Dave accepts instructions in all of Chambers’ areas of commercial practice, including aviation, insurance and reinsurance, shipping, commodities, civil fraud and professional negligence.
Dave has a particularly keen interest in shipping and insurance; he became an Associate of the Association of Average Adjusters in 2022, following his completion of exams concerning the Marine Insurance Act 1906 and the Insurance Act 2015.
Dave accepts unled instruction and he has appeared alone in the County Court and in the High Court. He particularly enjoys instructions which seek injunctive or other interlocutory relief; he has previously been involved in obtaining freezing orders, third-party costs orders, and various forms of disclosure orders.
Dave is a member of the Bar of the British Virgin Islands.
Dave’s current and recent instructions include:
Prior to joining Chambers, Dave read law at the University of Nottingham, where he achieved a First, and studied for a year at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. During his year in Vancouver, Dave acted pro bono for various clients in the provincial and criminal courts in British Columbia. In the year prior to pupillage, Dave worked in the shipping litigation department at a major international law firm, during which he worked on a wide range of shipping and commodities disputes, including the expedited trial, appeal, and third-party costs order in The “Amethyst” and “Courage” [2022] EWHC 452 (Comm); [2022] EWCA Civ 1091 (trial and appeal); [2022] EWHC 2696 (Comm) (third-party costs order).
Dave particularly enjoys marine insurance disputes. Dave became an Associate of the Association of Average Adjusters in 2022, following his completion of exams concerning the Marine Insurance Act 1906 and the Insurance Act 2015.
Examples of Dave’s recent instructions include:
During pupillage, Dave experienced a wide range of insurance and reinsurance disputes. Selected work includes:
Prior to pupillage, Dave worked in the shipping litigation team at an international law firm, during which Dave advised on various claims on policies of vessel and cargo marine insurance. In this role, Dave also drafted a variety of pre-action correspondence, in both Court and arbitral proceedings, as well as submissions in arbitral proceedings.
Dave is regularly instructed in shipping disputes. Daves ’s current and recent instructions include:
Dave experienced a wide range of shipping disputes during pupillage. Selected work includes:
Prior to pupillage, Dave worked in the shipping litigation team at an international law firm, during which Dave experienced a wide range of wet and dry shipping disputes. Dave was heavily involved in the expedited Commercial Court trial and the expedited appeal in The “Amethyst” and “Courage” [2022] EWHC 452 (Comm); [2022] EWCA Civ 1091. Dave also advised on numerous wet and dry shipping disputes, which concerned (for example) charterparty construction, the Inter-Club Agreement, disputes involving charterparty chains, cargo claims, and the applicability of various forms of war clauses in charterparties (including the BIMCO War Risk Clause and variants thereof).
At university, Dave scored the highest in his year in Maritime Law, and Dave wrote a dissertation about general average with a focus on the Supreme Court’s decision in The “Longchamp” [2017] UKSC 68.
Dave’s current and recent instructions include:
During his pupillage, Dave:
Dave is regularly instructed as both sole and junior counsel in international arbitrations in a number of practice areas pursuant to various institutional rules. Examples of Dave’s current and recent instructions include:
During his pupillage, Dave assisted with, and attended, various arbitration hearings, including a dispute arising out of the management of a vessel, and a multi-million-pound arbitration concerning the sale of a Lloyd’s syndicate.
Prior to pupillage, during his work in the shipping litigation department at an international law firm, Dave worked on dozens of arbitral proceedings subject to LMAA, GAFTA and LCIA Rules. Dave drafted pleadings, written submissions, and various applications to tribunals (including for security of costs and disclosure). Additionally, Dave assisted in the drafting of a skeleton argument for an application for permission to appeal pursuant to sections 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996.
Dave’s instructions often involve an international element, as a result of which Dave has been instructed in various disputes which raise conflict of law issues. Examples of Dave’s current and recent instructions include:
Dave has a particular interest in (international) sanctions. Dave has advised and is instructed in various disputes which involve sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom and international authorities (in the United States, the European Union, and others). For example, recent instructions concern the sanctions imposed on Russia by the international community in 2022, and the interaction between those sanctions and the Ralli Brothers principle that a party is excused from performance of a contract by reason of illegality under the law of the place of performance.
Before starting pupillage, during his work in the shipping litigation department at a leading international law firm, Dave advised on the applicability and relevance of sanctions in a number of contexts, including vessel insurance, charterparty disputes and chains, and the BIMCO War Risks Clause (and variants thereof). In addition, Dave was heavily involved in the expedited Commercial Court trial and the expedited appeal in The “Amethyst” and “Courage” [2022] EWHC 452 (Comm); [2022] EWCA Civ 1091, which focused upon the designation of an individual as a “Specially Designated National” by authorities in the United States.
Scholarships and Awards