Professional practice

Christina practises across the breadth of commercial litigation and arbitration, with an emphasis on cross-border disputes. Since starting her tenancy at Essex Court Chambers in September 2025, she has acted for clients in industries such as financial services, insurance, shipping, energy, media and entertainment.

Recent and current instructions as junior counsel include:

  • LCIA Arbitration: Acting for litigation funders in an investment dispute following a court judgment valued in the hundreds of millions, involving allegations of sham arrangements (led by Tim Akkouh KC, with Laurence Page).
  • LCIA Arbitration: Acting for owners of a hotel consortium, seeking an account and equitable compensation against directors and fiduciary agents (led by James Sheehan KC).
  • LMAA Arbitration: Acting for agricultural traders in an arbitration involving alleged breaches of bills of lading, loss of a sub-sale and damage to cargo (led by Philippa Hopkins KC).
  • Advising insurers in respect of a claim under a cargo insurance policy, valued in the tens of millions and involving the misappropriation of cargo in West Africa (led by David Walsh KC).
  • Acting in ongoing group litigation in the High Court (led by Edward Brown KC).

Christina is also often instructed unled, for example:

  • LMAA Arbitration: Acting for energy traders in claims for breach of a voyage charter due to a failure to load gasoil and misrepresentation (as sole counsel).
  • Acting for buyers in a transatlantic dispute regarding claims for breach of implied terms under Sale of Goods Act 1979 and restitution for unjust enrichment (as sole counsel).
  • Acting for an advertising agency in respect of claims relating to the alleged unauthorised use of digital media for an advertising campaign (as sole counsel).
  • Acting for a recruitment agency in a claim for the recovery of an introducer’s fee by way of a quantum meruit (as sole counsel).

Christina has held teaching positions in Contract Law and Tax Law at the University of Oxford. She has also worked as a Senior Editor at LexisNexis, publishing content on high-profile commercial disputes.

Before coming to the Bar, Christina graduated with a prize-winning First Class Law degree from the University of Oxford. She stayed on at Oxford for her postgraduate studies with an academic scholarship from the Law Faculty, graduating from the BCL with Distinction. She completed her Bar Course with Distinction and was called to the Bar with the top scholarship from Gray’s Inn.

 

Career

2025-present: Tenant at Essex Court Chambers

2025-present: Tutor of Contract Law, University of Oxford

2024-25: Pupillage at Essex Court Chambers

2024: Called to the Bar of England and Wales

2023-24: Tutor of Tax Law, University of Oxford

2021-22: Senior Editor, LexisNexis UK

Education

2023-24: BVS, City University of London (Distinction).

2022-23: BCL, Keble College Oxford (Distinction). Studied Conflict of Laws, Commercial Remedies, Business Taxation. Dissertation on oral agreements and the law of estoppel.

2017-21: BA Jurisprudence, Jesus College Oxford (First Class, ranked 9th in the year overall, ranked 1st in Personal Property Law).

Awards

2023: Baroness Hale of Richmond Scholarship, Gray’s Inn

2023: Viscount Sankey Scholarship, Jesus College Oxford

2022: Oxford Law Faculty and 4 New Square Chambers Scholarship for the BCL

2021: Oxford Law Faculty Prize in Personal Property Law

2021: Principal’s Prize for Performance in Final Examinations, Jesus College Oxford

2021: Jesus College Oxford Prizes in Tax and EU Law

2020: Winner of the DCU National Moot, and of the Landmark Chambers Property Moot

Arbitration & related court applications

Christina’s experience includes:

  • LCIA Arbitration: Acting for litigation funders in an investment dispute following a court judgment in the hundreds of millions, involving allegations of sham arrangements (led by Tim Akkouh KC, with Laurence Page).
  • LCIA Arbitration: Acting for the owners of a hotel consortium, seeking an account and equitable compensation against directors and fiduciary agents (led by James Sheehan KC).
  • LMAA Arbitrations: Christina regularly acts in such arbitrations, for a variety of shipowners, charterers and cargo interests. See further ‘Shipping, ship sale & shipbuilding’ below.
  • Advising on the availability of urgent interim relief relating to the preservation of property and evidence under ss. 38 and 44 of the Arbitration Act 1996 and making a successful s. 38 application to the arbitral tribunal (while on secondment).
  • Advising on the prospects of recovering a contingency fee as costs under ss. 59 and 61 Arbitration Act 1996 (while on secondment).
  • Republic of Mozambique v Privinvest Shipbuilding & Ors, in relation to successful applications by a sovereign state in the Commercial Court to enforce four arbitral awards (as a pupil, assisting Ciaran Keller KC).
Aviation & aerospace

Christina’s experience includes:

  • Bridgestone v Turkish Technic, a multi-jurisdictional aviation dispute between an MRO and tyre suppliers, regarding contractual allocation and management of risk (as a pupil, assisting Ciaran Keller KC).
  • Excalibur Almaz v Horie, involving $50m claims in fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with a space tourism business (Isle of Man) (as a pupil, assisting Ciaran Keller KC).
  • Advising on the construction of a PBH aviation agreement (as a pupil, with Siddharth Dhar KC).
Banking & financial services

Christina’s experience includes:

  • LCIA Arbitration: Acting for litigation funders in a financing dispute involving allegations of sham arrangements (led by Tim Akkouh KC, with Laurence Page).
  • Bayerische Landesbank & Ors v RusChemAlliance LLC, a €320m financing dispute, in an application to revoke anti-suit injunctions in favour of the claimant banks (as a pupil, assisting Siddharth Dhar KC).
  • Advising a major bank and one of its corporate clients, in respect of claims for alleged breach of a Quincecare duty, knowing receipt, dishonest assistance, and participation in fraudulent trading (as a pupil, assisting Ciaran Keller KC).
Civil fraud & asset recovery

Christina’s experience includes:

  • LCIA Arbitration: Acting for litigation funders in an investment dispute following a court judgment valued in the hundreds of millions, involving allegations of sham arrangements (led by Tim Akkouh KC, with Laurence Page).
  • LCIA Arbitration: Acting for owners of a hotel consortium, seeking an account and equitable compensation against directors and fiduciary agents (led by James Sheehan KC).
  • Excalibur Almaz v Horie, involving $50m claims in fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with a space tourism business (Isle of Man) (as a pupil, assisting Ciaran Keller KC).
  • Fishman v Mangazeev, on claims brought in connection with a loan agreement and applications to vary a freezing order (as a pupil, assisting Ciaran Keller KC).
  • Christopher Shaw v Linear, on a claim brought against a broker, involving an alleged breach of trust, and resisting a proprietary asset preservation order (as a pupil, assisting Ciaran Keller KC).
  • Advising a major bank and one of its corporate clients, in respect of claims for alleged breach of a Quincecare duty, knowing receipt, dishonest assistance, and participation in fraudulent trading (as a pupil, assisting Ciaran Keller KC).
Commercial Dispute Resolution

Christina accepts instructions across the full spectrum of commercial disputes, to advise on prospects and quantum of claims, draft pleadings, handle procedural applications, and attend hearings in the High Court, in the County Courts, and in arbitration.

Pre-action advice. Christina has experience advising on commercial contract claims involving: contracts for the sale of goods and supply of services; licensing and distribution agreements; joint venture and partnership agreements; SPAs; loans; contracts in the aviation industry; insurance policies; charterparties; bills of lading; assignments; standstill agreements; and settlement agreements. She has also advised on matters of jurisdiction, choice of law, consolidation of claims, recovery of costs, and settlement.

Procedural and Interim Applications. Christina’s experience includes jurisdiction challenges, applications for disclosure, strike-out/summary judgment, interim injunctive relief, and more.

Trials and Arbitrations. Recent and current instructions include:

  • Acting in ongoing group litigation in the High Court (led by Edward Brown KC).
  • LCIA Arbitration: Acting for litigation funders in an investment dispute following a court judgment valued in the hundreds of millions, involving allegations of sham arrangements (led by Tim Akkouh KC, with Laurence Page).
  • LCIA Arbitration: Acting for owners of a hotel consortium, seeking an account and equitable compensation against directors and fiduciary agents (led by James Sheehan KC).
Company & insolvency

Christina’s experience includes:

  • LCIA Arbitration: Acting for owners of a hotel consortium, seeking an account and equitable compensation against directors and fiduciary agents (led by James Sheehan KC).
  • An application for interim relief in respect of a petition seeking the just and equitable winding-up of an alleged quasi-partnership company (as a pupil, assisting James Sheehan KC).
  • Advising on a claim for unlawful expulsion from an LLP (as a pupil, assisting Ciaran Keller KC).
Conflicts of Laws

A majority of Christina’s work engages conflict of laws issues. She often provides pre-action advice on matters of jurisdiction, forum, and choice of law. She also has experience of jurisdiction challenges, anti-suit injunction applications, and proceedings for the enforcement of foreign judgments/awards.

Recent and current instructions include:

  • Preparing a jurisdiction challenge to group litigation in the High Court (led by Edward Brown KC).
  • Advising in relation to floating choice of law clauses, in connection with a claim under a cargo insurance policy valued in the tens of millions (led by David Walsh KC).
  • Advising on forum in light of seemingly conflicting arbitration and exclusive jurisdiction clauses in a charterparty (while on secondment).
Insurance & reinsurance

Christina’s experience includes:

  • Acting for insurers in respect of a claim under a cargo insurance policy, valued in the tens of millions and involving the misappropriation of cargo in West Africa (led by David Walsh KC).
  • Advising an insured and a third party to a liability insurance policy, on strategy in the light of a “pay to be paid” clause and the insured’s insolvency (while on secondment).
  • Drafting advices and pleadings on marine insurance matters, involving issues of material non-disclosure, fraud, unseaworthiness, and causation (as a pupil, with David Walsh KC).
Media, Art & Entertainment

Christina has experience of contractual and proprietary disputes arising in this field, including:

  • Acting for an advertising agency in respect of claims relating to the alleged unauthorised use of digital media for an advertising campaign (as sole counsel).
  • Drafting a defence involving a conversion claim in respect of a guitar with an estimated value in the millions of pounds (as a pupil, with James Sheehan KC).

Christina is particularly well equipped to handle disputes in this area that involve the protection of property rights and issues of title, having been ranked first in in her year at Oxford in Personal Property law.

Shipping, ship sale & shipbuilding

Christina is regularly instructed in a variety of dry shipping disputes. She also maintains an advisory practice in this field. She has experience involving matters such as war and piracy risks, unsafe ports, force majeure, off-hire, laytime and demurrage, bills of lading, cargo claims, dangerous goods, ship sale, validity of NOR, vessel detention, seaworthiness, and stevedore negligence.

Recent and current instructions include:

  • LMAA Arbitration: Acting for agricultural traders in an arbitration involving alleged breaches of bills of lading, loss of a sub-sale and damage to cargo (led by Philippa Hopkins KC).
  • LMAA Arbitration: Acting for charterers in claims for breach of a voyage charter due to a failure to load gasoil and claims for misrepresentation (as sole counsel).
  • LMAA Arbitration: Acting for shipowners in claims for unpaid hire and defending counterclaims for breach of seaworthiness obligations and speed and consumption warranties (as sole counsel).
  • Advising charterers/buyers as to the exercise of purchase options in time charters (led by Neil Hart KC).

While on secondment to the shipping disputes department of an international law firm, Christina worked with solicitor teams on the following matters:

  • LMAA Arbitration: Acting for charterers in claims for failure to provide a vessel that was safe and fit for the named cargo (lithium ion batteries).
  • LMAA Arbitration: Acting for disponent owners in relation to charterparty claims arising from the grounding of a vessel.
  • Advising interested parties on potential charterparty and cargo claims in connection with a high-profile shipwreck in the South China Sea.
  • Advising charterers on whether inspection of a vessel could be ordered under ss. 38 or 44 of the Arbitration Act 1996 and making a successful s. 38 application to the LMAA tribunal.
  • Advising shipowners on whether a port could be considered unsafe due to a risk of a vessel becoming ice-bound, strategic options, and the scope of recoverable damages.
  • Advising charterers on forum in light of seemingly conflicting arbitration and exclusive jurisdiction clauses in a charterparty.
Tax & revenue law

Christina has a particular interest in tax issues, particularly those in the intersection of commerce and taxation. She formerly taught Tax Law at the University of Oxford, previously having focused on this area at both postgraduate and undergraduate level.

Christina accepts instructions in tax tribunal disputes, as sole counsel or as part of a team. She is a member of the Revenue Bar Association and the Attorney General’s Junior Junior Panel of Counsel.

Unjust enrichment & restitution claims

Recent and current instructions include:

  • Acting for a recruitment agency in a claim for the recovery of an introducer’s fee by way of a quantum meruit (as sole counsel).
  • Acting for an advertising agency in bringing counterclaims for mistaken payments (as sole counsel).
  • Acting for buyers seeking restitution for failure of basis of deposits paid under contracts for the purchase of luxury lighting and furniture (as sole counsel).