UK | People
+44 (0)20 7111 2231
tim.taylor@sjberwin.com
Tim Taylor is a solicitor advocate. He has specialised in complex Commercial Dispute Resolution throughout his professional career, since qualifying with Herbert Smith in 1980.
The majority of his work entails an international element and embraces litigation as well as arbitration and mediation.
Tim headed SJ Berwin's Litigation Department from 1997 to 2004 when he began to spearhead the firm's International Arbitration Practice. The Department is rated by Chambers Legal Directory 2003 as one of the top two of a list of thirty leading litigation practices in the UK with forty lawyers or less.
Tim is recognised as a leader in the field of the Dispute Resolution in both the Legal Business, Legal Experts Directory and the Chambers Global Directory of the Worlds Leading Lawyers. He is variously described in Chambers and the Legal 500 as "superb", "a marvellous and mercurial figure", and as having "an extraordinary mind which allows him to bring something different to any piece of litigation"
In recent years, high profile matters in which he has been involved have included representing:
- the Sultan of Brunei in connection with a dispute between the Brunei Government and Prince Jefri Bolkiah
- The Republic of Armenia in ICC Arbitrations concerning the national telephone system
- JVC in an arbitration against a Nigerian Government entity
- the Government of Morocco in connection with Public Law issues relating to the plebiscite in the Western Sahara
- the Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies of America in litigation against British American Tobacco
- the family of the late General Abacha (former President of Nigeria) in proceedings with the Nigerian Government
- World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the World Wrestling Federation) in proceedings against the World Wild Life Fund
- a Turkish Conglomerate in a multi-million dollar oil and gas Arbitration against one of the oil majors.
Other clients Tim has represented include Ladbroke Plc, Hilton Group, British Land Plc, Abbey National, Goldman Sachs, UGC, American Express, Discount Bank and Trust Company, Northern & Shell Plc, Jardine Lloyd Thompson, Corus, SES Astra, the Republic of Peru, MGM, Paramount, JVC and the late Sir James Goldsmith.
Tim has conducted numerous arbitrations (both ad hoc and institutional) including ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL and under various commodity association rules (LCTMA, CAL, LME.)
Disputes subject to arbitration in which he has acted in the last twelve months include
- a dispute concerning the construction of the largest communications satellite built to date
- a dispute relating to Telecommunications in Africa
- a dispute concerning the acquisition of a brewery
- disputes relating to Film rights
- a dispute concerning an internet gaming site
- a dispute concerning the televising of the All Africa Games
Tim has been appointed to the panels of arbitrators of the International Court of Arbitration of the Kyrgyz Republic and of Kazakhstani International Arbitrage.
Tim was co-author of Sweet & Maxwell's European Litigation Handbook and writes and lectures in the UK and abroad on issues relating to International Dispute Resolution and the conflict of laws.
