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Contact

Contact with chambers should be made through the Practice Management Team. They are happy to discuss client requirements and provide further information on such matters as the expertise and experience of individual members, fees, working practices and languages spoken. We have members able to work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Chinese (Mandarin).

Outside working hours, a member of our team is always available to be contacted on matters of an urgent nature. Contact should be made using the Chambers main number or email.

Visiting Twenty Essex: Our London premises welcome guests at No 23 Essex Street. Step-free access is available via Milford Lane, with elevator access to all floors in No 23.

Singapore office: For client enquiries please contact our Head of BD, Asia Pacific, Katie-Beth Jones, and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out-of-office-hours calls will automatically be diverted to our practice management team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

[email protected]
t: +44 20 7842 1200

Singapore

28 Maxwell Road
#02-03 Maxwell Chambers Suites
Singapore 069120

[email protected]
t: +65 62257230

Contact

Contact with chambers should be made through the Practice Management Team. They are happy to discuss client requirements and provide further information on such matters as the expertise and experience of individual members, fees, working practices and languages spoken. We have members able to work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Chinese (Mandarin).

Outside working hours, a member of our team is always available to be contacted on matters of an urgent nature. Contact should be made using the Chambers main number or email.

Visiting Twenty Essex: Our London premises welcome guests at No 23 Essex Street. Step-free access is available via Milford Lane, with elevator access to all floors in No 23.

Singapore office: For client enquiries please contact our Head of BD, Asia Pacific, Katie-Beth Jones, and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out-of-office-hours calls will automatically be diverted to our practice management team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

[email protected]
t: +44 20 7842 1200

Singapore

28 Maxwell Road
#02-03 Maxwell Chambers Suites
Singapore 069120

[email protected]
t: +65 62257230

Matthew Chan

Matthew Chan

Call: 2018 (England and Wales); 2022 (British Virgin Islands)

Languages: Mandarin Chinese (fluent)

Matthew has a broad practice in commercial litigation and international arbitration. He is ranked as a Rising Star in The Legal 500 in four practice areas: commercial litigation, international arbitration, civil fraud, and shipping. Clients describe him as a “bright” and “reliable” barrister with “experience beyond his years of qualification”, “excellent legal analysis and research skills”, and “outstanding drafting skills”, who “provides insightful and effective advice to clients”.

Matthew specialises in high-value commercial disputes. He has extensive experience of all levels of the English Court system. In addition to acting regularly in trials and applications in the High Court, he has appeared in the Supreme Court on his feet, as well as before the Privy Council and the Court of Appeal. He also appears frequently in substantial arbitrations conducted under a wide range of institutional rules. His recent matters include: Republic of Mozambique v Privinvest, a US$3 billion+ dispute in the Commercial Court involving allegations of bribery and corruption in connection with maritime infrastructure projects in the Republic; Green Elite v Fang Ankong, a dispute before the Privy Council and the BVI courts involving the alleged breach of directors’ duties; and FIMBank v KCH Shipping, a significant section 69 arbitration appeal regarding the temporal scope of the Hague-Visby Rules time bar in misdelivery claims.

Matthew also has a busy practice as sole counsel. He regularly appears in his own right in the High Court and in arbitration, including against silks. He recently acted as the sole advocate in a week-long arbitration involving a seven-figure commodities dispute, and currently acts unled in US$20 million+ arbitral proceedings relating to private equity investments in the Cayman Islands.

Before coming to the Bar, Matthew read law at the University of Oxford and gave tutorials in trusts law to undergraduates as a lecturer of Somerville College, Oxford. During his studies, he obtained a First Class degree and ranked second in the year. He then went on to complete the Bachelor of Civil Law at Oxford with Distinction and the Bar Professional Training Course at City Law School, where he achieved the second-best results in the year. He remains interested in academic law, and publishes regularly on issues of commercial law and international arbitration.

Matthew is a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese and has a good understanding of the Asian markets. In particular, he maintains a keen interest in the legal industry in Singapore, where he grew up.

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Example cases

General commercial disputes

Arbitration

Civil fraud and asset tracing

Company and insolvency

Banking and financial services

Shipping

Commodities & international trade

Energy & infrastructure

Insurance and reinsurance

Jurisdiction, conflicts and enforcement

Sectors and services

Publications

Professional memberships

Education

Awards / prizes / scholarships

He is precise and dependable, consistently excellent in the quality of his advice, and reliable on his feet.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2026

Matthew has advocacy experience beyond his peers. He is confident and his quick thinking under pressure enables him to advocate calmly but purposefully for his clients.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2026

He has a compelling and articulate style of advocacy, with a strong ability to distil complex legal arguments into clear, persuasive points.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2026

Matthew has strong legal expertise in shipping law and provides insightful and effective advice to clients. He has strong analytical skills and is able to work effectively with senior counsel to provide timely advice.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2025

Matthew has excellent legal analysis and research skills and outstanding drafting skills. He is a reliable counsel to provide consistenly high-level legal services in commercial arbitrations.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2025

Matthew is bright, has experience beyond his years of qualification, and is one of the top junior juniors often chosen by silks to assist on matters.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2024

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