Stephen Donnelly

Stephen accepts arbitral appointments in disputes ranging across the breadth of commercial and shipping law, international investment law, and public international law with experience arbitrating under among others the ICC, LCIA, ICSID, UNCITRAL, and LMAA Rules. Stephen is on the DIAC Arbitration Court List and is a member of the LCIA Users’ Council, Young ICSID, and the ICC Young Arbitration and ADR Forum. He is  also a visiting lecturer in international investment arbitration at King’s College London and a member of the board of the Young Public International Law Group

He has been described in recent directory editions as ‘an exceptional junior’, ‘wise beyond his years and an intellectual powerhouse’, ‘first rate and very hard working’, with ‘remarkable research and drafting skills’ and ‘the ability to fit in and get on with a wide spread of individuals’, who ‘inspires confidence as a safe pair of hands’.

Before beginning his arbitration practice, Stephen studied law at Glasgow, Oxford, and Yale (as a Fulbright Scholar), was judicial assistant to Lord Kerr in the Supreme Court of the UK, and served as assistant to the Tribunal (Sir Frank Berman KCMG KC, Judge Schwebel, and Judge Simma) in Merck v Ecuador PCA Case No. 2012-12.

He is also qualified at the bar in Scotland, a mixed common–civil law jurisdiction, and able to draw on that experience in arbitrations under civilian legal systems.

Stephen is fluent in French and has a working knowledge of several other languages, including Spanish and Arabic (Levantine).

 

 

Sophia Hurst

Sophia’s practice spans a range of commercial and commercial chancery disputes, both in arbitration and litigation.

She has particular expertise in civil fraud and asset recovery and is recommended as a Leading Junior in the directories, where she is described as “incredibly calm, a super clear and succinct drafter, a real team player” and “Incredibly dependable”.  Sophia’s practice also encompasses contractual claims, M&A, joint venture and shareholder disputes, and matters relating to directors/fiduciary duties, banking and finance, and contentious trusts. Examples of her subject-matter expertise are highlighted below. Sophia has experience acting for a broad range of clients across numerous sectors, including major banks, funds, and energy, construction, telecoms and emerging technology companies.

Sophia’s practice often involves disputes with an international or cross-border element and she frequently advises on issues relating to jurisdiction (including applicability of arbitration or jurisdiction clauses) and enforcement of awards and judgments. As well as her London-based practice, she has particular experience in the BVI, where she has been called since undertaking a secondment in 2018, and the Middle East, where she has a substantial practice before locally-seated arbitral tribunals as well as the courts in DIFC and ADGM.

Sophia has published articles, delivered seminars and  appeared on panels on topics related to her practice, including at ICC FraudNet, and the Private Client Global Elite Rising Leaders’ Forum.

Freddie Onslow

Freddie has a broad commercial practice and is developing expertise in shipping and employment disputes.

She has appeared unled in the High Court (QBD and Chancery Division) seeking urgent injunctive relief; in applications in the Chancery Division; in week-long trials in the employment tribunal; in an LCIA arbitration and in applications in the Circuit Commercial Court.

As part of a team of counsel, she has appeared in the Commercial Court, the Chancery Division, arbitrations (LMAA and LCIA), including in lengthy trials. Her recent work includes:

  • Representing the Man Group in Public Institution for Social Security of Kuwait v Man Group, featured in The Lawyer’s “Top 20 Cases of 2020”, concerning allegations of large-scale bribery.
  • Acting in a multi-phase LMAA arbitration claim for damages of c. US$250m following the shipment of a dangerous cargo.
  • Acting on behalf of an insurer defending claims relating to the alleged detention of aircraft in Russia.
  • Acting in a 2-week LCIA arbitration arising out of the decommissioning of oil wells.
  • Representing a global consulting firm in an ongoing LCIA arbitration against a former employee.
  • Krishna v Gowrie and others – a 6-week trial, in which Freddie acted for the petitioners / claimants in an unfair prejudice petition involving allegations of asset stripping from a joint venture.
  • Acting for the respondent in a multi-week employment tribunal hearing, successfully defending allegations of discrimination on the grounds of race, sex and perceived disability.

Freddie has a particular interest in scientific and technical disputes given her background in materials science.

Freddie is a co-author of The Encyclopaedia of International Commercial Litigation, Anthony Coleman & Simon Bryan (Ed) and has contributed to Supperstone, Goudie and Walker (ed), Judicial Review (6th edition, 2018), Chapter 15: European Union Law.

Jackie McArthur

Jackie has a diverse practice spanning commercial, public and international law. Her commercial practice includes both litigation and arbitration, and encompasses especially conflict of laws, high-value commercial and contract disputes, shareholder litigation, and general commercial disputes.  Jackie also practices in public law, acting for and advising both private and government clients in judicial review claims, international law, and human rights. She is a member of both the Attorney-General’s London C Panel, and the Attorney General’s Public International Law C Panel. Jackie has acted, as sole and junior counsel, in the Court of Appeal, the Commercial Court, the Chancery Division, the Administrative Court and the County Court.

Jackie has a particular specialisation in international disputes and advising – encompassing especially investor-state arbitration, public international law, and the conflict of laws. She is described by Legal 500’s public international law rankings for 2022 as “hard working, very clear, very smart and very thorough, as well as being a pleasure to work with.” Jackie has acted in numerous investor-State arbitrations, under the ICSID Convention, and the ICC, SCC, LCIA and UNCITRAL Rules.  She has also acted in proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights and specialised United Nations agencies. She has advised numerous governments as well as private clients on international law matters spanning sanctions, the law of the sea, the law of armed conflict, international human rights law, state immunity, treaty interpretation and international administrative law.  She was the co-author of a high profile opinion on issues of international criminal liability and state responsibility for crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur population. Jackie also acted for two years as an Assistant Legal Adviser to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, advising on trade law, and on aspects of treaty law and implementation.  In this capacity, Jackie has developed a particular expertise in the developing legal implications of Brexit.

After graduating first in her year at the University of Western Australia, Jackie was elected as a Rhodes Scholar. She completed the BCL and an MPhil in Law, both with distinction, at the University of Oxford.  She has lectured, and been a course co-ordinator, in transnational litigation and conflict of laws at King’s College London.  Before coming to the bar, Jackie qualified as a lawyer in Australia, and worked in the Western Australian government legal service. Before completing pupillage at Essex Court Chambers, she was Associate to the Hon. Justice Kiefel, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia.

Naomi Hart

Naomi has a diverse practice in international, commercial, public and human rights law. She was identified as one of the Hot 100 by The Lawyer in 2023. She has appeared in the major directories for several years, with listings in Public International Law, International Arbitration, and International Human Rights Law.

Naomi’s commercial practice encompasses civil fraud, conflict of laws, shipping and general commercial disputes. She acts as junior and sole counsel, having recently appeared in the Court of Appeal, the Commercial Court, the Chancery Division and the King’s Bench Division (including the Administrative Court). She has also been involved in cases before the courts of the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Mauritius, Sweden, Türkiye, Norway, Australia and Malaysia (among others). Her commercial arbitration experience includes proceedings under the DIFC, LCIA, ICC, PCA, SCC, ICSID, UNCITRAL and LMAA Rules.

Naomi has an extensive practice in public international law. She has acted in six cases before the International Court of Justice as well as in proceedings before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization. She is routinely involved in cases before English and foreign domestic courts which involve questions of public international law as well as in investor-State disputes. Across this range of cases, she has advised and acted for governments, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and private parties on matters relating to territorial delimitation, self-determination, the law of the sea, occupation of territory, war crimes, genocide, privileges and immunities, climate change, international administrative law, sanctions, international trade law, the act of State doctrine, and inter-State espionage. She also has a wide human rights practice before English, international and foreign domestic courts, much of which is pro bono.

Naomi attained a doctorate from the University of Cambridge on the topic of espionage and public international law, for which she was awarded the Faculty of Law’s Yorke Prize for a thesis “of exceptional quality, which makes a substantial contribution to its relevant field of legal knowledge”. She has published widely on human rights, international refugee law, investor-State arbitration and general international law.

In 2020, Naomi was appointed to both the Public International Law C Panel of Junior Counsel and the Attorney General’s London C Panel of Civil Counsel. She is also a Trustee of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and a member of the Bar Council’s International Committee.

Naomi is admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales. At the University of Sydney, she received First Class Honours in her Law degree (ranking second in her year) and the University Medal and First Class Honours in History (ranking first in her year).

Claudia Renton

Claudia has a broad and diverse commercial practice spanning domestic and international commercial litigation and arbitration with particular expertise in media, art and entertainment law and civil fraud. She has been recognized as a leading junior (Tier 1) for Art and Cultural Property Law by the Legal 500 since 2017 where she is described as an “Art fraud and contractual breach expert…A phenomenal junior, unflappable and extremely hard-working” (2021).

Claudia is an experienced advocate. She has appeared unled before arbitral tribunals and in the High Court, County Courts and the Employment Tribunal; and as junior counsel in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, numerous arbitrations (including under the LMAA Terms (2012), LCIA Arbitration Rules, American Arbitration Association Rules, ICC Rules and DIAC) and in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts.

Her recent cases include: Sotheby’s v Mark Weiss Ltd in which Claudia, led by Joe Smouha KC, was instructed on behalf of an art gallery and its owner in a case concerning the sale of an alleged Old Master (said to be by Frans Hals) under a private treaty agreement, which was then alleged to be counterfeit; ICICI Bank UK plc v Assam Oil Co & Ors in which she was instructed, as junior to David Joseph KC, to resist a summary judgment claim for $70 million under a term loan said to be due. Other recent instructions include: acting (led by Ricky Diwan KC) for a foreign state in relation to the attempted enforcement of a $48 million judgment debt raising issues under the State Immunity Act 1978; acting (led by Richard Millett KC) for the Receivers of the shares of Nevis companies said to be worth in excess of $200 million and the Directors of those companies in multi-jurisdictional litigation concerning the disputed ownership of those shares; acting (led by Paul Stanley KC) in an ad hoc arbitration concerning a dispute between limited liability partners in an investment management business.

Claudia is accustomed to working closely with foreign lawyers; and both as sole counsel and part of a larger team. She is uniquely familiar with the DIFC and she has advised the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Courts on their Arbitration and Court Rules.

Claudia is the author of Those Wild Wyndhams, a biography of the Wyndham sisters (HarperCollins, 2014 (UK and worldwide); Knopf 2018 (US)), which won the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize 2014. She is also co-author of Heroes (Quercus 2007). In her previous career as an actress she appeared on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the National Theatre, and on television in series for the BBC and ITV.

Neil Hart KC

Neil Hart has a wide-ranging practice in the field of commercial litigation and arbitration, encompassing shipping and shipbuilding (including superyacht construction, sale and charter), insurance (marine and non-marine), commodities, energy, and shareholder / joint venture disputes. He has acted as an advocate in Court (including in arbitration applications) and in UNCITRAL, LCIA, LMAA, ICC, SIAC and ad hoc arbitrations in London, Singapore and Hong Kong. He has considerable experience of advising clients in multijurisdictional disputes involving different systems of law, and related issues involving interlocutory relief and post-award enforcement. Neil is one of the editors of Arnould’s Law of Marine Insurance and Average.

Neil has strong relationships with the commercial law sector in Beirut (where he is a frequent visitor) and has recently been instructed by Lebanese firms in disputes arising in the Gulf region under the laws of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He is currently acting pro bono in proceedings before the High Court in London for victims of the Beirut Port Explosion of 4 August 2020.  Neil also has considerable experience of working with Chinese law firms and of disputes involving (parallel) Chinese court proceedings.  He acted as Counsel to the Gold Inquiry into allegations concerning donors and donations to the Conservative Party.

David Walsh KC

David has a strong commercial practice with expertise in insurance and reinsurance, commodities, international trade, energy, transport, shipping and shipbuilding/offshore construction disputes.  David started accepting appointments as arbitrator in 2020 and is a member of the LCIA and LMAA.  David is also on the DIFC Courts’ Register of Practitioners.

David is an editor of the latest editions of: (i) Arnould – Law of Marine Insurance and Average (together with Jonathan Gilman KC, Mark Templeman KC, Claire Blanchard KC, Philippa Hopkins KC, Neil Hart); (ii) Scrutton on Charterparties and Bills of Lading (together with Sir David Foxton, Steven Berry KC, Christopher Smith KC and Professor Howard Bennett); and (iii) Chalmers’ Marine Insurance Act 1906 (together with Simon Rainey KC and Guy Blackwood KC).

David is also a Barrister in England and Wales. He is recognised as being “a stellar performer …” with clients praising David for combining:

  • intellectual rigour (“a first-rate brain”, “incredibly bright”, “super smart”, “always manages to make very complex cases easy to understand”)
  • with skilful advocacy (“his advocacy [is] formidable”, “a forceful advocate, who seems to get the ear of the judge very well”, “unflappable”, “particularly noted for his skilful advocacy”)
  • industriousness (“prodigiously hardworking”, “prepared to roll his sleeves up”)
  • and client service (“a naturally collaborative and inclusive style”, “Clients really like him”, “A very personable and approachable individual, who connects well with clients”, “really easy to engage with”, “responsive and user friendly”).

Anna Dilnot KC

Anna actively accepts arbitration appointments and has over 20 years commercial litigation experience.  Anna qualified as a commercial litigation solicitor in 2002, becoming a solicitor advocate before being called to the Bar in 2008, and taking silk in 2021.

Who’s Who 2023 notes that Anna draws widespread recommendations for her asset recovery expertise, with commentators endorsing her as “an absolutely excellent silk”. Anna was also recognised as an expert (global and national leader) in Who’s Who Legal Asset Recovery 2018 – 2022, she is described as having a “super sharp mind”, being both a “persuasive advocate” and “very impressive on her feet in complex proceedings”. For 2023, Anna is also recognised as a leading silk for commercial dispute resolution and asset recovery in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500.

Anna has a broad commercial and commercial chancery practice, with specialisms in conflicts of laws and civil fraud. She is experienced as an advocate in both court proceedings and international arbitration (ad hoc, LCIA, ICC, GAFTA and SIAC). Anna is also accustomed to applying laws other than English law, with recent experience in the laws of Thailand, Russia, Kazakhstan, BVI, France and Spain.

Nigel Eaton KC

Nigel Eaton KC regularly accepts arbitration appointments with experience of both domestic and international arbitration.  He has a broad-based Counsel practice in domestic and international commercial disputes, with a particular focus on shipping, ship construction, international trade & commodities, insurance & reinsurance, energy-related disputes, and related areas. Described as “analytically brilliant and an excellent advocate”, Nigel has over 20 years’ experience before the English Courts, both at first instance (particularly in the Commercial Court) and appellate level, and before domestic and international arbitration tribunals, both ad hoc and institutional, including ICC, LCIA, LMAA, UNCITRAL, and FOSFA/GAFTA. He is ranked as a leading practitioner by professional directories, and rated as “an extraordinarily able black-letter lawyer” who “brings an intellectual rigour to cases” and is “client-friendly in his approach”.

In shipping – where he is regarded as “one of the leading KCs in the field” – Nigel’s practice includes disputes under bills of lading, contracts of affreightment, time charters, voyage
charters, and demise charters, and covers a full spectrum of legal, commercial, and technical issues, including seaworthiness, cargo claims, hire and off-hire, unsafe ports, dangerous
cargoes, and laytime & demurrage. He has extensive experience of disputes involving a wide range of both dry and liquid bulk cargoes as well as containerised cargoes, and a variety of
commercial vessel types, including bulk carriers, tankers, container ships, LNG carriers, rigs, floating storage and other specialised offshore vessels, ro-ro transporters, cruise and
passenger ships, and fast ferries. Nigel has also acted (for both builders and buyers) in numerous shipbuilding arbitrations under SAJ and CMAC and other standard-forms and
variants, including delay and cancellation disputes, actions about compliance with contractual description and quality, and refund and guarantee claims. He has experience of ship sale &
purchase disputes under the Norwegian Saleform and other contract forms. Alongside this experience of disputes involving commercial vessels, Nigel has frequently been involved in
cases relating to the chartering, construction, and sale and purchase of luxury yachts.

A “go to silk” for international trade cases, Nigel regularly acts in disputes under CIF, FOB and other forms of contract for the sale & purchase of a wide variety of goods and commodities,
including mineral oil, gas, coal, chemicals and fertilisers, steel, ores, vegetable oils, and grains and other foodstuffs. His practice includes disputes about title, quality and rejection, payment,
price and price adjustment, frustration, and the impact of sanctions, and covers long-term and instalment contracts as well as one-off sales. He also has extensive experience of legal issues
relating to financial instruments used in international trade, including guarantees, performance bonds, and letters of credit.

Nigel’s insurance & reinsurance experience covers both marine and non-marine business in areas including property, liability, P&I, and professional indemnity. He acts in disputes about
coverage, policy construction, avoidance, and causation and loss. Nigel has experience of political risks policies, including disputes relating to investments in a range of commercial and
infrastructure projects in Africa, China, South America, and other parts of the world. He was involved in litigation about the LMX spiral and claims brought by Lloyd’s names against
underwriters and agents, and has acted in disputes about both proportional and nonproportional reinsurance.

In energy, Nigel’s experience includes disputes involving joint ventures, field and operating agreements, pipeline & transportation contracts, gas sale agreements, and electricity supply
agreements. He has been involved in a number of cases about long term contracts for the supply of coal to power stations.