16 Feb 2023: Atkin Chambers sponsors the annual KCLBMS International Arbitration Moot
Events
Atkin Chambers was pleased to support the King’s College Bar and Mooting Society annual International Arbitration Moot on Thursday 16 […]
Ella’s practice spans the range of Chambers’ expertise in domestic and international disputes in the construction, energy and technology sectors. She has experience of all stages of adjudication, litigation and arbitration (ad hoc, CIMAR, HKIAC, ICC, ICSID, LCIA, SIAC and UNCITRAL) and has worked with a variety of standard form construction contracts, including JCT and NEC forms.
Ella’s recent instructions include acting for a local government authority against a security technology company in a dispute regarding the provision of a defective electronic access control system, acting for a firm of architects in High Court proceedings arising out of a contract for the provision of contract administration services and acting (with Mathias Cheung) for the developer in a £7 million construction adjudication.
Ella read law at the University of Oxford and has a Master of Laws in International and European Law from the University of Ghent. She was awarded the Queen Mother Scholarship, Middle Temple’s most prestigious award to study for the Bar of England and Wales. In addition to England and Wales, Ella is admitted to practice in New York.
Ella previously lived and worked in Paris and has a reasonable working knowledge of French.
Ella has worked on a wide range of construction and engineering disputes, spanning from residential buildings to commercial premises and infrastructure projects. She has experience of all stages of construction adjudication, litigation and arbitration and is familiar with bespoke and standard form construction contracts.
In addition to the experience listed below under “International Arbitration” and “Adjudication”, examples of Ella’s construction & engineering instructions include:
In addition, during pupillage Ella undertook a number of discrete drafting assignments (pleadings, opinions and skeleton arguments) for members of Chambers on high-value and technically complex construction and engineering disputes; including:
Ella has experience of cases in the IT and telecommunications sector. Her recent instructions include acting as sole counsel for a local government authority against a security technology company in relation to claims arising under a contract to provide an electronic access control system.
Ella has undertaken work on a number of large energy projects, typically in the context of international arbitrations.
In addition, in relation to energy litigations, Ella undertook several discrete drafting assignments for members of Chambers during pupillage, including drafting advice for an electricity company on the interpretation of a joint venture agreement for the installation of an electricity grid, and drafting advice for a water company in relation to a dispute with an insurance company arising out of a performance guarantee bond provided under a contract for the construction of two new water mains.
Ella has worked on a number of international commercial and investment arbitrations, in particular in relation to disputes concerning large construction and energy projects. She has experience of both ad-hoc and institutional arbitrations (ad hoc, HKIAC, ICC, ICSID, LCIA, SIAC and UNCITRAL) in disputes across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the CIS, Europe and the Middle-East.
Examples of Ella’s international commercial arbitration work include:
Examples of Ella’s work on investment and inter-State arbitrations and related negotiations include:
* Cases worked on before joining Chambers.
Ella has experience of all stages of construction adjudication, including as sole counsel and as part of a counsel team, and also as an assistant to the adjudicator. Recent work includes:
* Cases worked on before joining Chambers.
Ella has experience of enforcement proceedings in relation to adjudication decisions, arbitral awards and foreign court judgments; including:
* Cases worked on before joining Chambers.
In addition to Chambers’ specialisms, Ella also accepts instructions in other commercial litigation matters. Examples of her general work include:
* Cases worked on before joining Chambers.
Career
Ella previously practised for two years in the litigation and controversy department at a leading US-based international law firm (WilmerHale, 2019-2021), where she acted for and advised clients in several complex multi-jurisdictional litigations and high-value international arbitrations.
Before that, Ella worked for two years at a number of leading law firms (2016-2018), including undertaking two six-month traineeships in the international arbitration practices at Magic Circle firms in Paris and working for two arbitrators. During this time, she assisted counsel teams acting in over twenty international arbitrations and cross-border litigations and worked as an arbitral tribunal secretary.
Qualifications
2020: Admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales
2019: Admitted to the New York Bar
2015-2016: LLM in International and European Law, University of Ghent (summa cum laude, first in year)
2012-2015: BA in Jurisprudence, New College, University of Oxford (II.i)
Awards
2019: Queen Mother Scholarship (the Inn’s highest award), Middle Temple (Unclaimed)
2019: Harmsworth Entrance Exhibition, Middle Temple (Unclaimed)
2016: Ranked 14th out of 625 law schools in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot
2016: Semi-finalist (out of 16 teams) in the Brussels pre-moot of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot
2014: Finalist (out of 12 teams) in the University of Oxford Monckton Chambers European Union Law Moot
2014: Semi-Finalist (out of 24 teams) in the University of Oxford JustCite Procedural Justice Mooting Shield
Puchyna, M., Kelly, J. and Rutter, E., Investment protection on the Belt and Road, 2 Journal of Subsoil Use and Law 176 (2019).
Assisted with drafting G. Born, International Commercial Arbitration (3rd and 4th eds.).
Assisted Dr Maud Piers with drafting a paper on artificial intelligence in dispute resolution (University of Ghent, Faculty of Law and Criminology, 2016).