Mike Phillips is a partner in the Dispute Resolution group.

Mike specialises in shipping, contentious ship finance and ship and offshore vessel construction. Mike’s clients include shipowners, traders, insurers, and banks and funds.

With 25 years’ of practice in the marine and international trade sector, Mike has a wealth of knowledge and experience which he brings to bear to help clients resolve their most complex and difficult problems. Representing some of the largest and most well-known companies in the marine and international trade sector, Mike is known as both an exceptional lawyer and a clever strategist. Equally at home in London arbitration or multi-jurisdictional Court proceedings, Mike has a strong record of success for clients in a wide range of matters from shipping and cargo claims, groundings and vessel fires through to complex multi-vessel finance enforcement.

On the construction side, Mike has represented shipyards and buyers on a range of projects from super-yachts through to complex offshore vessels and rigs.

Mike regularly delivers training to industry professionals, on a bespoke basis for clients, and through the leading industry association, BIMCO.

He has been recommended as a leader in his field for a number of years. Legal 500 UK notes “Mike Phillips is a very experienced and effective litigator, very personable and strong on detail.” He is described by Chambers UK 2025 as “able to able to almost instantly and very thoroughly analyse the most complex of issues, distil them down to their key substance, and then provide the most creative of legal solutions.”

Show key areas

Show key areas

  • Advising buyers and financiers on construction contracts for two state-of-the-art DP3 offshore support vessels. Non-performance by yard resulted in termination and successful arbitration through to award.
  • Advising buyers of a series of complex dredgers in connection with builder in default of performance. Successful termination and recovery against Refund Guarantee security.
  • Advising mortgagee bank on fleet loan facility, defaulting because of sanctions. Acceleration of loan, detection and arrest of ships, Court sale and recovery in China of all outstandings, interest and costs.
  • Advising charterers on the grounding of a bulk carrier during passage out of port in South America. Matter went to full arbitration hearing including evidence from Master and experts. Successful outcome for clients.
  • Advising clients on a JV Partnership Agreement with long-standing inter-partner accounting disputes. Forensic review of accounts and a full hearing of preliminary issues in arbitration achieved a positive settlement for clients.

Education

  1. 1995 – 1996 · College of Law, Store Street, London – Postgraduate ‘Common Professional Examination’ and Solicitor’s ‘Legal Practitioner’s Course’
  2. 1991 – 1994 · University of London, BA (Hons) History

Memberships and associations

  1. Law Society of England & Wales