Can Yeginsu > Chambers of Ewan McQuater KC and David Quest KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

Chambers of Ewan McQuater KC and David Quest KC
3 Verulam Buildings
GRAY'S INN
LONDON
WC1R 5NT
England

Position

Can combines a strong practice in international arbitration and commercial litigation (including civil fraud) with professional liability work and a busy commercial judicial review specialism, while also fostering a wider human rights and public international law practice, equivalent in depth and breadth to his commercial work. He is frequently instructed in disputes to the English Court’s jurisdiction. Recent/current work includes: Junior Counsel in Bazhanov and Morrins International v Fosman & Ors, a USD 18m claim brought in the Commercial Court by a former Russian deputy Minister of State in relation to interests in sunflower seed oil productions plants; Counsel for two foreign investors in a USD 125m investor-state arbitration against a CIS State; Junior Counsel in Marathon Asset Management v Seddon & Ors (multi-million Commercial Court unlawful means conspiracy and Wrotham Park damages claim, a Lawyer Magazine Top 20 case for 2016); sole Counsel in $80 million LCIA arbitration involving the operation of an oil terminal connected to the CPC pipeline; counsel for a leading German Bank in a US $75 million A1P1 (property rights) claim before the European Court of Human Rights; First Junior Counsel in £195 million A1P1 claim in Breyer Group Plc & Others v Department of Energy and Climate Change. In 2013, Can was named as one of ten “Stars at the Bar” by Legal Week Magazine.

Career

M.A. (Oxon); LL.M. Harvard Law School; Procter Fellow, Princeton University; Called 2007; Visiting Professor of Investment Law and Arbitration, Koç University Law School.

Languages

Turkish (native), French (basic).

Memberships

BICCL, LCIA, IBA, ALBA, COMBAR, ICC UK, ICCA, PNBA.

Lawyer Rankings

London Bar > Administrative law and human rights

(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1

Can Yeginsu3 Verulam BuildingsCan is a natural advocate with the ear of the court. He is urbane, persuasive, and unflappable. Definitely a barrister for the difficult cases and the greatest pressure.’

London Bar > Public international law

(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1

Can Yeginsu – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Can is currently the PIL superstar junior at the London Bar. His academic credentials are superb, a first-rate advocate combining the gravitas of the university professor with the crisp presentation of a London Silk – there is no area he does not have an encyclopaedic knowledge of – whether on issues of state immunity, consular law, investment treaties, or international human rights.’

With the arrival of Zachary Douglas KC and Can Yeginsu, 3 Verulam Buildings ‘has really moved up from being a strong set for public international law to one of the two or three top sets in London’, with ‘unrivalled bench strength’ and outstanding capabilities in international investment treaty disputes, in which Tariq Baloch is particularly sought after. Yeginsu acts for states, international organisations, including the UN, and non-governmental bodies, advising on investment treaty arbitration, international claims commissions and reparations, and matters of diplomatic and state immunity. He currently acts as lead counsel to international media outlet Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty in its challenge to the Russian Federation’s designation of the organisation as a “foreign agent”. Christopher Harris KC maintains a busy practice with significant instructions as lead counsel in a variety of major international investment disputes as well as in complex enforcement proceedings. Cameron Miles, with particular expertise in investment treaty arbitration and state immunity questions arising in English courts, is advancing into the inter-state arena with high-level instructions in the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the ICJ.

London Bar > International arbitration: counsel

(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1

Can Yeginsu – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Can clearly stands out with exceptionally clear, sharp and eloquent pleadings, best in his class by some distance and already operating at KC level. Can is one of the most gifted oral advocates at the London Bar – authoritative, incisive, and phenomenally effective with witnesses. He is a natural leader who sets a terrific example.’

3 Verulam Buildings is ‘first-class’ and has become ‘the go-to set for international arbitration in London’ for many. With strong recruits in recent years, most notably Zachary Douglas KC and Can Yeginsu, the set ‘has an excellent reputation for arbitration arising from its strength-in-depth of top practitioners’ at all levels of seniority. In synergy with its public international law expertise, chambers built a significant portfolio of the most high-profile and politically sensitive commercial and investment treaty arbitrations across a range of sectors and arbitral rules. Recent highlights include a highly politically sensitive investment treaty arbitration brought by Qatar Pharma in which Christopher Harris KC, leading Mark Wassouf , acted for the government of Saudi Arabia. Douglas KC acted for the claimant in LLC Lugzor v Russian Federation, a dispute relating to the expropriation of Ukrainian investments in Crimea upon Russia’s illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014. Georges Chalfoun, led by Harris KC, is acting for Nova Group Investments B.V. v Romania, an ICSID claim arising out of the expropriation of Romanian insurer Astra Asigurări.

London Bar > Commercial litigation

(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 2

Can Yeginsu – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Can is a superb commercial senior junior who is a dream to instruct. He really comes into his own as an advocate against silks in the Commercial Court and is a great cross-examiner. Clients love him, opponents respect him, and judges listen to him. Absolutely top class.’