Our Advocates

Professional Information:

Year of Call: 1999
Devil Masters: James Reilly; Donald C Rae; Stuart DD Nicoll
Qualifications: LLB(Hons) University of Aberdeen, Dip LP University of Aberdeen, Honorary Fellow University of Edinburgh, ACI Arb, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Accredited Mediator


Biography:

Steven Walker is an Advocate & Barrister who has been admitted to practise as an Advocate before the Courts of Scotland since 1999. He became an Accredited Mediator in 2003. He was admitted to the Cayman islands Bar in 2007 and to the English Bar as a Barrister in 2008.

Steven is a contentious commercial lawyer who practises Scots, English and International Law. His practice deals with all forms of commercial dispute, and he has a particular interest in Natural Resources, oil/gas/mining as well as energy and construction and engineering related disputes. He has regularly appeared in the Sheriff Court, Court of Session, High Court (Scotland), County Court (England), High Court (England) and Grand Court (Cayman Islands) as well as before numerous arbitral tribunals in the UK and abroad.

Steven is highly experienced in the preparation and presentation of all aspects of trans-national disputes. Early in his career, he spent a sabbatical year working in the arbitration group of Allen & Overy, London. He was involved in raising the first ICSID arbitration proceedings under the Energy Charter Treaty. He has extensive practice and experience in ICC, LCIA, and ICSID arbitrations as well as numerous other institutional arbitrations and ad hoc arbitrations in the UK and worldwide. He is also highly experienced in the preparation and conduct of adjudications.

Steven was part of the original drafting team who drafted the new Arbitration (Scotland) Bill working alongside the Hon. Lord Dervaird QC. He is a recognised expert in International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) and was instructed by them to advise the Government of Tajikistan on their national arbitration law.

He was instructed by the United Kingdom's Department of Trade and Industry to act as Counsel for the United Kingdom in United Nations International Treaty negotiations before the United Nations, Vienna, Austria.

Steven is an Honorary Fellow and  the Principal lecturer on the International Arbitration LLM at the University of Edinburgh. Steven is a visiting lecturer at the world's leading graduate natural resource school, the Centre for Energy, Petroleum, Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee (CEPMLP) and in 2008 he was appointed to the Global Academic Faculty of CEPMLP.

He was appointed an ad hoc Advocate Depute in 2007 (Crown Counsel) by the Lord Advocate (Head of the Scottish Prosecution Service) and has prosecuted very serious offences for the Crown. Steven holds a public appointment from the Minister for Communities, Scottish Government to sit as a Tribunal Chairman of the Private Rented Housing Tribunal.


Memberships

• Member of Scottish, English and Cayman Islands Bars
• Member of London Court of International Arbitration
• Member Middle Temple
• Young Arbitration Group
• Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• Member Scottish Oil Club

Public Appointments

• Appointed Ad Hoc Advocate Depute 2007
• Appointed Chairman of the Private Rented Housing Panel 2006

Academic Appointments

• Appointed member of the Global Academic Faculty of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum, Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee in 2008
• Appointed Principal lecturer on the International Arbitration LLM at the University of Edinburgh 2009
• Appointed Honorary Fellow of the University of Edinburgh 2009