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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.

For our Singapore office, for client enquiries please contact our BD Director, Asia Pacific, Lara Quie and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out of office hours calls will automatically be diverted to our clerking team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

enquiries@twentyessex.com
t: +44 20 7842 1200

Singapore

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

singapore@twentyessex.com
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.

For our Singapore office, for client enquiries please contact our BD Director, Asia Pacific, Lara Quie and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out of office hours calls will automatically be diverted to our clerking team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

enquiries@twentyessex.com
t: +44 20 7842 1200

Singapore

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

singapore@twentyessex.com
t: +65 62257230

Michael Ashcroft KC

Michael Ashcroft KC

Silk: 2011 Call: 1997

Michael is an experienced silk with a broad commercial practice, specialising in high value and complex (often highly technical) commercial contractual disputes. He took silk in 2011, at only 38 years of age. He is very well set-up to work remotely in these challenging times, and successfully represented Trafigura in one of the first applications (for a mandatory injunction requiring payment of US$76m security) dealt with under the Covid-19 Protocol in the Commercial Court.

He was awarded the prestigious “International Arbitration Silk of the Year” by Chambers & Partners in 2016 and also won Chambers “Shipping Silk of the Year” in 2019. He has been shortlisted multiple times for other awards by Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500.

Over recent years, he has been ranked as a leading silk by Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 in the following practice areas: shipping, commodities, energy, civil fraud and international arbitration.

Michael has vast experience of jurisdictional disputes, having appeared in several of the leading cases. He is also regularly involved in applications for injunctions and for the enforcement of judgments and arbitration awards. His most recent ongoing work includes advising in relation to offshore decommissioning contracts, acting for a Gulf based bank in a very substantial ICC arbitration concerning bonds, acting for Sunderland FC in a professional negligence dispute in the Commercial Court and advising in relation to multiple mortgage contracts.

He appears regularly in the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court. Michael also has a wide range of experience of cases before, and on appeal from, arbitration tribunals in various jurisdictions (including Singapore, Hong Kong, Sweden, Malaysia, Paris and New York) and he has been admitted to the Bar of St Kitts and Nevis (on an ad hoc basis). He is a team player and has led large teams of counsel in significant cases; he works frequently as co-counsel with lawyers qualified in other jurisdictions. Michael also has significant experience of mediation.

Michael accepts appointments as an arbitrator both in London and abroad. He is a member of the MOOGAS panel of international arbitrators and mediators. Michael also acts as an expert on English law in foreign proceedings.

 

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Example cases

Commercial arbitration

Commercial litigation / dispute resolution

Civil fraud

Shipping and commodities

Energy and natural resources

Insurance

A superb strategist and a very clever, clear advocate who is good on his feet and knows how to argue a case.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

He is incredibly meticulous, calm and organised, and remains polite and yet immovable in his advocacy, unaffected by any opposing barristers’ antics.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

Michael has fantastic advocacy skills and has a rare manner about him – he is a joy to watch.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

He picks up the detail on complex points in no time at all. Michael's client care is excellent, and he is commercial and a fantastic advocate.

Chambers UK Bar 2023

He is completely unflappable and is always wonderful to work with.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

He is able to understand complex factual issues in a short space of time and present them in the most favourable way for the client.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

He is also very user-friendly and skilled at communicating with non-native English speaking clients who may be unfamiliar with the English adversarial system.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

Very well-regarded by clients and opponents alike for his incisive analysis and appealing court manner.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

Industrious in his legal research, Michael thinks every point through – often further than his opposition.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

He dominates the courts and is on top of his subject matter.

Chambers UK Bar 2022

He is very careful, thoughtful, leaves no stone unturned and his measured, detailed and well-structured approach secures good results.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2022

He is incredibly meticulous with an excellently structured approach to his work and advocacy.

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022: The English Bar

A very senior silk and second to none in commodities, he demands his opponents' A game.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2022

He always produces work that is nothing short of brilliant. He is clear and formidably intelligent.

Chambers UK Bar 2022

A pleasure to work with - a real team player, but also incredibly thoughtful and a master tactician and strategist.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2022

He really doesn't shy away from the fight and he gets stuck in with the detail. He has a can-do attitude and an excellent commercial mind.

Chambers UK Bar 2022

Lightning fast, utterly reliable and makes you feel perfectly relaxed as you go through the case.

Chambers UK Bar 2021

A leading shipping silk who also excels in commodities matters, especially highly technical cases.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2021

He is good at getting to the heart of a case and quickly identifying the key issues. He is also excellent at turning around top-quality work under tight deadlines.

Chambers UK Bar 2021

A leading shipping silk with a strong intellect that he applies to conventional and renewable energy matters.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2021

A hugely intelligent practitioner… Thoughtful, diligent and very good on his feet.

Chambers UK Bar 2019

An always impressive silk for arbitration matters.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2021

Michael Ashcroft QC is unflinching even in times of adversity.

Chambers UK Bar 2020

Extremely easy to deal with and intellectually at the top of the tree.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020

Very bright indeed – a good strategist who provides excellent submissions and skeletons.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020

He's a clever, sensible and straightforward guy who knows his stuff, gets on with it and presents his points well.

Chambers UK Bar 2020

A “go-to” silk in the shipping and commodities sector.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020

He is an exceptionally gifted barrister.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020

Amazingly hard-working and responsive. He is very clever and has a fantastic advocacy style.

Chambers UK Bar 2019

Clearly highly experienced in international arbitration and inspires confidence in his solicitor team and the client.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020

Tough, gritty and very experienced in international trade and commodities work.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2019

He is very calm and collected and very impressive in court.

Chambers UK Bar 2020

Michael is extremely user-friendly as well as a very intellectual and detail-driven individual. He is excellent on tricky chartering questions in particular.

Chambers UK Bar 2020

Extremely intelligent and inspires complete confidence.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2019

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