Twenty Essex

Banking and financial services; Commodities and international trade; EU & Competition; General commercial law; Insurance and reinsurance; Jurisdiction, conflicts and enforcement; Private international law; Shipping

Thomas is a commercial silk, with a wide commercial practice, and well known as a lead advocate in difficult cases on private international law.

His commercial practice covers general commercial matters, banking, financial services, shipping, aviation, commodities, property, offshore energy, insurance and reinsurance, marine insurance, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, telecommunications, and transjurisdictional disputes. Thomas also has a leading practice in cross-over cases involving intellectual property, competition law, media and communications, commercial law and private international law.

Thomas has argued cases at all levels of the higher English courts including the Supreme Court. His advocacy in one case was described recently as “of the highest possible calibre” by the Court of Appeal.

He appears in commercial arbitrations before the ICC, LCIA, and other trade specific arbitral forums, including the LMAA, LME, and RSA. Arbitrations have concerned subjects including mobile telephone contracts, international construction, superyachts, shipbuilding, charterparties, commodities, patent licensing and FRAND.

Thomas accepts appointments as an arbitrator in international arbitrations. He speaks fluent French and also acts as an expert witness on English law in foreign courts, including the French, Italian, Belgian and US courts.

He is the author of The Anti-Suit Injunction, which is the lead work on anti-suit injunctions and related issues in the conflict of laws. It has been cited with approval and adopted by the High Court and Court of Appeal on numerous occasions, and the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice, as well as in the courts of Hong Kong and Singapore. The second edition has been published in September 2019.  Recently Quentin Loh J in the High Court of Singapore described it as a “very instructive” text.

https://www.twentyessex.com/people/thomas-raphael/

French (fluent)