Keystone Law

Insurance and Reinsurance Litigation, Commercial Litigation

Hermès is a leading international disputes lawyer having litigated, arbitrated or mediated in over seventy countries complex matters, including international coverage and underlying commercial litigation, particularly in the Americas, Mediterranean basin, MENA, West Africa and Asia.  He is regularly instructed as defence counsel on infrastructure, product and third party liability accounts for major corporates.  Hermès is also acknowledged as a leading expert on issues of political violence and cyber risks, having been involved on such matters from the development of relevant laws and regulations (from NMA464 onwards), litigating and arbitrating these risks internationally. He has qualified both as a barrister and solicitor of England and Wales.

Hermès has led teams handling major litigation relating to financial institutions, liability, construction, engineering and energy. He also advises clients on regulatory and corporate matters.

Hermès is fluent in seven languages, including Spanish and Portuguese.  He is a Vice President of the Insurance Institute of London and drafts critical wordings for the international market.  He also works closely with various bodies, including the Ministry of Justice, the Bar Council and the Law Society, in promoting English law and jurisdiction worldwide.

Hermès is a main co-author of a leading textbook on Reinsurance Practice and the Law, co-author of the book War Risks and Terrorism, and contributor to textbooks on conflicts of law, property risks and Mass Torts in Europe.  He has also contributed to the Getting the Deal Through: Insurance Litigation 2021, and a further Guide on Frustration of Contracts.  He regularly writes on issues relating to private and public interational law and cross-border litigation, cyber disputes as well as continuing on publications on political violence, including war risks and terrorism.

Hermès lectures and publishes widely on significant international conflicts of law matters and on specialist risks and legal and forensic investigations.

Called to the Bar 1985; Middle Temple; Clifford Chance; Clyde & Co; Partner DAC Beachcroft LLP 2008; Partner Signature Litigation 2014.

English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian and Greek.

Throughout his career, Hermès has held several memberships and industry roles, including: Vice President of the Insurance Institute of London; Member of the IBA; Member of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce; Member of the Brazil Canada Arbitration Chamber, Member of the Oil, Petrochemical and Energy Risks Association; Member of the Chilean Chamber for Construction.

Cambridge; LSE; St. Anna Academy of Post Doctoral Studies.