From 1984 to 1990 and again 1998 to 2001 Hew practiced as a Petroleum Law and Risk Management Consultant ad this experience is directly relevant to his current arbitral practice.

Having spent most of his working life dealing with the legal and insurance (and also financial and taxation) affairs of the international oil & gas industry, until 1998 as General Manager Legal at what was a FTSE100 company (peaking at 45th place) and, at the same time, being Group Insurance Manager and Company Secretary and sometime acting International Tax Planning Manager.

In his legal capacity, he worked in or with more than 20 jurisdictions around the world and advised governments or government entities in eight. From 1993-98 he was Vice-Chairman of the world upstream oil industry's premier legal committee, the E&P Forum Legal Committee, and he was founding chairman of that Committee’s Insurance Sub-Committee in which capacity he represented the international oil industry in negotiations with EU officials in Brussels leading to the significant mitigation of the effect on the oil industry of certain EU Directives.