Keating Chambers

John McMillan specialises in commercial arbitration and litigation, with a focus on the construction, engineering, energy, and technology sectors.

He has particular expertise in international commercial arbitration. He has advised on or acted in arbitrations under the ICC, LCIA, SIAC, UNCITRAL, SCC, NAI and ICSID rules, involving common-law, civil-law and international-law issues. He has also acted as secretary to a tribunal chaired by Gary Born in a major engineering arbitration under the ICC rules. John frequently speaks and publishes on topics related to international arbitration, and was the assistant editor of the Journal of International Arbitration for several years.

John acts in construction and engineering disputes domestically and internationally. Recent work has included:

acting as sole counsel in High Court litigation regarding the construction of an automotive manufacturing facility in East Asia; acting for the claimants in an ICC arbitration regarding the construction of an underground metro system; acting in a series of Dispute Board hearings regarding the construction of a power station in Africa; and acting in numerous domestic adjudications, including a series of adjudications relating to the redevelopment of an English railway station.

John also handles general commercial disputes, including recently:

acting as sole counsel in a USD 20 million arbitration regarding the sale of a number of aircraft; representing an oil company in a number of disputes arising from a JOA for an offshore oil concession; acting in multiple post-M&A disputes in East Asia; and advising a Hong Kong property development company on a complex, multi-jurisdictional loan transaction.

Having studied Chinese at Oxford University, John speaks and reads Chinese.  He has acted in disputes for and against Chinese clients, in which he has been required to review Chinese-language documents.

His international work has included disputes in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Germany, Ghana, Angola, South Africa, Uruguay, Brazil, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, India and Pakistan, among other jurisdictions.

WilmerHale, London, 2014-2020 (Associate: 2014-2016; Senior Associate 2017-2019; Counsel: 2020) Called 2012

Chinese (Mandarin)

Bar Professional Training Course, City University, London, 2012 (Outstanding) Graduate Diploma in Law, City University, London (Distinction) BA Chinese, Wadham College, University of Oxford, 2004-2008 (First)