James Shirley

Introduction

BCL (Distinction) - New College, Oxford
LLB (First Class) - University College London

Profile

James Shirley specialises in commercial law, with a particular emphasis on shipping and international trade, including carriage by land, sea and air and related insurance matters. He advises on charterparty disputes on a daily basis, both when they first arise and are ‘live' and when they subsequently go to litigation or arbitration. He frequently appears in court and has experience of proceedings in a wide variety of courts and tribunals.

James Shirley is entitled to accept instructions of a Public Access basis.

Particular Areas of Expertise

Shipping & International Trade

Particular interest in West African shipping: speaker at workshop in Accra, Ghana for Nigerian shipping industry in March 2008;

• Interlocutory work including freezing injunctions; recently appeared for cargo buyers claiming under a bill of lading seeking a US$4M freezing injunction in the Commercial Court; appear at short notice to obtain extensions of time and permission to serve outside the jurisdiction;
• Conflict of laws/jurisdictional issues; recently advised on anti-suit injunctions in support of London arbitration; regularly drafts applications to set aside service/stay proceedings;
• Charterparty disputes; advising and drafting submissions; all aspects including redelivery and termination disputes, sub-lien cases, indemnity claims, formation issues, laytime and demurrage and cargo claims including InterClub Agreement issues; recently drafted complex defence submissions in response to a demurrage claim in arbitration; recently drafted towage claim raising issues of un-tow-worthiness and involved in complex off-hire arbitration; recently advised on the NYPE lien on sub-freights, associated assignments and the implications of the charterer's insolvency; and on the liability for state taxes payable at ports;
• Bill of lading claims; all aspects including sea waybill claims and the incorporation of charterparty terms; complex issues of bailment on terms and jurisdictional issues;
• "Wet" shipping/admiralty claims, including jurisdictional and procedural issues; recently advised on jurisdictional issues arising out of a salvage operation in international waters; also appeared in the High Court in proceedings arising out of a collision at sea; recently involved in multimillion dollar salvage arbitration; recently advised on cargo salvage values; currently acting in general average contribution claim arising out of a hijacking;
• Ship sale and purchase including options in charterparties and availability of specific performance; recently advised on a long-running ship sale dispute raising issues of contract formation and complicated quantum issues and on the purchase of a yacht berthed outside the EU; acted in arbitration relating to damage caused by premature service of NOR;
• Sale/carriage of goods by road, rail, sea and air including domestic and international commodity disputes; recently appeared for shippers in an application for pre-action disclosure aimed at establishing wilful misconduct under the CMR; also advised on and appeared in claim brought by freight-forwarders against successive carriers of goods on CMR terms; recently appeared for Al Italia as defendant to air carriage claim; frequently draft pleadings in carriage by road cases involving CMR/RHA/FTA Conditions;
• Insurance/reinsurance including marine and non-marine, policy/coverage disputes and disclosure/non-disclosure; currently giving a series of seminars to firms of solicitors on hull and machinery insurance;
• Import and export controls including Export Control Act 2002 and associated statutory instruments.

General Commercial

• Contractual disputes of all kinds, from international and domestic contracts for the sale of goods and commodities to smaller contracts for the supply of goods and services; regularly advises on the interpretation of contracts; recently advised on issues of contract formation/variation arising out of international sales contracts; also on commission and secret profits under an agency agreement and on various disputes under a long-term vehicle hire agreement;
• Banking; including mortgage proceedings and restitutionary claims; represented mortgagee bank in possession claim defended on grounds of forgery requiring expert handwriting evidence; associated subrogation claims; sale and leaseback cases; data protection and defamation issues in relation to mortgage lenders; issues relating to rectification of the Land Register and associated indemnities; Bills of Exchange Act 1882 and Cheques Act 1957 issues;

General Civil

• General contractual claims; recent work includes defending a claim seeking recovery of an informal £30,000 loan and defending a claim against a letting agent arising out of complex third party fraud;
• Restitution; recent work includes recovering over-payment mistakenly made by insurance company;
• Mortgages; experience in all aspects of mortgage proceedings, including cases involving tenants, family law issues, rectification of the Land Register and associated indemnity claims; subrogation/restitution issues; forgeries; undue influence;
• Tort/Personal Injury claims including accidents on boats; recently appeared successfully as sole counsel in ten day trial;
• Trusts;
• Consumer credit claims; issues of agency; s.75; satisfactory quality, compromise, promissory estoppel, trespass to goods and allegations of improper representations to credit reference agencies; return of goods and conversion issues; appeals to the High Court from decisions of Circuit Judges;
• Enforcement proceedings; especially charging orders; recently advised and appeared on behalf of bank seeking charging order on trust property;
• Committal proceedings for contempt of court arising out of failure to comply with court order;
• Insolvency and Bankruptcy proceedings including winding-up petitions and setting aside statutory demands.

Education

LLB (First Class) - UCL
BCL (First Class/Distinction) - New College, Oxford (specialising in Conflict of Laws and Restitution)
BVC (Very Competent) - ICSL