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Ella Wardlaw

Associate

Email

ella.wardlaw@aoshearman.com

Phone

+44 20 3088 3895

Offices

London

V-CARD
Ella has experience advising corporations, financial institutions, international organisations and individuals on a wide range of commercial and competition disputes in the English Courts. 

She has a particular interest in, and experience advising on, claims concerning infringements of competition law.

Ella has coordinated a number of pro bono initiatives in the education space, leading the firm’s flagship project for our former global charity partner in 2023. In London, she coordinates an access to justice clinic, the School Exclusions Clinic, in partnership with an education charity in the UK, which provides free legal representation for children faced with a permanent exclusion from schools in the UK.

During her training in the firm’s Hong Kong office, Ella gained experience advising parties in arbitration proceedings before the ICC, LCIA and HKIAC. Ella was also seconded to the firm’s Ho Chi Minh City office where she advised various Vietnamese and international corporations on a number of projects.

Expertise

Experience

Representative matters

  • Micron Technology Inc in relation to a private damages claim in the Competition Appeals Tribunal brought by Granville Technology Group Limited (in liquidation) and others following the DRAM settlement decision handed down by the European Commission in 2010.
  • The majority shareholders of a high tech company in their successful defence of a claim of unfair prejudice brought by minority shareholders. After a 20 day trial the High Court found against our clients, but we took the case to the Court of Appeal which unanimously overturned the High Court’s decision and found in our clients’ favour.
  • A European trucks manufacturer in relation to claims seeking follow-on damages in the Competition Appeals Tribunal. The claim arose from a decision of the European Commission which relates to an infringement of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
  • A pharmaceutical company in a wrongful dismissal dispute in the High Court.
  • VAPCO on various aspect of its Vung Ang 2 BOT power project in Vietnam.
  • Two global energy companies in relation to disputes arising in relation to oil blocks in a South East Asian State. The claims involved two commercial arbitrations under production sharing contracts against a State Owned Oil Company and a parallel investment treaty claim against the State. The claims settled following a USD800m payment to our client in early 2021.

Pro bono

  • Coordinator of the School Exclusions Clinic in partnership with Coram Children’s Legal Centre, which provides free legal representation for children faced with a permanent exclusion from schools in the UK. Through my work for the Clinic, I have advocated for children at governing body hearings, independent review panel hearings and judicial review proceedings on matters of administrative and human rights law.
  • Coordinator of the firm’s flagship pro bono project for our former global charity partner, Street Child, where I led a team of over 60 fee earners from across the firm's network to formulate a transnational advocacy strategy and advocacy action plan for the education program “South Asian Assessment Alliance: Communicating and Collaborating for Change”.
  • Advising Bail for Immigration Detainees and Medical Justice in an application to intervene in proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights regarding the lawfulness of the UK Government’s detention of the applicant for the purposes of removal.
  • Advising the Free Legal Advice Centre at Toynbee Hall on its ‘Know Your Rights’ guide to police powers to stop and search.
  • Volunteering for Young Citizens as part of its Legal Experts in Schools Programme helping 13 – 15 year olds understand the UK legal system.
  • Secondee to NGO, European Lawyers in Lesvos, where I assisted with first instance interviews with asylum seekers in Athens, Greece.

Published Work

  • Wardlaw, E. (2021) “No damages if proven breach is not an effective case of loss: “bitter truth” for innocent parties”, Compact Contract Blog, Allen & Overy
  • Garvey, S and Wardlaw, E (2019) “English jurisdiction clause binding anchor defendants decisive in court’s conclusion that England is proper forum: E, D & F Man Capital Markets Ltd v Come Harvest Ltd & ors, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Review, Allen & Overy
  • Wardlaw, E (2019) “BIICL seminar marks launch of Hong Kong office”, Global Arbitration Review

Awards

  • Best New Pro Bono Activity (‘Know Your Rights’ project with Toynbee Hall was highly commended) at LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2021

Qualifications

Admissions

Hong Kong SAR, 2021 (Solicitor)

Academic

Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL), City University of Hong Kong, 2018

Juris Doctor, Melbourne Law School, 2017

Bachelor of Commerce (Major in Economics), University of Melbourne, 2013

Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.