Overview

Sam Prentki is a partner in the Construction & Engineering team and International Arbitration group of the London office. He has managed disputes in multiple jurisdictions and has extensive experience in both arbitration and litigation.

Sam’s experience is primarily in international disputes in various industries in particular construction, engineering, technology and shipping. He also has considerable experience in complex cross-border matters involving issues of jurisdiction and has worked on cases under all the major arbitration codes including ICSID, LCIA, UNCITRAL, and ICC. 

Sam spent six years practicing in South East Asia where he worked on arbitrations under various regional codes including SIAC, HKIAC, Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA), Thai Arbitration Institute (TAI) and Board of Trade of Thailand (BOTT), advocating on behalf of clients in both Singapore and Thailand. 

Sam also has experience in the protection of assets and enforcement and has assisted on several occasions in obtaining freezing orders in the English courts. 

Areas of Focus

Practices
Industries

Spoken Languages

  • French
  • Spanish
  • Thai

Experience

Note: This list includes matters that were not handled at Mayer Brown.

  • Triple Point Technology Inc v PTT Public Co Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 230. Successfully defending the Thai State Energy Company (PTT) against a claim for breach of a contract for the provision of a commodities trading and risk management system. 
  • Acting for a Luxemburg based entity in an ICSID arbitration against a state in relation to a claim under the Energy Charter Treaty. In particular, Sam assisted in producing the response to the state’s jurisdictional objections under EU law. 
  • Successfully attaining an ICC arbitration award in favour of a publically listed Thai company in relation to the defective construction of an industrial boiler facility servicing palm oil plantations in the south of Thailand. 
  • Successfully obtaining a SIAC arbitration award in favour of a Thai company in relation to breaches of a contract for the construction of 135MW biomass boiler. 
  • Apollo Ventures Co Ltd v Manchanda [2016] EWHC 1416 (Comm). Successfully obtaining and retaining under challenge a worldwide freezing order for a Thai property company. The case also involved defending a CPR Part 11 challenge to the jurisdiction of the English courts. 
  • HSBC Bank Plc v Pearl Corp & Ors. [2019] EWHC 231 (Comm). Successfully obtaining an English High Court judgment in favour of the client’s (HSBC) Greek shipping business in respect of breaches of a loan agreement and a personal guarantee. 
  • Acting as lead advocate in an SIAC arbitration and successfully obtaining an award in favour of multiple claimants in respect of a failed construction project for luxury properties in Thailand. 
  • Successfully obtaining a KLRCA arbitration award on behalf of a claimant in respect of breaches of a contract for the construction of a luxury catamaran. 
  • Acting successfully for a construction company in an ICC arbitration concerning a dispute over the construction of a waste water management facility for a global producer of fermented milk products. 
  • Successfully obtaining a Board of Trade of Thailand Arbitration award in favour of clients in relation to failure to pay rental under a rental scheme involving luxury villas in Thailand and conducting advocacy on behalf of the clients. 
  • Providing advice to a state-owned oil company concerning a dispute in relation to a mining operation in Indonesia. The dispute involved advising on jurisdictional issues and questions over the validity of a parent company guarantee and indemnity. 
  • Advising a South East Asian shipping company on their contracting arrangements with various counterparties with particular attention to English law requirements in relation to force majeure clauses. 
  • Advising a UK based company on potential breaches of a services agreement for the management of a biomass power plant. The advice concerned issues of repudiatory/material breach of contract and termination under English law. 

Perspectives

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News

Education

University College London (University of London), BA (Hons) Geography (First Class)
HC Darby & Broderick Parry Prizes

Bournemouth University, Graduate Diploma in Law

Bournemouth University/College of Law (Guildford), LPC

Admissions

  • England and Wales
  • Listed as a key lawyer for International Arbitration (Legal 500 2021-24).