Recognition

Peter is tier 1 top ranked in Chambers and ranked as a leading partner in Legal 500.

Chambers:

  • “probably one of the finest aviation lawyers of our generation”
  • “a star [who] knows aviation litigation inside-out and is always thinking tactically”
  • [he] “is not only an excellent attorney but an amazing engineer
  • “a dream attorney for any client to have”
  • “one of the most intelligent lawyers I’ve ever come across”,
  • “he has great communication skills, is very patient and able to empathise with families”

Legal 500:

  • “the first choice for any complex aviation dispute”
  • “a superstar within the sector, he has a razor sharp mind and gets right to the point”,
  • “one of the top aviation lawyers in Europe”
  • “nobody knows more about the Montreal Convention than Peter.”

Expertise

Peter regularly acts for victims of aviation accidents worldwide (light aircraft, helicopter and airline accidents), and leads the department’s independent technical investigations.

Additionally, Peter advises on commercial aviation matters with an interest in liability issues arising out of the commercial use of drone and AAM technology.

Experience

Recent highlights including:

  • Acting for the family of Leicester City Football Club Chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in their fatal accident product liability claim arising out of a private helicopter crash at the LCFC ground in 2018
  • Acting for the family of Lord Ballyedmond following his private helicopter crash at his estate
  • Acting for families of the Chapecoense Football Club players and board members in a novel claim against Aon for broker negligence following the LaMia airline disaster in Colombia in 2016
  • Acting for families of passengers from both Boeing 737 Max cases (Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 and Lion Air Flight JT610)
  • Acting for families of passengers of the Malaysia Airlines Flights MH17 shootdown over Ukraine

Foreign Jurisdictions

Peter has experience across the globe and was involved in cases throughout Europe (That include France (AF447, R44), Germany (Cessna Citation), Netherlands (MH17), Republic of Ireland (Manx 2), Switzerland (Air Sarina), Turkey (Pegasus), Africa (Egypt (MS804), Ethiopia (ET302, Aquarius), Kenya (KQ507), DRC (Air Serv), Malawi (Nyika Safari), Republic of Congo (CASA), South Africa (Afriqiyah), Southern Sudan (SS Air Connection), Tanzania (Precision, Coastal) Asia (Indonesia (JT610, GA200, KI574), Kyrgyzstan (ACT), Malaysia (MH370) and the Americas (Antigua (FlyMontserrat), Argentina (Flying America) also litigated in Illinois, California, Texas, Kansas and Massachusetts against product manufacturers, Brazil (LaMia), Florida (Remos), Las Vegas (BA2276), Mexico (SEGOB Learjet 45), Peru (HeliCusco) and Venezuela (S3518).

Career

Peter joined the Aviation department on its inception in 2006 and has been part of the team since. He holds a MSci in Theoretical Physics, an LLM in Advanced Air & Space Law, a nanodegree in Artificial Intelligence Programming and is qualified as an English solicitor and Illinois attorney.

Peter was featured in an article in The Times ‘Jump from paralegal to partner’ regarding his progression from paralegal to partner at Stewarts. He wrote his career story in 2024.

Accreditations and Memberships

Peter is the current Chairman of the Air Law Committee for the Royal Aeronautical Society, and a member of the American Association of Justice and the American Bar Association.

Peter sits on the inter-departmental commercial aviation disputes team and the Generative Artificial Intelligence Working Group at Stewarts.

Publications

Peter has been lecturing for the LLM programme at the Leiden International Institute of Air and Space law for the last 14 years. He was part of the expert panel contributing to the RAeS President’s Briefing Paper on ‘Shaping the Future of Advanced Air Mobility Safety’ published in May 2024.

Personal

Peter is married and has a young daughter and an energetic German Shorthaired Pointer. He regularly plays squash and football and runs with said GSP. He has a love of building robots and painting.

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