David Allen KC > Chambers of Gavin Kealey KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

7 King’s Bench Walk is ‘the market leader for complex energy insurance coverage disputes’, and one client remarks that the set has ‘strength in depth in this field not just at the silk level but also the senior juniors are very strong in this field’. The set’s energy practice dovetails neatly with its strong flow insurance and commodities work, and members have extensive expertise in oil and gas trading, exploration and exploitation disputes, and the licensing of oil and gas fields. David Allen KC recently acted for the defendant in Victoria Oil & Gas & Gaz Du Cameroun v Chanas Assurances, which concerned an alleged well-out-of-control incident in the Logbaba Gas Field, in the Douala Basin off the coast of Cameroon, raising questions of contractual construction. Alistair Schaff KC recently represented Ukrainian oil company Ukrnafta in a major enforcement action in Commercial Court involving complex issues of foreign laws and arbitral jurisdiction concerning enforcement of Swedish arbitration award against his client.

7 King’s Bench Walk remains a ‘go-to set’ for international arbitration across a wide range of sectors spanning international business and commerce, aviation, shipping and logistics, and most notably insurance and reinsurance related arbitration across multiple jurisdictions. Ongoing arbitrations range from high-value pharmaceuticals arbitrations, contractual construction disputes, including the ongoing UNCITRAL arbitration where David Allen KC is instructed to act on behalf of a local insurance company in a dispute arising out of an alleged well-out-of-control incident. Jonathan Gaisman KC, James Brocklebank KC and Michael Ryan are instructed in a major dispute between two Russian oligarchs and their technology companies in connection with sanctions while David Edwards KC successfully defended a Bermudian insurer against a $200m insurance claim arising out of the settlement of an underlying product liability litigation. On the senior end, Noel Casey KC was appointed Silk in March 2023, boosting the set at the senior end.

7 King’s Bench Walk ‘has a growing reputation in civil fraud, with a number of members building a strong reputation in the area‘. The set’s expertise encompasses the pursuit and defence of a range of high-value and cross-jurisdictional fraud claims. In one of the most important civil fraud judgments of 2022, David Allen KC and Jason Robinson defended businessman George Logothetis and his companies against allegations of fraudulently inducing the claimants into making shipping market investments of over $14m. Elsewhere in chambers, Elizabeth Lindesay was part of the junior counsel team instructed on the $1.5bn claim by the Libyan Investment Authority against Société Générale, which was alleged to have paid bribes of $58m; and Clara Benn defended the Bank of Cyprus against a fraudulent claim brought by a property developer, the matter involving allegations of dishonesty and forgery on both sides.