7 King's Bench Walk

Year of Call 2018

Douglas is a commercial barrister specialising in arbitration, insurance, civil fraud, commodities, shipping and general commercial disputes.

Douglas’ recent led work includes Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd and others [2021] UKSC 1, a leapfrog appeal to the Supreme Court concerning insurance cover for business interruption losses arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic; a US$30m claim under an offshore CAR insurance policy; and an LCIA arbitration between two Ukrainian businesspeople involving allegations of fraud and forgery.

As sole counsel, Douglas’ recent work includes advising on the effect of US-Iran sanctions on a claim under a marine insurance policy, acting in a multi-million-dollar commodities arbitration, and advising on a breach of warranty claim arising out of the sale of shares in a professional services firm.

Before commencing practice, Douglas spent three months as a Judicial Assistant in the Commercial Court where he worked on Avonwick Holdings Ltd v Azitio Holdings Ltd [2020] EWHC 1844 (Comm), a multi-billion-dollar civil fraud claim concerning the sale of a major Ukrainian corporation.

Douglas has also spent time on secondment at a Magic Circle law firm working on banking and insurance disputes, and in the shipping department of a leading City firm.

Before coming to the Bar, Douglas graduated from the University of Oxford with a First Class degree in Modern Languages. He speaks French, German and Swedish.