Sarah Hunt
Partner
About Sarah
Sarah acts for traders, owners, P&I clubs and banks, advising on multi-jurisdictional matters including Arbitration, Commercial Court Litigation and International Sanctions.
She specialises in International Trade and Shipping disputes and advice, including bulk commodities, petroleum products, crude, gasoil, steel and ferrous as well as non-ferrous metals, ethanol and soft commodities including grains, soyabeans, oils and seeds, sugar, coffee and cocoa.
Her most high-profile matter was Taurus v SOMO, in which the Supreme Court overturned the Power Curber decision and held that there is no special rule of jurisdiction relating to debts represented by LCs. She has successfully litigated or settled all Commercial Court claims. Her litigation profile includes freezing orders arising out of fraud, hedging losses, defaults on sale contracts (failure to perform), off-specification cargo quantum disputes and non-delivery disputes. Impressively, she has also recovered judgment sums awarded against recalcitrant defendants in difficult jurisdictions including a significant proportion of costs.
Sarah advises on shipping and trading issues ranging from arbitration to technical demurrage arguments, disputes under guarantees or other financial instruments, advice on when it is possible to terminate under a term contract without repudiatory breach, urgent injunctive relief and complex multi-jurisdictional queries requiring creative solutions for enforcement.
Sarah heads a team of lawyers in Geneva which has advised HFW’s industry clients on shipping, trading, insurance and complex trade finance matters involving multi-jurisdictional sanctions against Russia for its invasion of the Ukraine, spearheading HFW’s pro-active Geneva sanctions team in providing pragmatic, commercial advice with fast turn-around.
LEGAL 500
Sarah is recognised by Legal 500 in Tier 1 for Transport, Switzerland for International Trade and Shipping, and regularly recognised by Legal 500 EMEA, with clients praising her and the team’s “fast response”, “very deep and sound expertise in commodities and shipping” and ability to “transmit complex matters in a comprehensive language which can be understood also by someone who is not a legal expert.”
She teaches sale contracts at the University of Geneva on the Master of Science in Commodity Trading and the accredited Certified Commodity Trading Specialist Certificate in Lugano. HFW’s use of case studies is famous for its practical teaching approach for tomorrow’s industry leaders.
Sarah is qualified in New South Wales (Australia), registered with the SRA as a Registered Foreign Lawyer and with the Foreign Section of the Ordre des Avocats de Genève. She largely practices English law and is recognized as a ‘Lead Practitioner’ in commodities and shipping by clients and legal directories, through consistently excellent results. She accepts arbitral appointments.
For our Common Issues in Oil Trading Articles, see:
Commodities: Common Issues in Oil Trading Contracts, Part 2: Time for Delivery & Laycan
Commodities: Common Issues in Oil Trading Contracts, Part 3: Demurrage in Sales Contracts