Twenty Essex is an outstanding commercial set with a strong reputation in complex, high-value cases, particularly in shipping and commodities. In addition to a range of notable silks, the set's juniors include Monica Feria-Tinta, who acted for The Centre for Strategic Litigation in a case before the East African Court of Justice against the States of Uganda and Tanzania, challenging the construction of a $3.5bn pipeline on the grounds that it has dangerous transboundary effects, and violates human rights and environmental laws. In Socar Trading Middle East DMCC v Petrocas Energy SA, Malcolm Jarvis is defending a downstream claim for damages following termination of long-term contract for supply of ultra-low-sulphur diesel oil.
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Profile
Position
Malcolm specialises in commercial disputes arising in a variety of sectors including energy and natural resources, international trade and shipping (including shipbuilding) and offshore construction.
He is ranked in The Legal 500 UK Bar for energy, shipping, commodities and commercial litigation. He has been described as “easy to work with and very commercial” (The Legal 500 UK Bar 2022) and “impressive on his feet – robust and determined” (The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020).
Malcolm’s client base is both domestic and international and he has extensive experience appearing in the High Court (Business and Property Courts) and the appellate courts in England. He also represents clients in commercial arbitrations, including institutional (for example ICC and LCIA) and trade (for example LMAA, GAFTA and FOSFA). He is instructed both as sole advocate and as part of a team.
Malcolm’s practice often involves cross-border disputes. He has considerable specialisation in jurisdictional and conflict of law disputes and in obtaining and opposing interim applications for anti-suit and freezing injunctions. Malcolm is regularly instructed on challenges to arbitration awards in the High Court.
His EU law practice complements his commercial practice and includes ‘retained EU law’ and other legal instruments implementing post-Brexit agreements between the UK and the EU.
Malcolm regularly publishes on energy law and particularly the oil and gas sector.
Languages
French (proficient); Dutch (proficient)
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Clerks are very responsive and helpful. I have worked in particular with Alicia Tester who has been very easy to work with.'
- 'I enjoy working with the clerks; they respond rapidly, offer options, and are commercial in terms of timing cost where needed.'
- 'Twenty Essex is generally professional and we can often find someone who fits our requirements from the set, at least for initial consideration.'
- 'Twenty Essex is an excellent set, for commercial arbitration and energy disputes generally. They provided us with roundtable training on the energy transition which was informative, thought-provoking and practical.'
- 'They offer excellence across the board in the work that I do, comprising commodities and the related fields of trade finance disputes, fraud, shipping and documentary credits. They have built-out their junior ranks admirably, too.'