M.N. Howard QC

As a commercial lawyer, Howard has had to deal with matters falling under this rubric, especially disputes concerning letters of credit, and some types of credit agreement. He has therefore a broad familiarity with this area of the law without professing to be a specialist in it.

Howard has acted in virtually all areas of dry shipping both as advocate and as arbitrator. Disputes arising out of charterparties and bills of lading, cargo claims, marine insurance (and reinsurance), shipbuilding and shipsale disputes. The overwhelming majority of these have been in arbitrations. He thinks he is unusual in having acted as advocate and as arbitrator in disputes about general average.

Howard as acted in shipbuilding disputes and in disputes relating to the construction and/or purchase and/or hire of oil rigs and platforms.

Howard acts in general commercial disputes relating to contracts: e.g he has advised on the sale of a haulage business and has acted as arbitrator in relation to a sole distributorship agreement.  He has acted both as advocate and arbitrator in relation to international sales of goods where the disputes have no shipping dimension.  He has very occasionally become involved in pure corporate disputes (protection of minority shareholders, disqualification of directors).

Although the cases involved were shipping cases, Howard was the one of the architects of two major changes in English commercial law, being successful junior counsel in N.Y.K. v Karageorgis [1975] 1 W.L.R. 1093 (C.A.) (the case in which Mareva injunctions were invented) and The Despina R; The Folias [1979] A.C. 685 (H.L.) (the case which established that unliquidated damages are recoverable in currencies other than sterling). 

Howard frequently acts as arbitrator. His first appointment was in 1983, since when he has been appointed several hundred times by parties, arbitrators or arbitral bodies as arbitrator, either sole or as one of a panel (in the latter case usually, but not invariably, as umpire or chairman of arbitral tribunal). He has acted as such in a wide range of maritime disputes and has also been the sole arbitrator or one of the three arbitrators hearing several straight commercial disputes. Virtually all the arbitrations in which he has figured as arbitrator have been international arbitrations and the overwhelming majority have no English parties at all.

Howard has been appointed as an I.C.C. arbitrator and an L.C.I.A. arbitrator. He is frequently appointed umpire or third arbitrator by members of the LMAA. He is a member of the L.C.I.A., a supporting member of the L.M.A.A. and a member of the Panel of Salvage Arbitrators appointed by the Council of Lloyd's.

Howard has acted as adviser and advocate in both insurance and reinsurance cases. Most of his work in this area has been in the field of marine insurance and reinsurance, but he also has acted in general land-based insurance relating to e.g. fire and business interruption insurance. Most of his work has been in the field of direct insurance; but he has done a certain amount of re-insurance work, mainly but not exclusively in the marine field throughout his career.

Howard is an accredited mediator, and is enthusiastic about hearing mediations, though he has so far heard only one mediation as mediator (a settlement was reached).

Howard’s original Chambers were Admiralty Chambers, and he has always appeared in and advised on salvage and collision matters. In addition he has appeared in wreck inquiries, limitation actions and the other areas falling within the Admiralty speciality. Latterly he has also acted as arbitrator in collision disputes and has been a member of the panel of salvage arbitrators appointed by the Committee of Lloyd’s since 1987.

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