Colleen is a recommended leading junior in both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500.
She specialises in commercial litigation with a particular focus on shipping, commodities and international arbitration. Colleen appears regularly before the Commercial Court and international arbitration tribunals in disputes involving complex commercial sale contracts, charterparty construction, cargo claims and jurisdictional issues. She has particular expertise in challenging arbitration awards under the Arbitration Act and in obtaining anti-suit injunctions. Colleen has also acted for some of the world’s largest commodity traders in sale of goods disputes and has specific expertise in oil and gas sale disputes. She has also advised in superyacht disputes.
Early in her career, Colleen worked in-house at the Nordisk Shipowners’ Defence Club in Oslo and has a unique understanding of the day to-day legal issues arising for shipowners. She regularly advises and acts for a variety of shipowners’ defence clubs and is happy to accept direct instructions.
In addition to her main commercial litigation practice, Colleen has expertise in UK and European competition law. From 2008 to 2009 she was the Principal Legal Adviser at Ofgem with responsibility for all competition law matters, as well as advising on public and regulatory law issues. As a Pegasus Scholar, Colleen worked in-house in the anti-trust department of the Washington DC office of Morgan Lewis Bockius LLP and as a Visiting Fellow on Capitol Hill during which she was seconded to the staff teams of a prominent US senator and well-known congressman.
Colleen was called to the Bar of Ireland in 2017. She also has full rights of audience to appear before the AIFC, in Astana Kazakhstan.
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Arbitrator practice
Colleen sits regularly as an arbitrator both for the LCIA and in LMAA disputes. She is a supporting member of the LMAA, a member of the LCIA and of Arbitration Ireland. She has chaired several tribunal panels and has acted many times as both a sole and a co-arbitrator.
In June 2022 Colleen was officially appointed by the European Commission to the panel of arbitrators eligible for appointment in bilateral disputes under trade agreements with third countries (https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/enforcement-and-protection/dispute-settlement_en).
Commercial law and arbitration
Recent High Court Commercial Court cases in which Colleen has appeared include:
- Magomedov and others v TPG Group Holdings and Others [2023] EWHC 2655 (Comm) Colleen acted for FESCO (owners of the port of Vladivostok) successfully opposing a freezing and notification order in an underlying commercial fraud claim valued at US$14 billion.
- Rajabieslami v Tariverdi [2023] EWHC 455(Comm)
- Colleen acted unled for the successful defendant obtaining a security for costs order against a Claimant resident in Qatar; the first time this jurisdiction was considered under CPR 25.
- NKD Bart Ltd v Bart Maritime No.2 [2022] EWHC 1615 (Comm)
- Colleen acted for the successful owners and sellers of a very large ore carrier vessel in an MOA force majeure sale dispute arising out of the imposition of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in India.
- Colleen has recently acted in several separate successful anti-suit injunction applications in the High Court against Chinese insurers and separately against a major Brazilian cargo company.
- Colleen regularly prepares and acts in High Court Commercial Court applications involving sections 67, 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act, freezing orders and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.
Recent arbitration cases include:
- Colleen acted (unled) in a substantial week-long LMAA arbitration trial for a large Scandinavian based ship-owner in a successful claim brought against Nigerian-based charterers.
- Colleen acted (unled) for a substantial Latvian corporation in a complex ICC arbitration trial brought against one of the largest global oil trading companies.
- Colleen acted recently for a Singaporean energy trader in a substantial SIAC dispute involving a Chinese based entity.
- Colleen acted for shipowners in a complex Hong Kong based ship-building arbitration dispute concerning assets worth over US$200 million.
- Colleen is currently acting (unled) for a substantial UK based transport manufacturer in a significant commercial dispute involving parallel claims brought in both the High Court and ICC arbitration.
Competition and European Law
Significant cases include:
- Advised in the Scottish Milk cartel investigation and in the separate Dairy Milk Price Initiative cartel investigation.
- Inntrepreneur Pub Company and others v Crehan [2006] UKHL 38 (acted as junior counsel for Visa International Services Association in an intervening application before the House of Lords).
- Acted as the main Legal Adviser to the Sportech/Vernons Football Pools merger inquiry referred to the (then) Competition Commission (Final Report published 11 October 2007).
- Acted as junior counsel for Visa International Services Association in the OFT’s Competition Act investigation of Mastercard’s interchange arrangements before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal.
- Morgan Stanley v Visa International Service Association – Junior counsel advising Visa.
Human rights and pro bono
- Acted for the Commonwealth Lawyers Association in A and Others v Secretary of State for the Home Secretary [2005] UKHL 71 (overturning Court of Appeal decision of Laws LLJ and Pill LLJ).
- Seconded to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Geneva for several weeks assisting the Secretariat to the Basel Convention.
