Stuart Shepherd—RPC

RPC has hired international trade specialist Stuart Shepherd to join its market-leading commercial disputes team in London. Stuart was recently global head of trade at Ince & Co.

Stuart is one of the leading international trade lawyers in London and takes on trade and commodities matters for clients across the globe, having started his 34 year career focusing on shipping work. As part of his commercial litigation practice, Stuart also advises on complex commercial fraud cases, notably the massive Fiona Trust litigation.

RPC managing partner, Jonathan Watmough, says: "Stuart's arrival not only complements our Asia-based marine and shipping practices, both from a commercial and insurance perspective, but also adds further strength to our contentious international trade offering to clients, particularly in London and Hong Kong.

"Litigation accounts for over 70% of the work we do internationally making us a go-to firm for large scale complex disputes. Already one of the largest teams in London, Stuart will add significant extra firepower to our current offering."

Tom Hibbert, global commercial disputes head, comments: "Our team has the size and infrastructure to handle multiple, large, and complex commercial cases simultaneously no matter what issue arises. However, we identified that we were missing deep expertise in commodities, international trade and shipping in our London commercial disputes team and Stuart helps to fill that capability. His practice sits neatly with many of our existing strengths and his arrival means clients in these sectors will have access to a seamless service across the UK and Asia."

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