England - London • Dispute resolution
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Commodities disputes

Watson Farley & Williams LLP

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Watson Farley & Williams LLP frequently handles cross-border disputes in the commodities sector. Rob Fidoe regularly handles arbitration on behalf of multinationals in the energy, infrastructure and international trade sectors. Clients describe Fidoe as ‘calm and collected, a good strategist who is able to guide clients through difficult disputes’. He acted for trading company JE Energy in a multimillion-dollar oil trading dispute with Vitol SA in a matter that has since gone to the Court of Appeal.  Key partner Andrew Hutcheon, who handles contentious matters in the commodities, mining, oil & gas, shipping and aviation sectors, ‘goes the extra mile to understand new business concepts and to give wise counsel’. He was part of a team that acted for Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Fund in matters arising from the administration of Bulb Energy.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘My colleagues and I have valued the advice and support that the team have given us. They have supported us in an innovative area of business - the team's knowledge and experience have helped to create a deeper understanding of this emerging area of the law.’

  • ‘The support that Andrew Hutcheon has given us has been exemplary. He goes the extra mile to understand new business concepts and to give wise counsel accordingly.’

  • ‘The scope of the disputes covered by WFW's teams, reflecting its strong Asian presence, have included complex infrastructure, IT, energy, renewables, shipping, oil and gas, commodities, aviation and commercial disputes relating to all of those sectors and more. The partners in the London and Bangkok offices provide a highly personal and efficient service. Teams tend to be small, but with exceptional partner engagement which international clients value greatly.’

  • ‘Robert Fidoe is an outstanding lawyer, adept at managing complex technical disputes and with a good eye for the issues that are important in a dispute. Rob’s easy-going manner is very popular with clients and other team members who find him very easy to work with.'

  • ‘Thoughtful and strategic leadership from Rob Fidoe. Calm and collected. Strength in depth behind him, with good support.’

  • ‘Rob Fidoe - calm and collected, good strategist, able to guide clients through difficult disputes.’

Key clients

  • JE Energy Ltd
  • Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund

Work highlights

  • Advising JE Energy Ltd (an independent commodity trading company with offices in the UK, Asia and Africa) in respect of a multimillion-dollar oil trading dispute with Vitol SA.
  • Advising Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund (“Sequoia”) as secured creditor regarding the energy administration of Bulb Energy Limited (“Bulb”) in the first ever use of the UK’s energy supply company administration regime, intended to be used for large energy supply companies where it is not feasible to appoint a “Supplier of Last Resort”.

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Andrew Hutcheon
Watson Farley & Williams LLP
Andrew has experience advising on a broad range of commercial and financial disputes as well as international arbitrations, bilateral investment treaties and litigation matters with a strong focus on the shipping, aviation, mining and commodities, oil and gas sectors. Andrew’s natural resources expertise extends to commodities trading, trade finance and mining investment disputes, while his experience in the offshore oil and gas and energy sectors covers construction, drilling and service agreement disputes, as well as wider industry disputes including energy related judicial reviews. His shipping expertise encompasses shipbuilding, ship repair, MoA, charterparty, cargo, enforcement and other dry shipping disputes including in specialised sectors such as LNG and cruise. In the aviation sector, he advises on repossessions, lease redelivery, airframe and engine damage, base maintenance and insurance disputes. Andrew has been recommended as a leader in his field for a number of years. Legal 500 UK 2024 notes Andrew “goes the extra mile to understand new business concepts and to give wise counsel accordingly” and “is highly experienced, conscientious of the needs of his clients, and skilled at securing good outcomes for them.”

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Robert Fidoe

Other key lawyers

Andrew Hutcheon

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