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Brent is an Australian qualified solicitor in the London aviation team who specialises in handling airline and general aviation disputes.

Brent started his legal career in 2017 at a boutique aviation law firm in Sydney Australia where he gained experience advising insurers in a range of litigated aviation disputes. Brent has appeared in the Local Court, District Court, Supreme Court and Court of Appeal in New South Wales. He has taken cases to trial ranging in length from a few hours up to eight days. Brent moved to London in 2019 where he has gained international experience in proceedings throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Brent has a private pilot license and he has been flying light aircraft since he was 15. He has a special interest in litigation involving general aviation. He has represented operators of hot air balloons, microlights, fixed-wing aircraft, crop dusters, helicopters, kit aircraft, business jets, gliders, drones and flying schools. Brent is a member of the Aviation Law Association of Australia and New Zealand, Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the European Air Law Association.

Aviation Personal Injury and Human Rights

• Acting in numerous personal injury proceedings against airlines involving turbulence, heavy landings, catering trolleys, food and sickness complaints, slip and falls, hot beverage spills, items falling from overhead lockers, and airside buses. These proceedings are typically pleaded under the Montreal/Warsaw Conventions.

• Attending an 8-day trial as instructing solicitor for a defendant ground handler who successfully argued that they were the ‘agent’ of an airline which alleviated the ground handler of all liability. This decision was upheld in the Court of Appeal.

• Attending a Court of Appeal hearing as instructing solicitor for an aircraft operator whose aircraft collided with a kangaroo on landing. This appeal involved duty to warn issues.

• Acting for the family of a deceased pilot in complex Supreme Court proceedings after an aircraft wing separated mid-flight. This case involved numerous contested motions on discovery and pleadings.

• Attending numerous contested interlocutory hearings as instructing solicitor.

• Acting for a defendant engineer in High Court proceedings after an aircraft lost power and crashed shortly after take-off causing significant injuries to the pilot. This case involved significant evidence spoliation issues.

• Defending a pilot in complex High Court proceedings after an aircraft clipped trees and crashed after take-off. The passenger is paralysed from the waist down because of the incident.

• Instructing a barrister to make a successful application to strike out a case brought against an airline after a passenger slipped and fell on airstairs (unreported).

• Acting for a jet charter broker in a high-profile helicopter rotor blade strike which decapitated a British tourist.

• Defending disability and discrimination cases relating to assistance dogs and Covid-19 face masks. These proceedings are typically brought under the Equality Act, Human Rights Act, Disability Regulations, and/or the Montreal Convention.

• Advising airlines on Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 and related litigation in English Courts.

• Acting for Malaysia Airlines in the MH370 and MH17 proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia.

• Acting in subrogated recovery proceedings involving a mid-air collision between two gliders. This case settled one week before trial.

• Acting for defendant airports in personal injury and slip, trip and fall proceedings.

Product Liability

• Attending a five-week jury inquest as instructing solicitor for a US aircraft manufacturer regarding the high-profile death of professional footballer Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash in the English Channel. Over 28 witnesses gave evidence at the inquest. I also acted in the related civil proceedings in the High Court in London involving 13 defendants. This case involved contested product liability, conflict of laws, limitation, employment, toxicology and negligence issues. A BBC documentary was made about the incident:

 

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

•  Acting in aircraft maintenance and contractual disputes. These disputes and contracts will sometimes have an international arbitration dispute resolution clause involving the following rules: International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC). Examples of my commercial litigation experience include:

• Acting for an airline in a USD 20 million contractual dispute against a maintenance organisation due to defective workmanship.

• Acting for a maintenance organisation in a USD 30 million termination dispute.

• Acting in contractual disputes between airlines and ground handling agents involving liability and indemnity clauses under IATA’s Standard Ground Handling Agreement. 

• Acting in commercial building and construction disputes involving damage to property at airports.

• Defending statutory demands and winding up petitions brought against airlines in English Courts. 

• Assisting in the total loss of an Embraer ERJ-190LR in Portugal and associated USD 20 million subrogated claim for gross negligence against a maintenance organisation.

Insurance Coverage

• Providing coverage advice to insurers on: 

• Policy triggers and occurrence/accident based insuring clauses. I.e. whether corrosive parts are covered when an aircraft is damaged. 

• Warranties and conditions in aviation policies. I.e. if the insured breaches warranties and conditions requiring compliance with air navigation rules.

• Exclusions in aviation policies. I.e. if an aircraft is being used for commercial or reward purposes when the policy only provides cover for private use, or if an aircraft is being used for filming, aerobatic, hunting, or crop-dusting purposes which are commonly excluded unless there is payment of an additional premium.

• Whether aircraft loss of use or consequential losses are covered under aviation or business interruption policies.

• Policy limits, sub-limits, insured / agreed values, and salvage issues.

• Policy endorsements, amendments and write backs.

• Completing a 12-month secondment to QBE Insurance. Experience on secondment includes:

• Assisting QBE with the Covid-19 business interruption test case in the High Court.

• Assisting QBE with the Covid-19 business interruption test case appeal in the Supreme Court.

• Providing detailed advice on coverage triggers in light of the judgments.

• Providing advice on coverage issues for various other lines of insurance including general liability, errors and omissions, directors and officers, professional indemnity (in particular solicitors, accountants and brokers), reinsurance, warranty & indemnity, and cyber. 

• Drafting and advising on binding authority agreements, claims handling agreements, service agreements and terms of business agreements.

 

Pro Bono

·    • Regular volunteering at a community legal advice centre. I provide legal advice on a wide range of litigation, family law, building, and tenancy issues. I was awarded a place on the 2025 Pro Bono Recognition List, which recognizes solicitors and barristers across England and Wales who have given 25 hours or more of their time to pro bono work.