Steven Walker

Profile

Steven Walker is an Advocate & Barrister who has been admitted to practise as an Advocate before the Courts of Scotland since 1999. He became an Accredited Mediator in 2003. He was admitted to the Cayman Islands Bar in 2007 and to the English Bar as a Barrister in 2008.

Steven is a contentious commercial lawyer who practises Scots, English and International Law. His practice deals with all forms of commercial dispute, and he has a particular interest in Natural Resources, oil/gas/mining as well as energy and construction and engineering related disputes. He has regularly appeared before numerous arbitral tribunals in the UK and abroad.

Steven is highly experienced in the preparation and presentation of all aspects of trans-national arbitral disputes. Early in his career, he spent a sabbatical year working in the arbitration group of Allen & Overy, London. He was involved in raising the first ICSID arbitration proceedings under the Energy Charter Treaty. Since then, he has gained extensive practice and experience in ICC, LCIA, and ICSID arbitrations as well as numerous other institutional arbitrations and ad hoc arbitrations in the UK and worldwide. He is also highly experienced in the preparation and conduct of adjudications. 

Steven was part of the original drafting team who drafted the new Arbitration (Scotland) Bill working alongside the Hon. Lord Dervaird QC. He is a recognised expert in International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and was instructed by them to advise the Government of Tajikistan on their national arbitration law. 

He was instructed by the United Kingdom’s Department of Trade and Industry to act as Counsel for the United Kingdom in United Nations International Treaty negotiations before the United Nations, Vienna, Austria. 

Steven has been invited to become the Principal Lecturer and Course Director for the International Arbitration LLM at the University of Edinburgh commencing September, 2009 and the University of Edinburgh have recently appointed him an Honorary Fellow. Steven is a visiting lecturer at the world’s leading graduate natural resource school, the Centre for Energy, Petroleum, Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee (CEPMLP) and in 2008 he was appointed to the Global Academic Faculty of CEPMLP.   

He was appointed an ad hoc Advocate Depute in 2007 (Senior Crown Counsel) by the Lord Advocate (Head of the Scottish Prosecution Service) and has prosecuted very serious offences for the Crown. Steven also holds a public appointment from the Minister for Communities, Scottish Government to sit as a Tribunal Chairman of the Private Rented Housing Tribunal.

Significant Cases

Client - North Sea Oil Service Company [2010]
Value Of Dispute - £35,000,000
Dispute in the Mercantile Court, High Court concerning the provision of offshore services

Client - Ship Building Arbitration [2010]
Value of Dispute  - US$110,000,000
Advising and commencing ICC arbitration

Client - IT Corporate [2010]
Value of dispute - £10,000,000
Advising on share option dispute and ICC arbitration

Client – Offshore Financial Sector  [2009]
Value of Dispute – £12,000,000
Advice and resolution of dispute.

Client – Russian Oil Company [2009] 
Value of Dispute – US$3,000,000
Conducting LCIA arbitration.
 
Client – Renewable Energy Contractor [2008]
Value of Dispute – £3,000,000
Conducting ad hoc arbitration.
 
Client – UK & Ireland Distributor [2007]
Value of Dispute –  £5,000,000
Preparation and conduct of ICC arbitration, Geneva.
  
Client – Foreign Air Force/Iraq [2006]
Value of Dispute – US$ 7,000,000
Preparation and conduct of LCIA arbitration.
 
Client – Saudi Arabian Law firm [2006]
Value of Dispute – US$ 5,000,000
Advising on commercial contract dispute in Saudi Arabia.
 
Client – United Kingdom Government [2005]
Value of Dispute – n/a
Counsel for UK in United Nations international treaty negotiations relating to international arbitration provisions of international carriage of goods by sea Treaty in November/December, 2005 UN, Vienna.
 
Client – Offshore Installation Contractor
Value of Dispute – £10,000,000
Advising Offshore Installation Contractor in dispute with large multi-national. Preparation and conduct of adjudication in London.
 
Client – Government of Central Asian Republic [2005]
Value of Dispute – n/a
Appointed to be chief foreign legal advisors to the Government to advise on the establishment of a sustainable domestic and international arbitration system, including preparation and visit in country where I advised senior members of the Government and Judiciary how to create the legal environment to facilitate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
 
Client – Oil Major – North Africa [2005]
Value of Dispute – n/a
Advising Oil Major in Paris on PSC models and dispute avoidance in relation to exploration and subsequent development in North Africa.
 
Client – Multi-National Plastics Manufacturer [2005]
Value of Dispute – £500,000
Counsel in ad hoc arbitration concerning breach of provisions of a commercial lease agreement.
 
Client – Oil Major Joint Venture – Indian Sub-Continent [2003-04]
Value of Dispute – US$500,000,000
Instructed to advise on a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) dispute between the Oil Major Joint Venture and Government/State oil company relating to contractual cost recovery mechanisms within the PSC. Involved substantial analysis of factual and legal position of the parties, advising on ICSID arbitration which resulted in extra-arbitral resolution in 2004.
 
Client – Oil Major – Indian Sub-Continent [2004]
Value of Dispute – US$90,000,000
Dispute involving breaches of Gas Purchase Agreements (GPA), including evaluation, opinion and preparation for and conducting institutional arbitration.
 
Client – Local Government – Scotland [2004]
Value of Dispute – £14,000,000
Local Government Counsel in adjudication of PFI contract dispute.
 
Client – Mining Major – Southern Africa [2002-03]
Value of Dispute – US$25,000,000
Arbitration in breach of contract dispute with joint venture corporate.
 
Client – Oil Major – Indian Sub-Continent [2003]
Value of Dispute – n/a
Drafting of Model agreements (PSC, JOA, etc) and advising on appropriate dispute resolution clauses also advised in negotiations and re-negotiations between State and FDI.
 
Client – Gold Mining Major – Southern Africa [2003]
Value of Dispute – US$10,000,000
Arbitration in breach of contract dispute with a major drilling services corporate.

Memberships

Member, Scottish, English and Cayman Islands Bars
Member, London Court of International Arbitration
Member, London Court of International Arbitration Young Arbitration Group
Associate, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

Qualifications

LLB(Hons) University of Aberdeen
Dip LP University of Aberdeen
Honorary Fellow, University of Edinburgh
ACI Arb, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Accredited Mediator

Appointments

Public Appointments

Appointed Ad Hoc Advocate Depute 2007 (Senior Crown Counsel)
Appointed Chairman of the Private Rented Housing Panel 2006 

Academic Appointments

Appointed Member of the Global Academic Faculty of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum, Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee in 2008
Appointed Principal Lecturer and Course Director on the International Arbitration LLM at the University of Edinburgh 2009
Appointed Honorary Fellow of the University of Edinburgh effective from 1st September, 2009