mix crude oil that was, according to BP, never delivered from the Ras El Ush field in Egypt. Wendy Miles KC, who is best known for climate change matters, is also heavily involved in oil and gas disputes.

Twenty Essex is ‘one of the best chambers for handling complex disputes involving construction law‘. Its Asia practice is focused on Singapore, where the set has an office, with members active in cases involving LNG supply contracts, oil export contractual litigation, force majeure issues and sale and purchase agreements, to name a few. Michael Ashcroft KC has been kept busy handling a wide spectrum of construction contractual disputes, and Duncan Matthews KC has expertise in upstream and downstream disputes in the energy sector. Timothy Hill KC‘s workload includes advising on disputes arising from the construction of oil and gas facilities, among other matters.