One Essex Court is ‘a first-class pre-eminent set’ for energy disputes of all kinds. Among them is John McCaughran KC was recently instructed by Shell UK Limited in relation to a Court of Appeal dispute concerning a gas sale agreement with British Gas Trading Limited that raised key issues around the assessment of damages. He also represented Scottish Power UK in its claim for damages relating to the extended shutdown of the Andrew Field, which resulted in the complete cessation of supplies of gas. Another standout silk is Alexander Gunning KC, who acted for the defendant in Visalia v Seadrill, a claim for a £70m commission purportedly owed due to an introduction made to Sonangol, the Angolan state oil company. Sa’ad Hossain KC continues to rise in prominence with cases such as Drax Smart Generation Holdco Limited v Scottish Power Retail Holdings Limited, in which he defended a breach of warranty/indemnity claim relating to the construction of a potential new power station. New silk Niranjan Venkatesan KC is currently involved in high-profile proceedings concerning the Brae complex in the North Sea. Nehali Shah, who acted as sole for the Government of India in hearings concerning a £70m arbitral award, and Michael Watkins are among the set’s many market-leading juniors.
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Profile
Position
Niranjan was appointed King’s Counsel in 2025 after only nine years in practice.. Before taking silk, he was one of the leading juniors at the Commercial Bar (Legal500 Junior of the Year 2023; C&P Commercial Dispute Resolution Junior of the Year 2024; ranked in C&P Band 1).
He is generally instructed as lead advocate in complex commercial litigation and in international arbitration. He also has extensive appellate experience, having appeared eight times in the Supreme Court and on multiple occasions in the Court of Appeal. He is often brought into appeals and is known for his ability to find solutions in difficult cases. Before coming to the Bar, he read and taught law at Oxford where he was a Vinerian, Eldon and Rhodes scholar.
Current or recent cases include: Invest Bank v El-Husseini (Commercial Court); DP World v Soprim (Commercial Court); Gormsen v Meta (Competition Appeal Tribunal); Hopcraft v Close Brothers (Supreme Court); Watford Control Instruments v Brown (Chancery Division); BAT Industries plc v Sequana [2022] 3 WLR 709 (Supreme Court and Court of Appeal); Grand View Private Trust Co v Wong [2022] UKPC 47; PJSC NBT v Mints [2023] EWHC 118 (Comm), [2022] EWHC 871 (Comm); Enka v Chubb [2020] 1 WLR 4117 (Supreme Court and Court of Appeal).
He is also called to the Indian Bar (non-practising) and is able to advise on matters of Indian law.
Career
Called in 2015
Memberships
Combar, LCLCBA.
Education
BA LLB (Hons); BCL, DPhil (Oxon); Vinerian, Eldon and Rhodes scholar
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