Who we are

Stuart Shepherd Law was formed by, you guessed it, Stuart Shepherd and commenced business in July 2019. Stuart was in private practice as a solicitor in London for 35 years and a partner of Ince & Co for over 26 years and RPC for almost 3 years. He was Head of International Trade and Commodities at both firms. During that period Stuart’s main focus was on advising players in the various commodity markets in relation to issues arising out of their day to day physical trading activities. Having retired from RPC in June 2019 Stuart formed Stuart Shepherd Law as a vehicle to enable him to continue to advise and assist clients operating in the commodities markets. Stuart is immensely experienced in advising on legal issues arising out of commodity trading contracts and in relation to related shipping arrangements and trade finance. As a result he is quickly able to identify both the legal and commercial essence of any problematic situation. This ability has been recognised over the years by clients providing feed back to the leading legal directories including Legal 500 which noted, in its 2018 edition, that Stuart has 'an encyclopaedic knowledge of shipping and commodities law and practice; his knowledge is exceptional and invaluable'. 'He is one of the stand-out lawyers in this area - very experienced, and really at the top of his game; clients flock to him and trust him because he is one of the best', remarks a client.” Details of Stuart’s experience can be found by clicking the “Experience” button and details of his recent directory reviews by clicking the “Reviews” button .

Stuart Shepherd Law is a legal consulting company, not a firm of solicitors. Stuart no longer practices as a solicitor as he does not need to do so in order to offer the services which he and Stuart Shepherd Law offer. In particular Stuart Shepherd Law does not conduct litigation; indeed it assists clients to seek to avoid it. However, Stuart Shepherd Law can advise in relation to and conduct arbitrations up to and including any hearings with or without the assistance of a barrister should a dispute get to that stage. A full description of the services offered by Stuart Shepherd Law can be found by clicking the “What do we do” button.

Furthermore, Stuart is now happy to accept appointments to sit as an arbitrator in relation to trading and shipping disputes; whether as a sole arbitrator or as a member of a tribunal. In relation to arbitral appointments please contract Stuart on +44 7767 613056, alternatively +44 203 916 5656 - or by email at arbitration@stuartshepherdlaw.com - see this link for his arbitration CV: https://we.tl/t-RPaiQydf03

Stuart Shepherd

Managing Director

Stuart formed Stuart Shepherd Law in 2019 to service clients in the various commodities markets and to assist them to "navigate the noise" generated when problems arise in their day to day trading operations. He has worked in the commodities and shipping field since 1982 and as a result "has considerable experience across the full range of physical commodities, covering oil, gas, coal, metals and others" (Chambers 2017). In his free time his passions are horse racing and golf (both as a spectator), the countryside and his dogs Frankie, Zahra and Ottie.

Email: stuart@stuartshepherdlaw.com

Jennifer Shepherd

Director

Jennifer spent most of her career working for Gard (UK) Ltd. running their London FD&D department and providing legal advice and support to the Underwriting and Claims teams. She was involved with managing some large pieces of litigation; notably a ship-conversion dispute in London arbitration and all matters arising out of a significant oil spill in the USA heard in New York District court. She qualified as a Solicitor whilst with Ince & Co. and spent two spells working for them. During one of those she was working on the Piper Alpha Rig disaster.

Email: jennifer@stuartshepherdlaw.com