Twenty Essex has a deep bench focused on commodities, shipping and international trade. Among its members are some of the most respected silks and juniors in the commodities space, including those who have established key points of law that govern market practice. In Omni v Samancor, a $7m SIAC arbitration concerning the sale of manganese, standout silk Michael Ashcroft KC achieved a favourable settlement in a matter that involved complex issues regarding applicability of sanctions clause following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Michael Collett KC defended a GAFTA appeal in Sharp Corp Ltd v Viterra BV, which arose from the non-performance of two contracts for the purchase of pulses. New to the top tier of silks is Timothy Hill KC, who is ‘one of the very best’. Turning to the set's juniors, Alex Carless is assisting Glencore in seeking €110m in payment for cargoes of diesel.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Profile
Work Department
Arbitration and mediation; Civil fraud; Commercial law; Energy and natural resources; Insurance and reinsurance; Private international law; Shipping
Position
Timothy specialises in international commercial litigation and arbitration. He has considerable expertise in very high value and complex cases and also urgent disputes involving swift interim relief.
He is well known for his ability to quickly master complicated and technical cases. Timothy has considerable experience of conducting heavy and lengthy trials and arbitrations, and of working closely with large teams of junior counsel, solicitors and experts. He is well known for his formidable skills in cross-examination and appearances in the appellant courts.
Timothy works across all sectors but he has particular experience in energy and natural resources, insurance, construction and engineering, international trade, commodities, transportation, shipping and aviation. Other commercial litigation which he regularly undertakes includes: joint ventures and shareholders’ agreements, distribution agreements, commercial agents, banking and finance with particular expertise of the ISDA Master Agreement and trade credit insurance, enforcement of guarantees, civil fraud and sanctions. Recently, he has been involved in disputes concerning the construction of aircraft, ships and onshore/offshore oil and gas facilities and has a close grasp of the technical issues that arise in these disputes.
He sits as a commercial arbitrator, both pursuant to bespoke terms and under the auspices of institutions such as the LCIA, ICC and others. Timothy is also a Centre for Dispute Resolution (CEDR) accredited mediator.
Timothy regularly gives evidence on English law in foreign proceedings and arbitrations.
Content supplied by Twenty Essex
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Clerks Arron Zither and Robert Wheeler are both excellent. The clerk's room generally is very amenable to discussing rates and availability.'
- 'Arron Zitver is very approachable and helpful.'
- 'Twenty Essex is my go-to set due to their large number of high-calibre commodities specialists.'
- 'Twenty Essex has considerable depth and real quality. Good service a from clerks. Wide range of suitable counsel at all levels."
- 'Twenty Essex is one of the leading if not the leading set for commodities litigation. The offer strength and depth at both KC and junior level. A real go-to set for commodities litigation.'