XXIV Old Buildings

Steven has a commercial chancery practice with a particular emphasis on civil fraud actions, company/joint venture disputes, insolvency issues and aviation disputes.

He has been instructed in some of the largest civil fraud cases of recent years, both in London and overseas and is always working on a steady stream of aviation and aviation insolvency disputes.

Steven regularly appears in the Business and Property Courts in the Rolls Building (primarily in the Chancery lists and the Commercial Court) as well as overseas.

He has particular experience in the British Virgin Islands where he lived for a period in 2000 whilst on secondment to a local law firm.  He was called to the Bar of Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean that year and has since appeared in both the BVI High Court, the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal as well as the Privy Council on BVI disputes.

He regularly appears in the courts of the Cayman Islands on large shareholder and fraud disputes often involving Chinese / Hong Kong businesses, and has advised and assisted in cases in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Turks & Caicos Islands and Hong Kong.

He is also registered (under Part II) to appear in the Dubai International Financial Centre, with full rights of advocacy.  He was involved in many of the leading cases on jurisdiction in the DIFC, including the conduit jurisdiction cases both at first instance and on appeal.  He is one of a very few English barristers who has conducted a full trial in the Court of First Instance.

Steven is also regularly instructed on international arbitrations and associated Court hearings, in the Far East and in Dubai as well as in London.  He has been nominated, appointed and sat as an arbitrator in an LCIA arbitration which ran to full hearing and final award.

For many years Steven has served on the International Committee of the Bar Council, of which he is currently Chair.  He is also chair of the Bar’s China Interest Group.  He is regularly instructed in China-related disputes by Chinese and other firms.