Alongside his practice as counsel in a wide-range of arbitration and High Court proceedings, Rob is receiving an increasing number of appointments as an arbitrator, both sole and as part of a panel. He is on the LCIA List of Arbitrators, is a Member of the Baltic Exchange and accepts appointments in all areas of his practice.

International Arbitration
The vast majority of Robert’s practice is in international arbitration. He regularly advises and acts in references held under all of the major institutional rules such as the LCIA, UNCITRAL and ICC Rules, as well as the LMAA, HKIAC, GAFTA and FOSFA rules. He has also sat as an arbitrator under many of the international rules.

By its nature arbitration work is confidential but current cases include the following:

• In late 2024, Robert acted for an international uranium trader in an ICC arbitration arising out of a long term supply contract and alleged breaches of the same by the suppliers. Estimated value in the region of US$180m.
• He is currently involved in on-going ICC arbitration arising out of Drilling and Work Over Service Agreement in Iraq – issues involve both issues of construction and performance (technical and factual).
• Robert successfully represented an international oil company in an Interim Measures application in an ICC arbitration and a related High Court injunction application in relating to a dispute arising under a JOA in respect of an reservoir off Mozambique.  The dispute related to alleged non-compliance with the terms of the JOA in relation to future exploitation of the field, funding obligations and development planning.  Robert successfully resisted both IM and injunction application, the estimate cost of failing to do so was approx. US$800m to US$1b in lost revenue.
• Robert has also recently represented a major international paint manufacturers in a multi-million dollar dispute relating to alleged defects in their commercial products and their application systems.  It was held under the LCIA Rules.
• In the summer of 2022, Robert successfully represented a well-known trading house in its prosecution of a claim in ICC arbitration in relation to termination fees under a Long Terms Storage and Throughput Agreement for oil products in Latvia.
• He has recently acted successfully for contractors in a very substantial and long-running dispute arising out of two EPIC contracts which are the subject of an arbitration under the LCIA Rules. The matter has been through five phases, with five Awards issued and involved significant legal, factual and technical issues relating to the over-run of the project.
• He has recently represented a major oil company in a dispute against a state-owned counterparty in a dispute arising out of a reciprocal investment in the oil fields in Brazil and India and which is subject to the LCIA Rules. The issues were many and varied and cover both technical issues relating to the failure exploratory wells and legal issues arising in the relation to the meaning and scope of the agreements between the parties.
• Robert is acting for a well-known commodities trader in an arbitration under the Sugar Association of London Rules relating to shipments out of South America.
• He is instructed in an ICC dispute relating to the provision of on-line travel agency services and related contractual disputes.
• Robert is acting for sellers in a sale of goods dispute under the rules of the HKIAC. The dispute involves issues as to the correct contractual parties, title to sue and rights to set off.
• He is also instructed in a series of CVC arbitrations subject to the LMAA rules but with a seat in Hong Kong.
• Robert is representing a major international trading house in an ad hoc UNICTRAL arbitration relating to a JOA for a gas production facility, seeking and maintaining a Worldwide Freezing Order in respect of the same, successfully resisting an attempt to set the injunction aside and, in so doing, persuading the Commercial Court on some important issues relating to its jurisdiction and the nature and scope of the UNCITRAL Rules. The case also relates to an international investment treaty dispute.
• Robert is representing a well-known international trader in an ad hoc ICC arbitration relating to grain trading. The matter is a multi-party arbitration involving a string of similar contracts.
• A multi-jurisdictional dispute in which he is advising middle eastern clients on a range of issues relating to share sale and purchase and investment obligations.
• Robert regularly advises and acts in commodity cases, both in the context of technical disputes as quality, description etc and in relation to sale of goods issues and documentary credits. by way of example, he is currently for a leading international trading house in a US$25m FOSFA arbitration and for another in a dispute over the sale of copper concentrates.

He also has a breadth of experience in relation to arbitration applications to the English High Court, predominant under sections 12, 44, 68, 69 and 72 of the Arbitration Act: see, by way of example,  Mitsui & Co v Asia-Potash International [2024] 1 Ll Rep 639 and Sevylor Shipping and Trading v Altafadul [2018] EWHC629 (Comm). He also has substantial experience in preparing and obtaining Freezing Orders in support of arbitration claims.

Robert is also receiving an increasing number of appointments to sit as an arbitrator.