After being called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1990, Justice Wallbank did pupillage in Gray’s Inn, London.

From 1991 to 1995 he was employed with Messrs. Thomas Miller & Co., the managers of the United Kingdom Mutual Steam Ship Assurance Association (Europe) Limited (“UK P & I Club”) and the United Kingdom Freight Demurrage and Defence Association Limited (“UK Defence Club”) as a Claims Executive, rising to the Netherlands Area Team Leader.  In these roles he handled Shipowners’ and Charterers’ third-party maritime liability insurance claims and conducted maritime arbitration management.

From 1995 to 1997, he moved to New Zealand, working as an insurance broker and in-house lawyer at Messrs. Ahlers & Associates, Whangarei, New Zealand.

From 1997 to 2004, he was employed by Messrs. Holman Fenwick & Willan in London, England, as a Barrister and Solicitor in their Dry Shipping, Trade & Energy Department, for over eight years practising mainly arbitration law in charterparty, bills of lading and cargo damage disputes, as well as banking and insolvency litigation work.

In 2004, he was employed by Messrs. Webster Dyrud Mitchell (subsequently WEBSTER LP), Anguilla, as Head of Litigation and principal advocate for both their Anguilla and Nevis practices, until he was appointed in 2019 to act as a full-time Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, BVI High Court (Commercial Division).  Whilst practicing as a Barrister and Solicitor at this firm, his work mainly consisted of commercial, financial, corporate, insolvency and contract law disputes; construction arbitration, equity and trusts litigation.

Justice Wallbank’s particular areas of arbitration experience are as a legal practitioner conducting Trade, Shipping and Construction arbitrations.  In his capacity as BVI Commercial Court Judge he has frequently dealt with applications to recognise and enforce arbitration awards as well as to set aside or vary arbitral decisions on legal and procedural grounds.

Justice Wallbank also has extensive experience of mediation as part of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court’s High Court mediation scheme, and, in a judicial capacity, has acted as a Compulsory Judicial Mediator.