Instruct Rani

To instruct Rani please contact our clerks on +44 (0)20 7842 5555 or email [email protected].

Rani acts in complex international commercial litigation and arbitration. She has a wealth of experience of all arbitral rules (ICC, LCIA, LMAA, SIAC, HKIAC, ARIAS) as well as ad hoc references and Bermuda Form arbitrations. She regularly deals with cases involving foreign law, jurisdiction issues, and is well versed in arbitration appeals and injunctive relief in the High Court.

She has been consistently recognised as leading Junior Counsel for her expertise in International Arbitration, Commercial litigation, Insurance & Reinsurance, Shipping, and Commodities work in Chambers and Partners, Chambers and Partners Global, and in the Legal 500 London & Asia Pacific Bar where she is noted for her “analytical ability”, “fierce intelligence”, and “great commercial acumen”. She is “commercial, diligent and an absolute pleasure to work with. She builds rapport very easily with arbitrators (as well as clients and instructing solicitors) and her advocacy is direct, to the point, and always perfectly delivered. A real star” (Legal 500). Rani was shortlisted as “Shipping Junior of the Year” at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2020.

“Rani is very sharp and analytical. She as a fantastic grasp of the arbitration, both the facts and legal arguments, which are complex and numerous.” – Legal 500, 2026
“Rani has a very good, approachable style and her advocacy was excellent.” – Chambers & Partners 2026
“Rani is very astute. She quickly grasps the issues in complex cases and is highly analytical.” – Legal 500, 2025
“Rani is fiercely intelligent. She has a great commercial acumen and provides sound, concise and timely legal advice.” – Legal 500, 2025
“Rani is a superstar.” – Legal 500, 2024
“Rani is truly outstanding. She is highly intelligent and able to analyse complicated claims in a forensic and clear way and is also great to work with.” – Legal 500, 2024
“Rani is fantastic. She is commercial, diligent and an absolute pleasure to work with. She builds rapport very easily with arbitrators (as well as clients and instructing solicitors) and her advocacy is direct, to the point, and always perfectly delivered. A real star.” – Legal 500, 2023

Rani is instructed as sole counsel, including against silks, in high value disputes across a range of disciplines as well as part of a larger team before heavyweight specialist tribunals. She is an excellent choice for legally complex and technical cases including those involving foreign law. Rani is well versed in ICC, LCIA, LMAA, SIAC, HKIAC, ARIAS and Bermuda Form arbitrations as well as ad hoc references. As well as being ranked as leading international arbitration counsel, Rani is regularly instructed in related court applications, including jurisdiction challenges, anti-suit injunctions, and enforcement of and challenges to arbitral awards.

Featured International Arbitration cases

Bermuda form reinsurance arbitration concerning cover for payments made in settlement of a US-class action involving New York law.

Multi-million political risk reinsurance HKIAC arbitration relating to a Libyan infrastructure project derailed by the Libyan civil war and involving Libyan, Hong Kong and PRC law.

LCIA arbitration concerning complex international commodities trades and allegations of fraud in the Asia-Pacific region.

LMAA arbitration involving competing allegations of repudiatory breach of a tanker sale contract.

ARIAS arbitration concerning valuation of “reinsurance to close”, raising issues of conflicts of interest and breach of contract.

LCIA arbitration relating to a multi-billion-dollar fraud against a sovereign state raising allegations of prosecutions to order.

ARIAS reinsurance arbitration defending Covid-19-related business interruption claims. Rani also acted in the Court of Appeal in a section 69 appeal in Unipolsai Assicurazioni S.p.A. v Covéa Insurance Plc [2024] EWCA Civ 1110 on recovery of Covid-19 business interruption losses under a Catastrophe Excess of Loss reinsurance treaty.

LCIA arbitration defending a US$ 70 million global loss of profit and market share claim resulting from an incident at an agrochemical production facility.

ICC and SIAC arbitrations concerning disputes under international specialist sales contracts for the long-term supply of commodities.

Various ICC, LCIA, HKIAC, and ARIAS arbitrations concerning disputes under finance & credit agreements, guarantees, credit & political risk insurance and reinsurance disputes.

LMAA UN sanctions-busting case concerning the supply and distribution of Russian oil in Yemen.

Acting for an SoE in a US$ 400 million LCIA offshore energy arbitration regarding the cancellation of a design and construction contract for a highly complex specialist offshore deep-sea pipe laying vessel.

Multi-million dollar ad hoc arbitration concerning disputes arising from gas turbine overhaul and repairs under an EPC contract for an Argentinian Power Station.

Rani appears alone and led in the Commercial Court and appellate courts in all manner of commercial disputes. She is regularly involved in international trade and related insurance and finance disputes including those raising issues of fraud. She acts in offshore energy, shipbuilding, and super yacht disputes and those concerning sale agreements, joint ventures, loan agreements, guarantees, and shareholders agreements.

Featured Commercial Litigation cases

Acting for a broker in relation to allegations of dishonest assistance, knowing receipt, conspiracy and secret commissions.

Chugga Chugg v Privinvest SAL [2025] EWHC 585 (Comm) acting for a yard in a multimillion repudiation dispute of a superyacht construction contract and associated issues under a parent company guarantee.

UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA v Covéa Insurance Plc [2024] EWCA Civ 1110 – Court of Appeal decision on recovery of Covid-19 business interruption losses under a Catastrophe Excess of Loss reinsurance treaty.

Acting for the successful Claimant in Havila Kystruten AS v Abarca Companhia De Seguros, SA [2022] EWHC 3196 (Comm), a finance and shipbuilding dispute spanning a wide range of contract law issues including repudiatory breach, waiver, contractual termination, the proper construction of refund / guarantee instruments and the intersection between common law damages and restitution in the recovery of instalments under repudiated agreements. The court also considered the meaning of “committed financing” in the banking sector.

Successfully acting for the applicant in obtaining a mandatory injunction for the provision of information about “kill switches” integrated into a betting software platform. The case involved a JV and associated licensing agreements in which there were related and ongoing US proceedings.

Acting for the claimant insurer defending a claim under the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010. The case raised breaches of warranties, the interpretation of the 2010 Act, and the proper application and scope of the principle in Berni Inns.

Nobel Chartering Inc v Priminds Shipping (Hong King) Co Ltd [2020] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 333; [2021] EWCA Civ 87 – Court of Appeal decision on the implication of indemnities and warranties into commercial contracts.

The Muammer Yagci [2019] Lloyd’s Rep Plus 65 – appeal concerning the meaning of “government interference” in the context of force majeure clauses.

Advising on and acting in relation to jurisdiction disputes under CPR Part 11 and sections 32 & 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996, particularly in complex cases involving parallel and related international arbitrations or court proceedings. In SET Select Energy GmbH v F & M Bunkering [2014] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 652, Rani acted alone in the first jurisdiction decision following the important Supreme Court judgment in The Alexandros T.

Advising and acting for Russian parties on the validity of agreements disputed on the basis of fraud. This involved a multiplicity of parallel and related international proceedings leading to anti-suit injunctions and various jurisdiction challenges both domestically and abroad before foreign arbitral tribunals and the High Court.

Commercial Court claim for breach of a shareholders’ agreement for financing a joint venture which included allegations of misrepresentation and dishonesty.

Rani is regularly instructed in supervisory applications to ourt in relation to arbitrations, jurisdiction challenges, appeals and enforcement of foreign awards. She is experienced in injunctive relief, including freezing injunctions and anti-suit injunctions.

Featured Commercial litigation and arbitration applications: Injunctions, Jurisdiction Challenges, Enforcement cases

Advising on and acting in relation to jurisdiction disputes under CPR Part 11 and sections 32 & 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 particularly in complex cases involving parallel and related international arbitrations or court proceedings.

Obtaining and resisting anti-suit injunctions e.g. successfully defending an anti-suit injunction obtained ex parte in respect of US attachment proceedings allegedly instituted in breach of an ongoing London arbitration. Rani has acted for several successful anti-suit claimants seeking to enjoin threatened foreign proceedings. More unusually, she sought to obtain an anti-London arbitration injunction from the High Court in support of an advanced foreign parallel arbitration.

SET Select Energy GmbH v F & M Bunkering [2014] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 652, a jurisdiction challenge dealing with Art. 27 of the Brussels Regulation and its interrelation with CPR Part 11.

Successfully securing a mandatory injunction for the provision of IT information.

Appeals of arbitration awards. Rani often acts in relation to appeals under sections 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 e.g. The M/V Muammer Yagci [2018] EWHC 3873 (Comm), Nobel Chartering Inc v Priminds Shipping (Hong King) Co Ltd [2020] EWHC 127 (Comm) [2020] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 333; [2021] EWCA Civ 87, and UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA v Covéa Insurance Plc [2024] EWCA Civ 1110.

Enforcement of foreign arbitrations awards e.g. contested enforcement of a Russian New York Convention Award.

Bringing and defending applications under section 41(3) of the Arbitration Act 1996 to dismiss arbitration claims for want of prosecution.

Rani is ranked by the directories as a Leading Junior in Insurance and Reinsurance disputes. She acts for a wide range of London Market, US, and European insurance and reinsurance clients in both litigation and arbitration (including Bermuda form arbitrations). Her international arbitration experience makes her especially well-suited to insurance and reinsurance arbitrations involving issues of foreign law. She regularly takes instructions in an advisory capacity.

She has been involved in significant issues affecting the market including Covid-19 business interruption at the reinsurance level. She is instructed in relation to coverage disputes across all classes of business, particularly political risk & political violence and trade credit, where she is often instructed in coverage arbitrations with international trade, finance, and fraud elements.

She also takes instructions in coverholder disputes and broker’s negligence cases.

Featured Insurance & Reinsurance cases

Bermuda form reinsurance arbitration.

Covid business interruption: UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA v Covéa Insurance Plc [2024] EWCA Civ 1110 – recovery of Covid-19 business interruption losses under Catastrophe Excess of Loss reinsurance treaty.

ARIAS Contingency Excess of Loss reinsurance arbitrations concerning the aggregation of losses arising from Covid.

Multimillion LCIA arbitration concerning excess of loss trade credit policy.

HKIAC multi-million political risk reinsurance dispute raising issues of Hong Kong, PRC, and Libyan law.

Claims by insurers against coverholders.

Acting for a broker in relation to allegations of dishonest assistance, knowing receipt, conspiracy and secret commissions.

ARIAS arbitration concerning reinsurance to close.

Advising on coverage in respect of trade credit reinsurance involving invoice factoring and issues of fair presentation and fraud.

Coverage advice in relation to trade credit insurance for complex international commodities future trading.

Coverage litigation pursuant to the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010.

Advising in relation to financial insurance products.

Rani is ranked as a Leading Junior for Shipping & Commodities matters in both domestic and international directories and is a co-author of Bareboat Charters (2025, Informa Law publishing). She is regularly instructed as sole counsel across all manner of admiralty, charterparty, and bill of lading disputes, as well as high value ship sale, shipbuilding and superyacht disputes in both the commercial court and in arbitration. Her commodities and international trade experience embraces all forms of international sale contracts, as well as related finance and insurance disputes.

She is experienced in appellate work and has extensive experience in both making and defending s 68 and s 69 appeals from arbitrations as well as applications under more infrequently used provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996.

Featured Shipping, Commodities & International Trade cases

Leading counsel in Chugga Chugg v Privinvest SAL [2025] EWHC 585 (Comm) concerning multimillion repudiation of a superyacht construction contract and associated issues under a parent company guarantee.

Acting in a warranty dispute for cutting-edge LNG tankers.

Acting for the successful Claimant in Havila Kystruten AS v Abarca Companhia De Seguros, SA [2022] EWHC 3196 (Comm), a finance and shipbuilding dispute.

Disputes on implied indemnities in charterparties including Nobel Chartering Inc v Priminds Shipping (Hong King) Co Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 87 on implied indemnities in voyage charters and representations in bills of lading.

Acting in cases relating to the detention of vessels and liability for loss of time including countless off hire, detention, and laytime & demurrage disputes. These cases have embraced a wide array of circumstances including liability for illegal interventions by third party agents, and the application of contractual exceptions including force majeure. Rani has acted in disputes concerning government detention and confiscation of vessels & goods arising out of breaches of local law, including two related arbitrations about the confiscation of a vessel and its cargo of crude oil by Saudi and UN authorities in Yemen and The MV Muammer Yagci [2018] EWHC 3873 (Comm) – a case concerning the meaning of “government interference” in an exclusion of liability for laytime and demurrage in relation to confiscation of a cargo by customs authorities on the basis of fraudulent importation documents.

Advising on the impact of sanctions on manufacturing and sale contracts, charterparty agreements, and insurance.

Deviation claims under the Supplytime and Towhire forms.

Speed and performance disputes.

Claims in respect of off-specification bunkers and damage resulting from non-contractual fuel.

Unsafe port & berth cases in respect of physical and legal danger to vessels and cargo.

Advising on termination and assignment provisions including in respect of non-payment of hire under high value contracts of affreightment and disputes under pool agreements.

Rani has acted as sole counsel in a wide range of high value disputes under bills of lading, including claims in respect of damaged automotive components, multi-million-dollar claims for damage to shipments of reefer cargo and in respect of damaged tugboats shipped on deck. She is experienced in COGSA 1992 and successfully resisted an application for permission to appeal an arbitration award on the proper interpretation and application of the provisions on spent bills of lading in COGSA. She is well versed in the application of the Hague/Hague Visby Rules and US COGSA.

Featured Salvage, Collision & Admiralty cases cases

Acting for Hull Underwriters in a claim against P&I insurers before the Commercial Court in respect of liability for storage charges for off-loaded cargo under the York Antwerp Rules 1994.

Sole counsel in the Admiralty Court defending a common law salvage claim against London Duck Tours, the owners of an amphibious vessel, which ran into difficulty in the Thames.

Sole counsel in respect of various salvage litigation including a salvage claim for services rendered to an immobilised chemical tanker in the Thames.

Rani deals with all manner of contractual disputes relating to the sale of goods under both domestic and international contracts of sale. Her experience includes claims in respect of damaged goods and non-delivery cases. She has been involved in many disputes involving CFR and FOB contracts of sale, including in a SIAC arbitration in relation to the FOB sale of oil which gave rise to various legal issues including delivery obligations under the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

Rani acts in both on and offshore energy and shipbuilding disputes. She also acts in related commercial disputes concerning all areas of contract, insurance, sale, purchase and financing of projects, including guarantee disputes.

Featured Offshore Energy (oil, gas & renewables), Shipbuilding & Construction cases

Performance warranty disputes for eco-vessels.

Disputes involving support vessels for oil, gas and wind exploration and maintenance. Rani has experience of Supplytime and Windtime contract forms.

Joint venture dispute in relation to the hire and exploitation of geological survey equipment for gas and oil exploration.

Acting in relation to the termination of contracts for two oil well intervention vessels for plugging and abandonment operations.

Disputes pertaining to failures in off-shore wind farms.

Ad hoc arbitration dispute arising from gas turbine overhaul and repairs under an EPC contract for an Argentinian Power Station.

Advising on the termination of a logistic services agreement for an offshore wind transmission system operator.

TCC dispute involving claims for variations, delay and disruption, and extensions of time on an eco-build project.

Acting for a Chinese SoE in a c. US$ 400 million LCIA offshore energy arbitration concerning an offshore deep-sea pipe-laying vessel.

Chugga Chugg v Privinvest SAL [2025] EWHC 585 (Comm); and Havila Kystruten AS v Abarca Companhia De Seguros, SA [2022] EWHC 3196 (Comm) – finance and shipbuilding disputes.

Rani acts in all manner of professional negligence disputes including insurance broker’s negligence and issues involving coverholders.

Bareboat Charters book published

Earlier this month, the book on Bareboat Charters was released. Authored by Ed Jones, James Leabeater KC, Rani...

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Judgment handed down in Chugga Chugg Pty Ltd v Privinvest Holding SAL [2025] EWHC 585 (Comm)

On 14 March 2024, the Commercial Court handed down judgment in the case of Chugga Chugg Pty Ltd v Privinvest Holding SAL...

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Court of Appeal judgment handed down in Unipolsai Assucurazioni S.p.A -v- Covéa Insurance Plc [2024] EWCA Civ 1110

Property catastrophe excess of loss reinsurance: was the outbreak of Covid-19 a “catastrophe” and aggregation of...

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The Legal 500 Asia Pacific Guide 2024

4 Pump Court has again been recognised in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific Guide, receiving set rankings for 'Construction,...

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Instruct Rani

To instruct Rani please contact our clerks on +44 (0)20 7842 5523 or email [email protected].

  • Commercial LLM, University of Cambridge MA Law, University of Cambridge
  • BVC (Outstanding), College of Law
  • Middle Temple Astbury Scholar

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