// about
Drewry Cooper
A lawyer who has lived and worked in London, Seoul, Barcelona and Geneva — and spent most of it inside businesses that move energy, ships and software. I've sat in the GC chair and the partner chair, and I know the difference between legal advice and a commercial answer.
Senior Legal Counsel, Mercuria — Geneva
- Advised crude, fuel oil, distillates, gas, coal and metals desks at one of the world's top energy traders.
- Structured offtake and prepayment agreements for the fuel oil and metals desks.
- Led a landmark claim against the Baltic Exchange over Strait of Hormuz freight benchmarks.
- Ran a USD 26m Commercial Court claim on contaminated fuel oil cargo.
Shipping, bunkering & maritime disputes
- Lead lawyer for Mercuria Shipping: 140+ vessels on long lease, worldwide contract issues.
- General Counsel of Minerva Bunkering and MM Marine (50 vessels) — Singapore, US, Las Palmas, UAE.
- Won a USD 50m arbitration for owners of a VLCC detained in West Africa for over a year.
- Secured release of tankers seized by the South African Revenue Service.
- Partner managing 45 STX shipyard claims, incl. Teekay Tankers v STX (USD 180m, High Court).
- Ship sale & purchase and newbuilds of USD 50–100m; JV for 16 ECO short-sea vessels in the Baltic.
Digital ventures & legal tech
- Master's in Digital Solutions Development, University of Barcelona — ML, cloud, blockchain, agile.
- Set up ADP Clear, a digital bunker delivery platform, from term sheet to completion. Patent granted.
- Drafted the SaaS agreement and JV/investment agreement with an Australian DevOps partner.
- Trained and managed a 6-person contracts desk as the firm's front line.
Solicitor, England & Wales (2008) and Ireland
Diploma in Company Direction, IoD Ireland
Cert. Employment Law, National College of Ireland
LLB, Trinity College Dublin · LPC, Oxford