Philippa Hopkins acted for the successful first defendants in Pan Oceanic Chartering Inc. v. Unipec UK Co. Ltd. and Unipec Asia Co. Ltd. [2016] EWHC 2774 (Comm). The claimant brokers, POC, advanced claims for damages, originally in excess of US$100 million, for lost brokerage commissions arising from the early termination by Unipec Asia of a […]

Simon Bryan QC, leading David Semark (of Quadrant Chambers), and acting on behalf of the defendant shipowners, has succeeded in overturning the decision at first instance in Volcafe Ltd and other v Compania Sud Americana de Vapores SA (“CSAV”) a case raising important issues concerning the burden of proof under the Hague Rules. In their […]

The members of Essex Court Chambers are delighted to announce that Richard Hoyle has been elected as Vice Chair of the Young Bar for 2017. He will undertake this part time role in addition to his full time practice at Essex Court Chambers. All barristers within their first seven years of practice are considered to […]

The 2nd Annual Law Digest Awards took place in Lagos, Nigeria on Friday 4 November. The awards recognise and honour excellence in the African legal services market by assessing the contributions of individual lawyers, law firms and in-house teams. Following several years of implementing training placements for young African lawyers, alongside other initiatives including overseas […]

Published on 1 November, the 2017 edition of the Chambers & Partners UK Bar directory describes Essex Court Chambers as a “gold standard commercial set”. Essex Court is one of the most highly ranked sets in the UK with listings in the following 10 practice areas, including 4 in the Top Tier: Banking & Finance […]

Sir Bernard Eder is co-chairing this year’s Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Forum, organised by Legal Week. Held at the Waldorf Hilton hotel on 3 November, the conference will see speakers cover a topical programme, including: Ramifications of Brexit on cross-border litigation and arbitration Evolving third party funding models An update on interim remedies Privilege in […]

Essex Court Chambers collected the award for International Arbitration Set of the Year at last night’s Chambers Bar Awards, for the 12th consecutive year. The awards are based on research for the 2017 edition of Chambers UK Bar and reflect pre-eminence in key practice areas within sets of Chambers. They also reflect notable achievements over the […]

Essex Court Chambers has won the award for Clerking/Practice Management Team of the Year in The Legal 500 UK Awards 2017, while Toby Landau QC has picked up the award for International Arbitration Silk of the Year. The Legal 500 undertake research for these awards over many months, conducting interviews with in-house counsel, law firms and sets in […]

Several members of Essex Court Chambers travelled to Miami to take part in C5’s 5th Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery conference in Miami, on 17th & 18th October 2016. Speakers from Chambers included James Collins QC, who joined a panel which considered “Offshore jurisdictions in the spotlight: A comparative view”, while Richard Millett QC spoke in […]

Ciaran Keller and James Sheehan are joining Essex Court Chambers. Ciaran and James have each built a strong reputation during their careers to date at Maitland Chambers. Their arrival will further strengthen the chancery/commercial, banking, finance and civil fraud expertise amongst the juniors at Essex Court Chambers. Ciaran Keller (2004 Call) is recognised in the […]

Lucas Bastin is moving from Quadrant Chambers to join Essex Court Chambers as a tenant. Lucas specialises in investment treaty arbitration, international commercial arbitration and public international law. Prior to transferring to the Bar in 2013, Lucas practised for several years in a leading international arbitration and public international law group at Latham & Watkins LLP. […]

At the Annual Bar Conference on 15 October 2016, Hugh Mercer QC and Richard Hoyle participated in the sub-plenary session “Brexit: What now for the UK and EU?”. Hugh Mercer QC addressed the potential impacts of Brexit on the Bar, including cross-border practice rights and potential difficulties for English barristers advising EU-based clients. Richard Hoyle […]