Philip Brook Smith QC
Call Date
1982
Silk date
2002
Practice Areas
Philip Brook Smith has a broad commercial and civil practice, specialising in particular in:
- All areas of commercial law
- Arbitration
- Civil Fraud
- Professional Negligence
- Product Liability
- Employment
Recommendations (Practitioners' Guides)
Recommended for Product Liability in Chambers, and likewise a Leading Silk in Legal 500, who describes him as a "rising star whose mathematics background proves invaluable in explaining and demystifying statistical and scientific concepts in court." The 2007 edition of Legal 500 also recommends him in commercial litigation stating that he is "swift and incisive in his understanding of the interplay between legal and commercial considerations."
Chambers’ sources describe him as ‘extremely personable and skilled’ and cite ‘his invaluable mathematical background which allows him to explain and demystify statistical and scientific concepts in Court.’
Education
London School of Economics (BSc. 1st class Honours - Mathematics)
London University (MSc. Mathematics - Distinction)
City University (Diploma in Law)
Prizes & Scholarships
Blackstone scholar (Middle Temple)
Appointments
Philip Brook Smith was successful in the 2005/2006 London and South East Regions Recordership competition; he awaits his Royal Warrant.
Other Qualifications
CEDR accredited mediator
Member of the Gibraltar Bar
Professional Experience
Philip Brook Smith is a barrister with substantial experience of a wide variety of areas of commercial and civil law. He enjoys a very broad practice. His involvement in commercial disputes frequently concerns offshore jurisdictions, and often embraces cases with a heavy technical/industrial content. Product liability is a speciality, particularly in the pharmaceutical field. His mathematical background means that he is able quickly to assimilate and analyse difficult concepts, and detect ‘bad science’. He has advised in respect of and appeared in numerous arbitrations, both in England and overseas.
Recent Practice
Some examples of his recent practice are
- Advising a government regulator concerning a high-profile complaint, requiring considerable background technical expertise
- Advising a Primary Care Trust in relation to contractual issues and disputes in a changing health care environment
- Advising and appearing in multimillion dollar Cayman Islands litigation
- Advising in relation to anti-suit proceedings in the Cayman Islands and several associated international arbitrations
Arbitration:
Arbitrations in many diverse fields. These include arbitrations concerning:
- as regards pharmaceutical products, unique medical formulations, confidentiality, and wrongful competition, between an English company and a Dutch company
- a supply agreement for provision of processing of nuclear waste, between two English companies
- supplies of steel from Russia to France, between a Russian seller and a Russian buyer
- banking services in Nigeria, between a French bank and a Nigerian bank
- supplies of copper concentrates, between a Chilean mining company and a Swiss metals trader
- supplies of goods to the Middle East, between a Cayman Islands company and English/Dutch companies
- an insurance claim for business interruption arising from metals mining and processing operations in Australia, between an Australian insured and Lloyd’s underwriters.
Banking & Finance:
Philip Brook Smith has substantial, long-standing and continuous experience in banking litigation, dating back to National Westminster v Morgan. More recently, he advised clients in relation to fallout from the Enron affair.
Civil Fraud:
Philip acted throughout in the Dubai Aluminium v Salaam (HL) case.
He advised and appeared for a major international retail client in claims against employees and suppliers, obtaining a range of freezing and ancillary orders, and involving several jurisdictions.
He has been involved for many years in the Anders Jahre litigation, variously proceeding in several jurisdictions.
Employment:
Philip has practised in employment (and related) matters for many years. Recent experience involved advising in relation to litigation in Singapore between two leading firms of solicitors, following the migration of a partner from one firm to the other. Philip is experienced in cases concerning eg confidential information, directors’ duties and bonus issues, as well as sex/race discrimination etc.
Financial Services:
Examples of Philip’s recent work are:
- Advising clients in relation to Jersey and Guernsey financial regulatory matters
- Advising a Friendly Society in relation to proposed rule changes in the regulatory environment
Insolvency:
Philip advised in relation to the successful appointment of provisional liquidators in the BVI, arising from the Gold & Appel affair (giving rise to the largest ever individual US tax debt).
Insurance & Reinsurance:
Philip has dealt with insurance/reinsurance matters for very many years, dating back to the Howden affair. His experience encompasses Lloyd’s and other markets and related arbitrations, as an intrinsic part of his commercial practice. He was also involved in the Costs litigation concerning Before/After The Event Insurance (Sawar v Alam) and has advised (and mediated) in relation to solicitors firms’ contracts with financial service providers for claims handling.
Mediation:
Philip has been involved in many mediations, as adviser/representative/mediation team member. A recent example was the successful mediation of a complex and high-value TCC case raising difficult technical and damages issues.
Product Liability:
Philip has been involved in many of the leading Product Liability cases, starting (in his case) with Whooping Cough vaccine. He was instructed by the National Blood Authority in the Blood Products litigation (HIV/AIDS), and later in the Hepatitis C litigation. He acted for the manufacturers in the Oral Contraceptives litigation, and subsequently in the Persona litigation.
He was also involved (again for the manufacturer) in relation to Seroxat anti-depressant.
Professional Negligence:
As part of his commercial/civil litigation practice, Philip has acted on very many occasions in relation to eg claims involving solicitors (eg Summit Properties v Pitmans), accountants (eg ADT v Binder Hamlyn), valuers, architects, surveyors, insurance brokers and merchant bankers.
Travel:
Philip has advised travel companies in relation to group litigation in the US arising from holiday disasters, in relation to anti-suit injunctions and the Package Tour Regulations.
Other Experience
Philip has for many years taught advocacy for Middle Temple and the South Eastern circuit; this year he has assisted a leading US firm in providing their in-house training for advocacy in international arbitrations.
He is a reviewer for, and a member of the management committee of, the Bar Pro Bono Unit.
He is a member of the British Boxing Board of Control Anti-Doping Tribunal and also sits, as the Bar Council representative, as a member of a Joint Tribunal which determines disputes between solicitors and barristers.