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
Nehali is a leading commercial senior junior, with extensive experience of complex and high-value commercial litigation and international arbitration. She has appeared at all levels in the English Court (including the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal), and in a variety of other Tribunals, both arbitral (e.g. LCIA, ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC, KLRCA, and LMAA) and regulatory (e.g. RDC) and in expert determination. Nehali practises in all aspects of commercial law, including general commercial, banking, financial services and restructuring, energy, civil fraud, professional negligence, arbitration and jurisdiction. She has previously won Banking Junior of the Year and International Arbitration Junior of the Year, and been nominated for Commercial Dispute Resolution Junior of the Year and Energy Junior of the Year.
Career
Called 2008, Middle Temple.
Memberships
LCL; CBA; COMBAR.
Education
St Paul’s Girls’ School; Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (BA Hons Law Double First); Harvard Law School (LLM); Inns of Court School of Law (BVC very competent).
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- 'Excellent chambers for complex disputes, one of the go-to sets in London.'