Profile: Nicolas J S Lockhart

Trade and Customs

Biography: Trade & Customs

Nicolas Lockhart counsels companies, trade associations and governments on international trade and investment law, in particular WTO law. Mr Lockhart's practice focuses on using international rules to help clients improve market access and tackle regulatory barriers that affect the movement of goods, services and capital across borders. He has also assisted clients in protecting intellectual property rights granted by international agreements.

Drawing on five years spent advising the WTO appellate body, Mr Lockhart offers clients in-depth experience of WTO practice, procedures and substantive law. In private practice, he has appeared before WTO panels, arbitrators and the appellate body with the delegations of several different WTO members. He has litigated disputes involving agricultural and industrial subsidies, anti-dumping, customs regulation, intellectual property rights, internal market rules and interpretation of WTO schedules. He has also worked on disputes touching on WTO exceptions for public health, customs enforcement and free trade agreements. Mr Lockhart has assisted clients at all stages of WTO dispute settlement from developing cases to securing effective implementation.

He advises clients on potential improvements to the WTO agreements in the context of Doha Development Round of trade negotiations, including in relation to agricultural and industrial subsidies, anti-dumping, dispute settlement and services.

Mr Lockhart has extensive experience in EC law gained during nearly four years advising Judge David A O Edward at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, working in a variety of areas including EC competition and trade law and the status of WTO rules in EC law.