Practice
Elizabeth
Birch's practice now focuses on domestic and international
commercial arbitration and mediation, having retired from
practice as an advocate. She is a CEDR and BAE accredited
mediator, FCIArb, Chartered Arbitrator (CIA), founding member
of ACI (A Commercial Initiative for Dispute Resolution) and
a member of the Lloyd's Arbitration Scheme Panel. . Nominated
silk in survey of legal professionals conducted by The Lawyer
“The Lawyer Counsel (TLC)” Easter 2004.
Cases
handled are often substantial being high value, cross-border
or multi-party disputes. Many involve technical issues requiring
detailed expert evidence of a trade, engineerng or scientific
nature.
As
a barrister, Elizabeth has appeared frequently before the
Commercial and Admiralty Courts, and in arbitration before
the LMAA (London Maritime Arbitrators' Association) and the
Commodity Houses (eg LME - London Metal Exchange, GAFTA, FOSFA).
As an arbitrator she accepts appointments under the Rules
of ICC, LCIA, ACI, LMAA, CIA and ad hoc. The majority of her
work over the past 25 years has been in the commercial and
international arena.
Fields
of Work
Banking
and financial services, breach of warranty and company/shareholder
disputes, commodities, conflict of laws, derivative trading,
distributorship and franchise, environmental, health care,
information technology (IT), insurance and reinsurance, international
trade and transportation, joint ventures, jurisdictional disputes,
maritime (including marine insurance), media and entertainment,
oil and gas, pensions, partnership, professional negligence,
sale of goods and services, shipping (charterparty and bill
of lading disputes; MOA and yacht purchase agreements), telecommunications
and all types of commercial disputes.
Clients
Banks,
brokers and financial intermediaries, commodity trading companies,
insurance companies, insureds and reinsureds, financial institutions,
mining companies, shipowners, charterers and cargo owners, all
types of commercial enterprises and professionals.
Arbitration
Elizabeth
has sat as an arbitrator since 1992. She was appointed by
the Council of Lloyd's to the Tier 1 and 2 Panels for the
Lloyd's Arbitration Scheme to determine disputes concerning
the Lloyd's insurance market and continues to sit on those
Panels. She also receives regular appointments under the Rules
of the ICC, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, ACI, LCIA
and LMAA and ad hoc appointment in commercial disputes. She
has published a substantial number of Awards over the last
12 years.
Mediation
Elizabeth
was one of the first members of the commercial bar to become
a CEDR accredited mediator in 1995 (also accredited with the
Academy of Experts). She started sitting as mediator in 1996
and now receives regular in commercial and international disputes,
including many substantial and complex disputes of a high
value, technical and multi-party type. Elizabeth has been
recommended for ADR in Chambers and Partners’ Directory
1998-1999 and continuing to date. She was named as one of
the top ten mediators in the UK in a survey carried out by
“In Brief” in 2002.
ACI
Commercial
Founding
Member of ACI (A Commercial Initiative for Dispute Resolution)
an administered group providing a substantial and experienced
panel of lawyer arbitrators and mediators for appointment
in commercial disputes. The group is cross-professional including
both solicitors and barristers. Lord Saville is the group's
Patron.
Professional
Membership/Appointments
- Panel
Member: ACI/CEDR/Academy of Experts
- Panel
Member: CIA Maritime and IT Panels (arbitration)
- Panel
Member: CIA Mediation panel
- Panel
Member: CPR (New York) for distinguished international arbitrators
and mediators
- Panel
Member: Sports Council (arbitration and mediation)
- Panel
Member: Oil & Gas Group (Denton Wilde Sapte)
- Panel
Member (Chairman) of FEPA/DEFRA Representation Committee
(available to hear appeals against refusal of licences for
dumping at sea)
- Member
of the CIA Arbitration Club: Maritime Branch; Oil &
Gas Branch
- Member
of the CIA Special Focus Group: IT Group
- Member
of Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR) – Secretary
1993-96
- Supporting
Member of LMAA and receives appointments under LMAA terms
- Member
of the International Academy of Mediators, California (IAM)
Professional
Membership
- Commercial
Bar Association (COMBAR) Secretary (1993-1996)
- London
Common Law and Commercial Bar Association (LCLCBA)
- London
Maritime Arbitrators' Association (LMAA) Supporting Member
- British
Maritime Law Association (BMLA)
- Member
of the CIA Arbitration Club: Maritime Branch; Oil &
Gas Branch
- Member
of the CIA Special Focus Group: IT Group
Other Professional Involvement
- Member
of Commercial Court Working Party (1994 to 2000) chaired
by Mr Justice Colman into the use of mediation and early
neutral evaluation in the Commercial Court leading to the
early Commercial Court Practice Directions on ADR
- Member
of the working party leading to the Civil Mediation Council
under Chairmanship of Sir Brian Neill (2002-3)
- Member
of the Bar Council (England & Wales) ADR Committee
- Member
of the Bar Council (England & Wales) Arbitration sub-committee
(from inception in 2004)
Seminars/Training
Frequently
speaks at seminars and conferences on arbitration (domestic
and international) and ADR topics.
Conducts
Mediation Awareness Training sessions and ADR Training Sessions
from time to time for lawyers both in the UK and in foreign
jurisdictions (these sessions are modular and vary between 1
and 3 days).
Conducts
training sessions for non-litigious lawyers and other professionals,
particularly those involved in drafting contracts and those
involved in supporting parties in mediation such as accountants,
insurers etc.
Recommendations
Recommended
for mediation in Chambers and Partners’ Directory 1998-1999
and continuing to date. Named as one of the top ten mediators
in the UK in a survey carried out by “In Brief”
in 2002.
Nominated
silk in survey of legal professionals conducted by The Lawyer
“The Lawyer Counsel (TLC)” Easter 2004.
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