Ben joined Clyde & Co in 1993 and became a partner in May 2000. He acts for a number of international clients including governments, commodities traders, shipowners, ship operators, charterers, insurance companies and banks.
Ben has extensive litigation experience both in the High Court and in international arbitration, including at the LCIA, ICC, LME and LMAA. He also represents clients in relation to regulatory issues, at the FSA and LME.
On the general litigation side, Ben advises on contractual disputes and specialises in trade and commodity litigation and international arbitration. He has particular experience enforcing judgments and awards in difficult jurisdictions. Ben also handles derivatives disputes including those relating to forward freight agreements. Ben is identified by Legal 500 (2007) as a key player in the commodities and dispute resolution/commercial litigation sectors. He is recognised in Legal 500 (2008) in which Clyde & Co was ranked in the top tier for Commodities and Futures.
Ben headed up the substantial legal team from Clyde & Co on the high profile multi billion dollar arbitration between Yemen and various U.S. oil interests. That case resulted in a large success for Yemen this year which has been recognised as one of the major arbitration successes of recent years.
On the shipping side, Ben handles the full range of shipping litigation including cargo damage and charterparty disputes, sale and purchase disputes, mortgage enforcement and speed and performance problems. Ben has been recognised by Legal 500 (2008) in relation to Clyde & Co's success in the Frixos matter in the Court of Appeal.
On the non-contentious side, he is involved in the drafting of commercial sale and purchase contracts, joint venture agreements, and charterparties, in particular.
His practice is international and multi-jurisdictional and he has extensive experience of legal systems in the Middle East, Far East, including Singapore and Taiwan.