7 King’s Bench Walk ‘offers excellence across the board’, with in-depth shipping experience and the ability to draw on strong expertise in adjacent practice areas such as insurance and commodities. Stephen Hofmeyr KC appeared in two Supreme Court cases of late: in Argentum Exploration Limited v Silver concerning if state immunity blocked a claim for the salvage of silver from a ship sunk during the Second World War in the Indian Ocean, as well as in Herculito Maritime Ltd and others & Gunvor International BV and others, which dealt with insurance issues arising out of pirate attacks. In a significant ruling, the Commercial Court decided in the Star Antares that the 2016 version of the York-Antwerp Rules apply to general average claims; Richard Sarll successfully represented the cargo insurers in this matter. Jonathan Gaisman KC was instructed in KC SMIT Salvage BV et al. v Luster Maritime SA et al., a salvage claim surrounding the infamous grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal in 2021. Marcus Mander represented Kibaz Shipping in a dispute following the termination of a ship sale contract due to sanctions being imposed on the buyers, claiming forfeiture of the deposit plus damages.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- '7KBW has a good range of shipping counsel at different levels.'
- '7KBW clerks are very user-friendly and top notch. Eddie Johns and Greg Leyden adopt a particularly solicitor-focused approach, which is appreciated. Joe Clayton and Sean Hulbert are also very responsive and commercial.'
- 'Exceptionally strong. Greg Leyden is probably the best clerk in any commercial set. The combined team of Eddie Johns and Gary Rose alongside Greg is formidable.'
- 'Gary Rose is an excellent professional: courteous, responsive, and always doing his best to meet the high expectations solicitors have of 7KBW.'
- 'Excellent clerks. Gary Rose is the clerk with whom I most work but all the other senior clerks when he is absent will always push themselves to assist. Good relations also with listing clerks which is important.'