Professional practice

Following the completion of his pupillage in September 2024, Joshua is developing a commercial litigation practice in line with Chambers’ profile.

Before joining Essex Court Chambers, Joshua worked for two years at a leading offshore law firm specialising in asset recovery and fraud litigation.  He has experience of litigation in the BVI, Cayman Islands, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States of America, and Barbados.

Joshua read History at the University of Cambridge, graduating with a double starred First Class degree and ranking first in his cohort.  He won nine College and University prizes, including a scholarship to undertake a MPhil degree in History, which he completed in 2020 with a Distinction.

 

Arbitration & related court applications

During pupillage, Joshua was involved in the following arbitration matters:

  • The French State v The London Steam-Ship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association Limited – Assisted Anna Dilnot KC with an appeal under s.69(8) Arbitration Act 1996 concerning the effect of s.13 State Immunity Act 1978 on an arbitrator’s power to grant injunctive relief against a state, and whether the remedy of equitable compensation is available as a matter of law where a party breaches an equitable obligation to arbitrate claims.
  • Preparation for an appeal to the Court of Appeal under s.68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 following a substantial challenge to arbitration awards worth US$6.6 billion.
  • Pleading reply submissions in an LMAA arbitration concerning claims under a charterparty.
  • Preparing for an LMAA arbitration involving a demurrage dispute.
Banking & financial services

During pupillage, Joshua was exposed to the following matters:

  • Credit Suisse Life (Bermuda) Ltd v Bidzina Ivanishvili and others – Preparation for an appeal to the Privy Council against a judgment of the Bermudan Court of Appeal, relating to the fraudulent misappropriation of from a Bermudan insurance policy investment structure, incorporated under the Bermudian Segregated Accounts Companies Act 2000 (with Louise Hutton KC).
  • Celestial Aviation Services v UniCredit – appeal concerning the effect of UK/EU/US sanctions on the enforceability of a letter of credit, one of the Lawyer’s Top Ten Appeals of 2024 (with James Sheehan KC).

Prior to joining Chambers, Joshua assisted in the following matters:

  • US$112 million claim against a Hong Kong bank for breach of the Quincecare duty, in the context of a fraud against a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund (in Hong Kong).
  • Claims totalling more than US$ 300 million against a former Singaporean bank and its officers for dishonest assistance, conspiracy, and breach of the Quincecare duty (in Singapore).
Civil Fraud & Asset Tracing

Joshua has a particular focus on civil fraud litigation and asset recovery.  This is augmented by his experience prior to joining the Bar.

During his pupillage, Joshua assisted Members of Chambers in the following matters:

  • Public Institution for Social Security v Al-Wazzan and others. Ongoing litigation arising from the alleged bribery of the former Director General of the Kuwaiti public pension fund, which is listed for a 9-month trial commencing in 2025 (with Anna Dilnot KC).
  • ENRC v Serious Fraud Office, Gibson & Puddick. Assisted Helen Morton in high-profile proceedings, involving claims of conspiracy, breach of confidence, and misfeasance in public office involving officers and former employees of the Serious Fraud Office.
  • Bidzina Ivanishvili and others v Credit Suisse Life (Bermuda) Ltd – forthcoming appeal to the Privy Council against a judgment of the Bermudan Court of Appeal, arising out of a long-running fraud perpetrated by an employee of Credit Suisse against Mr Ivanishvili, the former Prime Minister of Georgia (with Louise Hutton KC).
  • Preparation for an appeal to the Court of Appeal under s.68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 following a substantial challenge to arbitration awards worth US$6.6 billion, involving allegations of corruption and procurement of the awards by fraud.
  • A construction claim in the High Court involving allegations of fraudulent invoicing (with Anna Dilnot KC).

Prior to joining Chambers, Joshua worked on the following fraud matters with an offshore litigation firm:

  • Arbitration claims between two sovereign wealth funds, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (“1MDB”) and Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company, which were settled in favour of 1MDB for US$1.8 billion.
  • Claims totalling more than US$300 million against a former Singaporean bank and its officers for dishonest assistance, conspiracy, and breach of the Quincecare duty (in Singapore) arising from misappropriated assets from 1MDB.
  • Claims against segregated account funds registered in the Cayman Islands and Curaçao alleged to have facilitated the transfer of over US$4 billion in funds misappropriated from 1MDB.
  • Applications for third-party disclosure from banks and other financial institutions.

Joshua also has experience of:

  • contempt applications;
  • applications to enforce foreign judgments in England and Wales;
  • applications for third-party disclosure (including Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust relief);
  • applications relating to third party debt orders;
  • applications to obtain and set aside freezing orders; and
  • obtaining ancillary relief in relation to foreign proceedings.
Commercial dispute resolution

Assisted with the following matters during pupillage:

  • Advising on a claim concerning the sale of defective gasoil.
  • Providing pre-action merits advice in relation to a gas rights issue.
  • Advising on a breach of warranty claim arising from the acquisition of a pharmaceutical company.
Company & Insolvency Law

Prior to joining Chambers, Joshua obtained extensive experience in cross-border insolvency in a fraud context. This included:

  • Bringing winding-up petitions, and the appointment of liquidators, in respect of twelve entities incorporated in the BVI, Cayman Islands, and American Samoa through which funds (totaling in excess of US$6 billion) fraudulently misappropriated from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund were diverted.
  • Obtaining Chapter 15 recognition in the United States of America for liquidators’ appointments in the BVI.
  • Preparation of claims in the BVI for fraudulent trading and breach of directors’ duties, in the context of a fraud involving the use of a sole-director corporate vehicle.
  • Recognition of liquidators’ appointments in Switzerland.
  • Applications for examination under the BVI Insolvency Act 2003.
Conflict of laws & private international law

Assisted with the following matters during pupillage:

  • Public Institution for Social Security v Al-Wazzan and others. Claims pleaded in Kuwaiti and Swiss law; questions of relation back arising from successive amendments; issues relating to non-justiciability of allegedly foreign penal laws; issues relating to the disapplication of foreign limitation periods under Foreign Limitation Periods Act 1984; several jurisdiction challenges.
  • Providing assistance to a defendant in foreign proceedings in relation to submission to the jurisdiction of a foreign court, for the purposes of prospective enforcement in England.
  • Providing merits advice on an application for an anti-suit injunction in complex multi-jurisdictional proceedings arising out of a bond issue (with James Sheehan KC).
  • Providing assistance on the scope of ancillary relief for foreign proceedings under s.25 Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 (with Anton Dudnikov).
Insurance & reinsurance

Assisted with the following matters during pupillage:

  • Delos Shipbuilding S.A. and others v Allianz Global and others (The Win-Win) [2024] EWHC 718 (Comm) – two-week trial concerning US$37.5 million claim for total loss of a vessel arising from detention in Indonesia (with David Walsh)
  • Advising on whether a re-insurer could retrospectively reallocate losses under a tower of excess of loss contracts.
  • Advising on a litigation indemnity coverage dispute arising from alleged breaches of a Florida privacy statute.
Offshore litigation

Prior to joining Chambers, Joshua worked for two years at Baker and Partners, an offshore litigation firm based in Jersey, the BVI, and the Cayman Islands.  He spent four months in Jersey.  During that time, he experienced litigation in Jersey, the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Barbados, Singapore, Hong Kong, American Samoa, and the Seychelles.

Public & administrative law

Joshua has a particular interest in climate-related litigation.  In 2021, he was appointed as a Research Fellow at the Constitution Society and produced a report addressing climate-related public law litigation, which was subsequently cited by the BIICL national rapporteur on climate change litigation. [See publications].

Career

2024: Tenant, Essex Court Chambers

2023-2024: Pupil, Essex Court Chambers (with Anna Dilnot KC)     

2023: Called to the Bar, England and Wales (Gray’s Inn)

2022: Research Fellow, Constitution Society

2021-2023: Consultant, Baker and Partners LLP

Education

2022-2023: Bar Vocational Studies, City Law School (Distinction)

2020-2021: Graduate Diploma in Law, City Law School (Distinction; ranked third in year)

2019-2020: MPhil, Early Modern History, Christ’s College, University of Cambridge (Distinction)

2016-2019: BA, History, Christ’s College, University of Cambridge (double starred First; ranked first in year)

 

Awards
  • Gray’s Inn Scholarships – William Shaw Scholarship (2022) to sponsor BVS; David Karmel Scholarship, (2021) to sponsor GDL.
  • Gray’s Inn Prizes – James Hunt Prize (2024) for best individual advocacy performance in Gray’s Inn Trial Exercise
  • City Law School – Everard Ver Heyden Prize (2023) for BVS results; Academic Scholarship (2022) to sponsor BVS
  • University of Cambridge Prizes:
    • Baillie Gifford UK Master’s Award from University of Cambridge for one-year MPhil in Early Modern History (2019-’20).
    • Dunlevie Hall Studentship (2019), from Trinity College Cambridge, to support “outstanding Master’s student”.
    • Sir John Plumb Dissertation Prize (2019), for best dissertation
    • Cambridge History Faculty Prize (2018) for best individual results achieved by a Part I Tripos candidate
    • Vincent Astor Prize (2018, 2019) for highest marks achieved by a Christ’s College History candidate
  • Academic Scholarships (2017, 2018, 2019), Christ’s College
Publications
  • Constitution Society, ‘Climate Change, the Courts, and the Constitution’, January 2023 [https://consoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Climate- change-the-courts-and-the-constitution-complete-1.pdf], and related articles. Funded by Constitution Society Research Fellowship (2022-2023).