Rupert has extensive experience, including in the following areas:

  • Providing advice on English Law and London arbitration, litigation and mediation procedure to non-English lawyers and others

  • Obtaining evidence, particularly in Latin America and Spain, for use in London arbitration, litigation and mediation

  • Negotiation - in respect of which Rupert has had specialist training at Harvard Law School

  • Claims under English law in contract, tort and bailment

  • International Sales of Goods Contracts

  • COGSA

  • Sale of Goods Act

  • Incoterms

  • Guarantees

  • Arbitration Act 1996 and related English Court rules and Practice Directions

  • The enforcement of arbitration awards and the law and issues relating thereto

  • New York Convention

  • Marine Insurance Act 1906

  • Insurance Act 2015

  • Hull & Machinery insurance

  • The Contracts (Rights Of Third Parties) Act

  • The Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act

  • Insurance / reinsurance - Rupert has an Award in London Market Insurancefrom the Chartered Insurance Institute ("CII")

  • The Merchant Shipping Act (“MSA”) 1995

  • The Senior Courts Act (“SCA”) 1981

  • Shipbuilding contracts (including those on the AWES, Norwegian Standard and SAJ forms and variations thereof)

  • Shipbuilding contract disputes and related insurance clauses

  • Ship Design contracts

  • Ship Design contract disputes and related issues

  • Bills of Lading

  • Bailment

  • Hague / Visby Rules

  • Hamburg Rules

  • Rotterdam Rules

  • Freight, Defence & Demurrage (“FD&D”)

  • Letters of Indemnity (“LOI”)

  • Security - Letters of Guarantee

  • The standard forms of the City of London Admiralty Solicitors Group

  • Conflict of Laws

  • The Brussels Convention 1968

  • EU Brussels Regulation 44/2001

  • EU Recast Brussels Regulation (1215/2012)

  • The Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982

  • The Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1991

  • The Lugano Conventions

  • The Rome Convention

  • The Rome I Regulation

  • The Rome II Regulation

  • The Administration of Justice Act 1920

  • The Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments (Administration of Justice Act 1920, Part II) (Consolidation) Order 1984 (SI 1984/129)

  • The Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933

  • The 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements

  • Charterparties – including the GENCON 94, NYPE 93, ASBATIME, SYNACOMEX, MULTIFORM 1982, NORGRAIN, AMWELSH 93, OREVOY 1980, MEDITERRANEAN, CORE 7, AFRICANPHOS 1950, FERTICON, BARECON 1, BARECON B, BARECON 89, Towcon, Towhire, Supplytime, Heavycon, Heavyliftvoy, Projectcon, Salvcon and Salvhire forms, Bimco SUPPLYTIME 89, Bimco SUPPLYTIME 2005, Shell SUPPLYTIME, BP SUPPLYTIME, ShellLNGTime 1 and NYPE 2015.

  • Knock-for-knock provisions

  • Mutual Hold Harmless Agreements ("MHHA"s): mutual waiver of recourse / mutual indemnification

  • Ad Hoc Vessel Charter Forms

  • Non vessel-type contracts

  • Offshore Construction contracts

  • Booking Notes and Fixture Letters

  • Barge Contracts, including Bimco BARGEHIRE 2008

  • The Common Marine Inspection Document ("CMID")

  • The Offshore Vessel Inspection Database ("OVID")

  • The Offshore Vessel Management Self Assessment ("OVMSA") protocol

  • The Ship Inspection Report System ("SIRE")

  • The IMCA M103 Dynamic Positioning guidelines

  • The IMCA M182 (specific) guidelines for the operation of Dynamic Positioning ("DP") supply vessels / OSVs

  • Claims on the basis of breach of warranty of authority, either with or without negligence

  • Ship collision-related litigation in the London Admiralty Court

  • The 1910 Collision Convention

  • The Maritime Conventions Act 1911

  • The Collision (Civil Jurisdiction) Convention 1952

  • The Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 (“COLREGS”)

  • The Merchant Shipping (Distress Signals and Prevention of Collisions) Regulations 1996

  • Part 61 of the Civil Procedure Rules

  • The Admiralty Practice Direction

  • Collision Statements of Case

  • The Elder Brethren of Trinity House

  • Incident investigation

  • The preservation of evidence

  • General Average

  • The York Antwerp Rules (“YAR”)

  • Average Adjustments

  • Passage Planning

  • Pilotage

  • Groundings

  • Voyage Estimating

  • Admiralty Law – Commencement and pursuance of claims in rem

  • The Lloyd's Open Form of salvage contract (“LOF”)

  • The International Salvage Convention 1989

  • The MSA 1995 Schedule 11

  • LOF 2000 and 2011

  • The SCOPIC clause

  • The Special Casualty Representative (“SCR”)

  • Special Representatives

  • Towage

  • The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (“SGSA 1982”)

  • The UK Standard Towing Conditions 1986 (“UKSTC 1986”)

  • The Harbour Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847

  • The Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997

  • The Ports Act 1991

  • The Port Maritime Safety Code

  • The General Lighthouse Authorities (Trinity House, etc.)

  • The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973

  • The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

  • The Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention 2007

  • The WRECKFIXED, WRECKSTAGE and WRECKHIRE standard forms of wreckage removal contracts

  • Wreck Removal Orders

  • The International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships 1969

  • Limitation of liability

  • The Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (“1976 LLMC”)

  • The Protocol of 1996 amending 1976 LLMC

  • The 1976 Limitation Convention as amended by the 1996 Protocol

  • The MSA 1995 Schedule 7

  • Unsafe port claims / arbitration

  • The impact of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) on shipping – legal considerations

  • Port Projects

  • Ship speed & performance claims

  • Bunker-related / alleged engine damage disputes / arbitration

  • Oil short landing (tanker) disputes / arbitration

  • Ship redelivery disputes / arbitration

  • Despatch claims / arbitration

  • Ship hold cleaning / maintenance disputes / arbitration

  • “Rule B” attachments in the Southern District of New York (although these are not now of use)

  • Seizure of funds in Paris

  • Equasis ship research

  • Vessel-tracking – including liaising with Lloyd’s Maritime Intelligence Unit - with a view to ship arrest

  • Ship arrest around the globe

  • Negotiating security / ships´ release from arrest

  • Documentary Letters of Credit

  • UCP

  • Vienna Convention

  • Derivatives

  • ISDA Master Agreement

  • Netting

  • Hedging in relation to commodity trades

  • Steel, clinker, wine, bananas, oil, citrus fruit, sugar, bean, grain, fishmeal, grape and petroleum coke cargo disputes

  • The shipment of wine, including both the bottled and cased and bulk shipping of wine - TCCs, ISO tanks, flexitanks, and associated issues (TCA and Naphthalene taint, TeCA, PCA, EVOH barrier films, etc.)

  • LNG and the LNG industry - Rupert holds a Certificate in LNG Contracts and Pricing from IBC Academy, London

  • Cargo fires / alleged “fire”

  • Cargo Insurance

  • The Limitation Act 1980

  • The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977

  • The International Loadline Convention

  • The International Tonnage Convention

  • The SOLAS Conventions

  • The International Ship and Port Facilities Security Code ("ISPS")

  • Recognised Security Organisations ("RSOs")

  • MARPOL

  • The International Safety Management ("ISM") Code

  • The IMO Dangerous Goods Code

  • Flags of Convenience ("FOCs")

  • The International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties (the “Intervention Convention 1969”)

  • The MSA 1995 Schedule 3A as amended by the Marine Safety Act 2003

  • European Directive (2002/59/EC) on Community vessel traffic monitoring

  • European Directive (2005/35/EC) on Ship Source Pollution

  • European Directive 2013/30/EU, the “Offshore Safety Directive”, and related Regulation (EU) No. 1112/2014 on the applicable data reporting format

  • Disputes with British rail service providers

  • Disputes with British telecommunications service providers

  • Instruction of and liaison with enquiry agents

  • Instruction of and liaison with foreign lawyers

  • Instruction of and liaison with aviation, marine and ship broker experts

  • Instruction of and liaison with Counsel (both Senior and Junior)

  • Attendance of Conference with Senior and Junior Counsel at, for example, 20 Essex St., Quadrant Chambers, Stone Chambers, Essex Court and 7KBW chambers in London

  • Attendance at Court and Arbitration Hearings and Mediations

  • Telephone and Video Conferences and Hearings, and arranging these

  • Inter-solicitor and solicitor-Tribunal correspondence

  • Interim applications

  • Preparing disclosure lists and bundles, and drafting disclosure requests

  • Preparing arbitration and Court hearing bundles

  • Costs-related dealings (including drafting Costs’ Schedules, instructing Law Costs’ Draftsman, drafting Points of Dispute and Submissions on Costs and Security for Costs)

  • The recovery of legal costs in London arbitration and litigation (and how that compares with the position in Santiago, Chile)

  • Yacht and Superyacht related disputes / arbitration, including those involving the MYBA (Worldwide Yachting Association) Charter Agreement and the MYBA Memorandum of Agreement

  • Aircraft related disputes / ICC arbitration

  • High Court litigation (Admiralty, Commercial and Bankruptcy Courts)

  • Stays & Anti-Suit Injunctions, in the English High Court, in support of international arbitration proceedings

  • Statutory Demands

  • P&I issues including P&I Clubs’ Law & Practice

  • Offshore pipe-laying, pipe-line renewal and maintenance

  • The law relating to submarines and semi-submersible vessels - both in civil and military use

  • The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (“UNCLOS”)

  • The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal

  • The Hong Kong Convention on the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships

  • London Mercantile Court litigation

  • Arbitration pursuant to the LMAA Terms

  • Arbitration under the GAFTA Arbitration Rules

  • Arbitration under the ICA, ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL Rules

  • Drafting Witness Statements for use in Court litigation and international arbitration

  • Drafting Settlement & Escrow Agreements

  • Contract negotiation - Rupert has had specialist negotiation training at Harvard Law School

  • Without Prejudice (settlement related) negotiations

  • The Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 and proposed amendments thereto

  • The enforcement of foreign arbitration awards in India and issues relating thereto

  • Mediation– Rupert has undertaken specialist CEDR mediation training, been granted CEDR accreditationand, since, practised as a Mediator

  • Drafting Mediation Position Papers / Mediation Statements

  • Preparing Mediation “Core Bundles”

  • Mediation Advocacy

  • Commercial Mediation: Procedure, Strategy & Tactics

  • Mediator Research and Recommendation/Selection for clients

  • Legal research

  • Drafting legal articles for firms’ websites and client updates / bulletins

  • Drafting legal papers, including (with Tom Birch Reynardson – ex Eton College, University of Oxford, etc.) papers for The Law Society, CWA International Ltd and International Arbitration Law Review

  • Translating Spanish and French legal and other documents into English - Rupert is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists

  • Council Regulation (EC) No. 1393/2007 on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil and commercial matters

  • Bilateral Investment Treaties ("BITs")

  • The Convention on the Continental Shelf 1958

  • The (U.K.) Petroleum Act 1998

  • Pollution from oil rigs

  • The Offshore Pollution Liability Agreement ("OPOL")

  • Oil & Gas Pre-contractual Instruments

  • Area of Mutual Interest Agreements

  • Bidding Agreements

  • Petroleum Field Exploration Authorisations

  • Royalty Agreements

  • Joint Operating Agreements

  • Technical Services Agreements

  • Data Acquisition Agreements

  • Seismic Reinterpretation Agreements

  • Security Agreements

  • Local Community Agreements

  • Insurance Agreements

  • Leases and Licenses

  • Seismic Survey Agreements

  • Environmental Survey Agreements

  • Access and Compensation Agreements

  • Site Preparation Agreements

  • Drilling Contracts

  • Supply Agreements

  • Support Services Agreements

  • Transportation Agreements

  • Well Services Agreements

  • Accommodation Agreements

  • Catering Agreements

  • Farm-out / farm-in Agreements

  • Sale of Interest Agreements

  • Unitization Agreements and Unitization Joint Operating Agreements

  • Feasibility and Evaluation Agreements

  • Reserves Report Agreements

  • Design Agreements

  • Engineering Agreements

  • Fabrication Agreements

  • Construction Agreements

  • Financing Agreements

  • Supply Agreements

  • Operation and Maintenance Agreements

  • Tie-In Agreements

  • Pipeline Interconnection Agreements

  • Pipeline Crossing Agreements

  • Easements and Right of Way Agreements

  • Pumping Station Agreements

  • FPSO Agreements

  • FSO Agreements

  • Transportation Agreements

  • Pipeline Agreements

  • Processing Agreements

  • Storage Agreements

  • Lifting Agreements

  • Balancing Agreements

  • Crude Oil Sale Agreements

  • Gas Sale Agreements

  • LNG Sale Agreements

  • Decommissioning / Abandonment Agreements

  • Petroleum Field Restoration Agreements

  • Trade Libel and Malicious Falsehood claims and injunctions relating thereto

  • Film Finance Introducer Agreements

  • Recommendation to clients of suitable Chilean, English and Spanish lawyers

Rupert has an extensive network of contacts and can use these to assist clients establish and expand their business in Chile, Spain and the United Kingdom.