Date of Call: South Australia 1985; New South Wales 1987; New York 1991; England & Wales 1998;
General Information
BA (Sth Aust) 1980; LL.B (Hons) (Adelaide) 1985; LL.M (Columbia) 1992
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Chartered Arbitrator
Member of the London Court of International Arbitration
Examiner, High Court of England & Wales
COMBAR
Practice
Jim Drake is an experienced advocate specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration. Jim has appeared in courts and before arbitral tribunals in London, Sydney, New York, BVI and Bermuda. Jim’s recent experience has been: commercial fraud, including off-shore asset recovery; insurance and reinsurance; ship sale disputes; and related interlocutory and jurisdictional issues (including freezing and other preliminary injunctions).
Prior to joining chambers in 1998, Jim was in practice for 15 years in Australia and the United States. Jim joined Baker & McKenzie in 1987 and worked in the Sydney and New York offices until 1993. Jim then joined what was Owen & Davis in New York, a specialist commercial litigation firm since merged with Fulbright & Jaworski, and became a partner in January 1996. Jim maintains his membership of the New York and NSW Bars and has appeared before the NSW Supreme Court this past year.
Jim is also admitted in the British Virgin Islands and has appeared numerous times before the High Court and the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal.
Jim also sits as an arbitrator (he is a chartered arbitrator and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators) and also regularly sits as an Examiner, generally for evidence being gathered for use in US proceedings, either by court order or by consent of the parties.
Jim was seconded to the Enforcement Division of the Financial Services Authority in 2005, where he advised in particular on insurance and reinsurance related matters, and now advises a number of clients in relation to FSA’s regulatory requirements for the carrying on of insurance / reinsurance business.
Jim is also qualified as an accountant.
Selected Cases
LONDON
Recent cases include
- Michael Wilson & Partners, Limited v John Emmott (arbitration and ancillary proceedings before the Commercial Court) (claim by Kazakh-based law firm against former partner for breach of fiduciary duty, taking secret profits).
- Smay Investments Limited v Sachdev [2003] 1 WLR 1973 (Patten J) (jurisdiction; waiver of right to object; CPR Part 11 protocol).
- Eagle Star v JN Creswell & Ors [2003] (Morison J) and [2004] (Court of Appeal) (construction of a claims co-operation clause in reinsurance contract).
- Engineering Medical Systems v Bregas AB (Toulson J) (series of interlocutory/summary applications linked to related US litigation arising out of alleged misuse of licences, patents and wrongful termination of contract).
- Heritage Insurance Services Ltd v Rotch Property Group Ltd [2003] (Powell QC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) (proper construction of a property services agreement).
- Unum Life Insurance Co v. The Israel Phoenix Assurance Co. [2002] Lloyd's Rep IR 374 (Andrew Smith J) (nature and extent of the authority of the leading underwriter and the enforceability of an arbitration agreement in a reinsurance contract).
- Markel Capital Limited v Rhine Reinsurance & Ors (Gross J) (claims against reinsurers and brokers on a treaty covering energy construction risks).
- Axa Colonia Versicherung v Codan (HHJ Kershaw QC) (reinsurance pool in an action brought against another pool member and which turned on the operation of Article 5.1 of the Brussels Convention).
- HIH Casualty & General v. The Chase Manhattan Bank [2001] 2 Lloyd's Rep 483 (CA), [2001] 1 Lloyd's Rep 30 (Aikens J) (film finance).
- Red Corner and Paramount film finance actions.
- DAR International FeF Co v Aon Limited (HHJ Knight QC; Court of Appeal (Saudi agent’s claim for commission due on introduction of aviation insurance business).
- Representing Cotesworth Names in a claim under the Lloyd’s Members Compensation Scheme for compensation for loss suffered by reason of the fraud of the managing agent.
- A London arbitration for insurers of an aircraft seized in Libya (defending a claim by the US owners).
- Various reinsurance arbitrations concerning, in the main, long-tail asbestos and pollution claims arising from insurances written in the US in the 1970s and thereafter.
- Various arbitrations involving disputes under MOAs for the sale and purchase of various vessels.
NEW SOUTH WALES
- Michael Wilson & Partners, Limited v Nicholls (NSW Supreme Court) (claim by Kazakh-based law firm against former employees for fraud, conspiracy, breach of employment contract, breach of fiduciary duty, taking secret profits).
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
- Michael Wilson & Partners, Limited v Temujin & Ors (Charles J; Court of Appeal) (long-running dispute involving claims against various defendants relating to knowing receipt of trust funds and dishonest assistance in breach of trust; related injunctive relief, including freezing orders and the appointment of receivers; and related disputes as to recovery of costs in the BVI).
BERMUDA
- Gold Medal v Hopewell, a long-running Bermuda arbitration for the US reinsured involving a claim against retrocessionaires in respect of the illegal application of pesticides to agricultural produce and the consequences on the legality of the distribution and sale in the US.
