Date of Birth: 1978Date of Call: 2008
General Information
BA/LLB (Hons), First Class: University of Melbourne.
BCL, Distinction and MPhil: Magdalen College, Oxford.
Spero Wilson Memorial Scholarship, University of Melbourne (second on law honours list).
Co-Editor in Chief, Melbourne University Law Review (1999).
Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Scholarship (two-year law scholarship to undertake postgraduate studies in the UK).
Articled Clerk and Solicitor, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Melbourne
Solicitor, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, London.
Practice
Sarah practises in all areas of commercial law, including: insurance and reinsurance, banking, shipping, international trade, sale of goods, professional negligence and private international law.
Sarah has appeared in the High Court and the County Court.
Selected cases and experience
Insurance and Reinsurance
• Instructed to appear as junior counsel on behalf of a Lloyd’s syndicate in an arbitration concerning a claim against the syndicate’s coverholder for breach of binding authority agreements.
• Instructed as second junior counsel in an insurance arbitration arising from alleged mis-selling of endowment mortgages.
• Advising as second junior counsel in an insurance coverage dispute arising from alleged professional negligence on the part of contractors and sub-contractors involved in a major construction project.
• Instructed to appear as junior counsel in a Commercial Court insurance claim arising from fire damage to a vehicle hire company’s vehicles.
• Instructed to appear as junior counsel in an arbitration concerning the aggregation of claims under a professional indemnity insurance policy.
• Advising in respect of an insurance coverage dispute arising from fire damage to retail premises.
• Advising healthcare provider on double insurance and contribution issues arising from claims under health insurance policies.
• Advising on construction of payment protection and loan protection policies.
Shipping
• Farenco Shipping Co Ltd v Daebo Shipping Co Ltd [2008] EWHC 2755 (Comm)
Instructed to appear as junior counsel for the Claimant in a multi-party dispute concerning the construction of letters of indemnity issued pursuant to charterparties.
• Instructed as junior counsel in an LMAA arbitration involving a claim for breach of a memorandum of agreement for the sale of a vessel.
• Instructed as junior counsel in an arbitration concerning a claim relating to the proper distribution of funds paid into a consortium bank account following the alleged repudiatory breach of certain time charterparties by a third party.
• Advising and drafting defence submissions in arbitration proceedings for unpaid hire under a time charter, arising from a dispute concerning the validity of a notice of readiness.
• Advising and drafting defence submissions in arbitration proceedings for unpaid hire under a time charter, arising from alleged early redelivery of the vessel.
• Advising in relation to package limitation under Hague and Hague-Visby Rules.
Sale of Goods / International Trade
• Trafigura Beheer BV v Yieh Phui (China) Technomaterial Co Ltd [2009] EWHC 2054 (Comm) Instructed to appear as junior counsel for the Claimant in an application under s 32 of the Arbitration Act 1996 to determine the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals appointed pursuant to LME Arbitration Regulations.
• Instructed to appear as sole counsel in an LMAA arbitration concerning a claim for breach of a series of CIF contracts for the sale of ore.
• Advising as to construction of CFR contracts incorporating INCOTERMS 2000.
Professional Negligence
• Instructed to appear as junior counsel on behalf of a Lloyd’s syndicate in an arbitration concerning a claim against the syndicate’s coverholder for breach of binding authority agreements.
• Advising as second junior counsel in an insurance coverage dispute arising from alleged professional negligence on the part of contractors and sub-contractors involved in a major construction project.
General Commercial
• Instructed to appear as sole counsel in a two day Mercantile Court trial concerning a dispute over the construction of a mandate agreement and whether there existed in parallel a collateral oral agreement.
• Instructed to appear as sole counsel to oppose an application to set aside a default judgment under CPR Part 13.
• Instructed to appear as sole counsel in a fast track summary assessment of costs hearing in a misrepresentation claim.
Banking
• Instructed as second junior counsel in an insurance arbitration arising from alleged mis-selling of endowment mortgages.
• Advising as to application of Banking Code to victim of fraud, and as to alleged mis-selling of payment protection insurance, including application of ICOBS.
Conflict of Laws
• Advising as to the availability of an anti-suit injunction in support of an arbitration agreement in arbitration proceedings arising from a dispute concerning the performance of contracts of affreightment.
