Called: 2008
Practice Overview
Stephanie’s practice encompasses a wide range of commercial litigation and arbitration, but is primarily focused on dry shipping (especially charterparty and bill of lading disputes), shipbuilding and offshore construction, international trade, aviation/travel and energy. Her practice often involves cases of technical complexity, such as unsafe port claims, dangerous cargo claims and shipbuilding contract termination claims involving large numbers of defects. She undertakes drafting and advisory work in all areas of her practice. Stephanie also appears regularly (both as a junior and as sole counsel) in Commercial Court hearings and in commercial arbitrations on various terms including LMAA.
Given the predominance of arbitration in Stephanie’s practice, many of her cases are unreported. In terms of reported Court cases, Stephanie recently acted as sole counsel in The Amity [2017] Bus. L.R. 2090, a case on the authority of junior employees to accept service of arbitration notices. She also acted as junior counsel in Emma Moore v Hotelplan, t/as Inghams [2010] EWHC 276 (QB), concerning tour operator liability for excursions, Lloyds TSB Equipment Leasing (No. 1) Ltd v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2014] STC 2770 (Court of Appeal)), concerning capital allowances on LNG tankers used in the Norwegian Snøhvit project, and Ford v Malaysia Airlines [2014] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 301 (Court of Appeal), concerning the meaning of “accident” under Article 17 of the Montreal Convention.
Stephanie is listed as an 'Up and Coming' Junior in the Chambers & Partners 2019 Directory.
‘She is a very able junior.’
(Legal 500 2019)‘She is a fierce advocate.’
(Legal 500 2019)"Extremely thorough and very user-friendly."
(Chambers UK, 2019)"Capable beyond her call, intelligent and hard-working."
(Chambers UK, 2018)"...A dedicated and pragmatic advocate..."
(Chambers UK, 2018)"...Excellent advocate, who is extremely hard working and easy to work with."... "Very strong and very responsive...."
(Chambers UK 2017, Aviation)"...She was very diligent, proactive and her response times were very swift...."
(Chambers UK 2017, Shipping)"...rising star..."
(Chambers UK 2017, Shipping)"...Pragmatic and straightforward..."
(Legal 500, 2016)"...she is excellent, tenacious and someone who never lets points go..."; "...she is a rising star who is energetic and user-friendly..."
(Chambers UK 2016)"...bright, tenacious and happy to accommodate the client’s needs..."; "...a fearsome advocate with a first-rate intellect..."
(Chambers UK, 2015)Dry Shipping
Stephanie regularly undertakes advocacy and drafting work relating to a wide range of dry shipping disputes. She advises on time and voyage charterparty claims including a range of standard forms (such as NYPE 1946 and 1993, Shelltime 4 and gencon); late and early redelivery disputes; speed and consumption claims; off-hire; NYPE Interclub Agreement disputes; employment and agency claims, bunker quality disputes, oil major approvals clauses, and unsafe port claims; demurrage and despatch claims; time bar clauses; responsibility for cargo claims under charterparties and Hague/Hague-Visby Rules issues.
Many of Stephanie’s cases involve not just contractual issues but also complex technical evidence. Examples of Stephanie's experience include:
Wet Shipping
Stephanie has advised and drafted pleadings for a number of Admiralty disputes and is familiar with issues concerning Admiralty Court jurisdiction and procedure. Stephanie has also appeared in the Admiralty Court in order to obtain an order for sale following arrest of a yacht. In addition, Stephanie has worked on a number of charter and bill of lading disputes where general average and salvage issues, or detailed navigational issues, have been raised. One recent category of work comprises a number of disputes about unseaworthiness and general average in the context of groundings and other accidents during laden voyages under charterparties and bills of lading.
Examples of Stephanie’s work in this area include:
Stephanie acts in a range of commodities disputes, including FOB and CIF sales of commodities such as coal, wheat and oil. Illustrative cases include:
Instructed as junior to Stewart Buckingham in two FOSFA and one GAFTA arbitrations arising out of sale contracts for soybeans. The issues include construction of bespoke pricing and delivery clauses, their interaction with FOSFA/GAFTA standard Default Clauses and the appropriate date for the assessment of damages where goods are not paid for and not delivered for a lengthy period.
Instructed as junior counsel to Jonathan Gaisman QC in a Commercial Court dispute relating to pricing provisions under DES shipments of oil cargoes.
Instructed as junior to Simon Croall QC in a Commercial Court case involving US biodiesel allegedly shipped in breach of EU Regulations imposing duties and penalties on US origin biodiesel.
Advised on EU waste shipment regulations in respect of consignments of recycled carpet shipped from the UK to Pakistan.
Instructed to advise in a case relating to the obligation to nominate a vessel under a FOB sale of coal.
Stephanie has also undertaken drafting and advocacy in respect of a number of road transport disputes, including CMR claims and claims under RHA standard terms (see also under Commercial Disputes). In addition, she has been instructed as sole counsel in cases involving goods lost or damaged during household removals.
Stephanie has significant experience of both aviation and travel work, having undertaken advisory and drafting work as well as advocacy on behalf of a number of major airlines, tour operators and airports. Her experience relates to a broad range of issues, from personal injury, baggage and delay claims under the Montreal Convention, the denied boarding (EC Reg 261/2004) and reduced mobility (EC Reg 1107/2006) regulations, personal injury claims against airports and tour operators, the Package Travel Regulations, and general contractual issues, such as disputes under ground handling agreements and agreements between airlines and airports. Stephanie has appeared as sole counsel for airlines, tour operators or airports in a number of County Court fast and multi-track personal injury trials and in High Court disputes.
Illustrative cases include:
Stephanie successfully represented Malaysia Airlines at a preliminary issue hearing on whether negligent medical treatment administered by one passenger to another constituted an "accident" under Article 17 of the Montreal Convention, and also appeared as junior counsel to Robert Lawson QC when this issue was appealed to the Court of Appeal (Ford v Malaysia Airlines [2014] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 301).
Stephanie was junior to Michael McParland in Emma Moore v Hotelplan, t/as Inghams [2010] EWHC 276 (QB) concerning the liability of a tour operator for devastating injuries suffered by the Claimant whilst participating in a skidoo excursion which was not part of the original package holiday but booked through the Defendant's resort representative. Stephanie acted as junior counsel for the successful Claimant.
More recently, Stephanie has acted for the tour operator “Club Med” (initially as sole counsel and subsequently as junior to Chirag Karia QC) in a personal injury dispute concerning an ice-climbing excursion during a teambuilding trip to France (see Committeri v Club Mediterranee [2016] EWHC 1510 (QB), although Stephanie did not attend the hearing). The issues raised by the case included questions of conflicts of law and the Rome I and Rome II Regulations.
Acting as sole counsel for “Club Med” in relation to a number of personal injury claims brought by guests and their resorts, including for gastro-intestinal illness and trips and falls.
Acting as sole counsel for a tour operator in relation to a personal injury case brought by the widower of a guest who sustained a minor fall while on holiday but subsequently died due to a combination of consequential immobility and pre-existing illness. This case therefore raised difficult issues of causation and medical evidence.
Stephanie was instructed as sole counsel by Advantage Travel in an action against an individual travel agent member which involved allegations of fraud and breach of regulatory requirements in relation to the handling of customer deposits.
Stephanie has extensive experience of commercial arbitrations under LMAA terms and substantial experience of arbitrations conducted under other terms such as LCIA and HKIAC, as well as arbitration applications in the High Court under the 1996 Act. A substantial proportion of her shipping, international trade, shipbuilding and energy work relates to cases which are arbitrated and she is therefore often instructed to provide advisory and advocacy work in relation to arbitration.
She has experience of a range of issues relating to arbitration procedure, including disputes concerning appointment, disclosure, jurisdiction and appeals under sections 67, 68 and 69. Stephanie has advised upon and drafted a number of applications under sections 67 and 69 of the 1996 Act, including the necessary witness evidence and skeleton arguments. Recent experience includes acting as sole counsel in a charterparty arbitration where the parties had to apply to the Commercial Court for an order allowing the sale of cargo aboard a vessel which had been abandoned by the cargo interests.
Stephanie is familiar with the usual procedural disputes that arise during the course of an arbitration, such as timetabling, security for costs and disclosure. Stephanie has also drafted the necessary documents for an anti-suit injunction application to restrain proceedings brought outside the European Union in breach of an arbitration clause.
Examples of Stephanie’s work in the field of International arbitration are as follows:
Stephanie has assisted with sale of goods disputes ranging from international sales to quality and condition disputes under the Sale of Goods Act. She regularly advises on issues of contract and tort law in a wide spectrum of commercial disputes such as sale of goods and supply of services, carriage of goods by road (both domestic and international).
Examples of Stephanie’s general commercial work include acting as sole counsel in the following: an arbitration relating to a FOB sale contract for coal; a Mercantile Court claim concerning the carriage of a tank container of zirconium nitrate by road; a contractual dispute concerning the sale of allegedly defective recycling machinery; and a Commercial Court claim concerning the theft of copper concentrates through fraud from a depot in Zambia. She has also assisted Michael McParland QC with a large shareholder dispute being litigated in the British Virgin Islands.
Stephanie has experience of assisting with issues of conflicts of laws and jurisdiction both in an EU and non-EU context, and in relation to both contract and tort. She has advised on issues such as service out of the jurisdiction, and incorporation of jurisdiction and arbitration clauses into contracts.
Stephanie has experience of a range of insurance and reinsurance matters, both marine and non-marine, including the construction of standard terms in a marine policy and assisting in advising on recovery and quantum under a property and business risks policy. She has also advised on more unusual clauses, such as the construction of an exclusion for "stand alone warehouses", and on jurisdiction and subrogation in respect of a hangarkeeper's policy following a fire which destroyed a number of helicopters. Stephanie was instructed as fourth junior to Simon Bryan Q.C. and Guy Blackwood Q.C. in the multi-million dollar Commercial Court dispute between Markerstudy and other insurance companies and their claims handlers in respect of negligent handling. This was a complex and substantial dispute involving work on a detailed Scott Schedule of sample claims over a period of around 8 months. Recent instructions include a marine insurance dispute concerning ISM warranty compliance and whether a vessel constituted a constructive total loss.
Stephanie has acted for major banks and credit card companies, including in relation to debt claims, Consumer Credit Act issues, possession claims and obtaining charging orders. Stephanie's practice takes in a wide range of County Court work, including summary judgment applications against debtors, costs hearings, case management hearings and a number of trials. Issues range from interest lost when a bank failed to transfer funds in accordance with a customer's request to the application of the Data Protection Act 1998 to credit reference agencies.
Stephanie has advised in conjunction with leaders in chambers on construction issues relating to bareboat charterparties set up as part of complex Islamic ship finance arrangements. In a recent instruction she is acting as sole counsel for a lender under loans advanced to finance the construction of four cargo vessels.
Stephanie has substantial experience of acting in offshore construction and energy disputes, both as a junior to a range of chambers’ Silks and as sole counsel. Many of these disputes have been lengthy and technically complex arbitrations concerning issues such as deliverability, ascertainment of the “drop dead date”, permissible delay and warranty claims. She has acted for both buyers and yards and in respect of vessels ranging from bulk carriers, tankers and container vessels to specialist heavy- lift vessels and jack-up drilling rigs.
Examples of Stephanie’s work in the field of energy are as follows:
Stephanie has substantial experience of acting in shipbuilding, both as a junior to a range of chambers’ Silks and as sole counsel. Many of these disputes have been lengthy and technically complex arbitrations concerning issues such as deliverability, ascertainment of the “drop dead date”, permissible delay and warranty claims. She has acted for both buyers and yards and in respect of vessels ranging from bulk carriers, tankers and container vessels to specialist heavy- lift vessels and superyachts.
Examples of Stephanie’s work in the field of shipbuilding are as follows:
..."bright, tenacious and happy to accommodate the client’s needs..."; "...a fearsome advocate with a first-rate intellect"...
(Chambers UK, 2015)Academic
B.A. in Jurisprudence, University College, Oxford (1st Class)
Bachelor of Civil Law, University College, Oxford (Distinction)
Bar Vocational Course, BPP London (Very Competent).
Awards
Exhibitioner of University College, Oxford and awarded 2 College prizes for consistent good work. Winner of the Birks prize (2007) for the best Restitution examination paper on the BCL.
Middle Temple Queen Mother Scholar (2007-8).
Appointments
Tutor in Equity at School of Oriental and African Studies 2007-8.
Memberships
COMBAR
LCIA Young International Arbitration Group
Pro Bono
Stephanie is willing to accept pro bono work. Stephanie has appeared in the Social Security Appeals Tribunal on a pro bono basis.
Languages
Welsh (conversational).