Duncan Bagshaw

Practice Areas

Duncan Bagshaw is the head of the international arbitration team at Howard Kennedy LLP. He specialises in international arbitration and litigation, with particular focus on the energy sector and Africa-related disputes. He often advises on issues arising from joint ventures and commercial contracts.

Duncan is a highly experienced lawyer who advises on large international disputes in arbitration and litigation proceedings. He acts for clients on matters relating to the upstream oil and gas industry, electricity generation and supply, and renewable energy projects. Duncan has extensive experience in acting for and against states, having handled cases involving (amongst others) the governments and SOEs of Nigeria, Ghana, Venezuela, Tanzania, France, Namibia and Guyana.

He also has particular experience dealing with disputes arising from joint ventures in the property development, hospitality and tourism industries.

Duncan handles cases from all over the world, and has particular experience in Africa, having lived and worked in the region and handled many disputes arising from African projects. He has worked on many cases involving African law and African seats of arbitration, and where there are simultaneous proceedings in multiple jurisdictions. As a barrister, Duncan acts as advocate in arbitrations and has appeared in the Commercial Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

He acts for clients in arbitration tribunals under the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), DIFC-LCIA and other rules, and before all courts of England and Wales, including the Supreme Court. Duncan is a Vice-Chair of the ICC UK Arbitration and ADR Committee and a member of the ICC Global Arbitration Commission. He is also the Registrar of the Scottish Arbitration Centre and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.