International Arbitration: Counsel, Legal 500 2025
Insurance and Reinsurance, Legal 500 2024
Legal 500 2022
Anna has a broad commercial practice, with a particular emphasis on insurance, reinsurance and international arbitration, where she is recognised as a leading junior.
Anna is instructed across a wide variety of commercial disputes and undertakes a broad range of advocacy and advisory work, both on her own and as a junior. She has appeared in the Privy Council, the Court of Appeal, the Commercial Court, county courts and in many international arbitrations (including LMAA, LCIA and ICC).
Anna’s highlighted cases include Quadra Commodities S.A. v XL Insurance Company SE [2022] EWHC 431 (Comm), [2023] EWCA Civ 432 (both at first instance and in the Court of Appeal), now the leading case on insurable interest; Galantis (Respondent) v Alexiou and another (Appellants) (Bahamas) [2019] 1 WLR 3636, an appeal to the Privy Council concerning the scope of the oppression remedy; Mamancochet Mining Ltd v Aegis Managing Agency Ltd (and others) [2018] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 441, an expedited insurance claim arising out of US sanctions aginst Iran; and Aircraft Purchase Fleet Limited v Compagnia Aerea Italiana S.p.A. [2018] EWHC 3315 (Comm), an aviation dispute involving the former operator of the Alitalia airline.
Anna was also instructed by contingent all risks insurers in preparation for the 2024 mega-trial involving stranded Russian aircraft (Merx Aviation Servicing Ltd v Chubb European Group SE and Others) and is currently representing Reed Smith LLP in well-publicised proceedings involving a sanctioned shipping entity and Barclays Bank Plc.
Anna is described in the Legal 500 as ‘ferociously intelligent’ and ‘very hard-working’ with a ‘strong eye for detail’. She has an ‘excellent technical knowledge of insurance coupled with an impressive work ethic’ and provides ‘clear, practical advice’ whilst being ‘able to think quickly and deal with changing circumstances both on paper and at court.’ She is ‘One to watch in the years to come’.
Anna is a leading insurance junior who is regularly instructed in high-profile insurance disputes. She has a loyal following of solicitors who routinely seek her advice on aspects of coverage and validity across a variety of policies. Described as having an ‘excellent technical knowledge coupled with an impressive work ethic’, Anna has gained an impressive familiarity with the sort of complex commercial issues that underlie many insurance disputes including sanctions, corporate frauds, tax avoidance schemes, pensions mis-selling, IPOs, de-SPACs and repo transactions (among others). She regularly advises upon the scope of coverage and exclusion clauses, upon the application of claims conditions and upon issues of aggregation, allocation, subrogation and avoidance. She is also frequently instructed in cases involving brokers’ negligence.
In recent months, Anna has been instructed in property insurance disputes arising out of the seizure of property by the Taliban and liability insurance disputes arising out of well-known corporate frauds, as well as cases involving HMRC disputes and adverse FOS decisions. She was instructed by contingent all risks insurers in preparation for the mega-trial involving stranded Russian aircraft (Merx Aviation Servicing Limited v Chubb European Group SE and others) and enjoyed recent success before the Court of Appeal in Quadra Commodities SA v XL Insurance Company SE and others, now the leading case on insurable interest.
Selected earlier cases:
Anna is routinely instructed in a wide range of high-profile cases and has appeared in the Commercial Court, the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council in complex commercial disputes relating to companies, commodities, insurance contracts, the international carriage of goods as well as professional negligence. Anna is currently representing Reed Smith in well-publicised proceedings involving a sanctioned entity and Barclays Bank plc and was successful as junior counsel before the Court of Appeal in Quadra Commodities SA v XL Insurance Company SE, now the leading case on insurable interest and highly relevant to the international sale of goods. Anna’s success in Mamancochet Mining Ltd v Aegis Managing Agency Ltd (and others) has seen her instructed in other sanctions-related disputes and she is currently involved in proceedings against a European municipality for breach of a supply contract.
Selected earlier cases:
Anna is a leading junior in the field of international arbitration, representing clients from Europe, the Americas and Asia. She is currently instructed in an LCIA arbitration concerning afloat “repo” transactions and in an insurance coverage dispute proceeding before the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center. Other notable LCIA arbitrations have involved the application of international sanctions, a claim arising out of the Afghanistan conflict and a claim by a multinational bank against Singapore trade-credit insurers.
Anna has a solid practice in professional negligence, with a particular emphasis on disputes involving insurance and reinsurance brokers. She is regularly instructed to advise upon the professional duties owed by brokers and sub-brokers to insureds and third parties alike. She is also currently representing Reed Smith LLP in its high-profile dispute with a sanctioned entity who alleges that it acted negligently and in breach of its professional and regulatory duties.
Anna has extensive experience of all kinds of dry shipping disputes including those under charterparties, bills of lading, FOB and CIF contracts. She is also regularly instructed in disputes concerning the trade, carriage and storage of commodities.
Selected earlier cases:
Energy represents a growing area of Anna’s work.
Anna is currently representing Reed Smith in a claim brought against it by a sanctioned entity, raising issues as to the application of US sanctions and the Retained Blocking Regulation. Anna was also involved in Merx Aviation Servicing Limited v Chubb European Group SE and others and in other leading cases concerned with the alleged loss of aircraft leased to Russian airlines following the imposition of sanctions against Russia.
Insurance and Reinsurance, Legal 500 2025
International Arbitration: Counsel, Legal 500 2025
Insurance and Reinsurance, Legal 500 2024
Legal 500 2022
Legal 500 2021
Insurable interest in unascertained goods
High Court considers the law of insurable interest and the application of section 13A of the Insurance Act 2015
Privy Council clarifies the nature and scope of the oppression remedy
Flying success for 7KBW team in Aircraft Purchase Fleet Limited v Compagnia Aerea Italiana SPA [2018] EWHC 3315 (Comm)
US sanctions do not relieve insurers of their obligation to pay
University College, Oxford: BA Jurisprudence (1999); College of Law, London: Bar Vocational Course (2001).
During her time at Oxford, Anna was awarded an Exhibition Scholarship and the Alan Urbach Memorial Prize for Jurisprudence. Anna was also made a Lincoln’s Inn Hardwicke Entrance Scholar and a Lincoln’s Inn Sunley Scholar in 2000.
‘‘Anna has an excellent technical knowledge of insurance, coupled with an impressive work ethic. Nothing is too much trouble, and no stone is left unturned. Her written advice is careful, and her judgement is good. Insurers rightly turn to her for advice, with several firms sending her work which normally go to a junior silk. One to watch in the years to come."
Insurance and Reinsurance, Legal 500 2025