International arbitration: counsel

Leading Silks
2023 Silks
2024 Silks

Leading Silks

'He is a fantastic advocate, great with clients and a keen legal mind for international arbitration with a wealth of experience in the Middle East. Very user friendly and very reliable.'

Stuart Catchpole KC

Atkin Chambers

Anneliese Day KC

Fountain Court Chambers

'A forceful and authoritative advocate. She knows how to handle a tribunal in order to be persuasive, and is able to take the tribunal on when it is necessary.'

'Vernon is an excellent advocate and knows his audience extremely well. He is able to convey complex legal arguments in a clear and concise manner. He is also very responsive and industrious, quickly digesting large amounts of information and focusing on the pertinent factual and legal issues to provide timely advice.'

‘As his reputation indicates, he is currently the doyen of the English Bar. He exudes confidence and authority in court and has a colossal presence.’

David Joseph KC

Essex Court Chambers

'It goes without saying that substance of work, both advocacy and drafting, are absolutely first class.'

'He is extremely bright and knowledgeable about the law and arbitration practice. He is very friendly and easy to get on with and knows virtually everyone there is to know in the arbitration field. He treats everyone as an equal, despite his considerable success, and is a joy to work with. I would say he is the complete package.'

Charles Kimmins KC

Twenty Essex

‘Charles is a legal genius. His analytical skills and encyclopedic knowledge of the law are unparalleled. His advocacy skills are first-rate, and he has courts and tribunals eating out of the palm of his hand. Clients cannot rate him highly enough.’

‘No doubt Manus is top-notch and one of the very best in the field of oral advocacy, especially in complex high value disputes in the field of construction and engineering. His cross-examination is simply first-rate, excellent and truly outstanding.’

Richard Millett KC

Essex Court Chambers

‘Richard is a master advocate. His vast experience allows him to always be able to spot the issues and not lose the wood for the trees.’

Laurence Rabinowitz KC

One Essex Court

'An excellent strategist with real presence.'

Simon Rainey KC

Quadrant Chambers

'A 'go-to' Silk for the most complex international disputes. A superstar in all respects: intellect, team-oriented, client-friendly.'

Joe Smouha KC

Essex Court Chambers

'He is a valuable and distinguished asset in leading the legal team in complex disputes. His strengths include his strategic approach in complex cases, team leadership skills and deep expertise. He is impressive in arbitration hearings.'

David Streatfeild-James KC

Atkin Chambers

Bankim Thanki KC

Fountain Court Chambers

David Thomas KC

Keating Chambers

‘David is able to decipher the most complex issues and articulately and persuasively present them to the tribunal.’

Daniel Toledano KC

One Essex Court

'He is extremely bright, and a great advocate. But he is also hugely engaging, and a lot of fun to work with, even in the more stressful of environments.'

Nigel Tozzi KC

4 Pump Court

'Very experienced barrister who gives well delivered and incisive advice and can immediately gain the trust and confidence of clients.'

Andrew White KC

Atkin Chambers

Toby Landau KC

Chambers of Toby Landau KC

‘Toby is a highly skilled and proficient KC in the field of investment treaty arbitration. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the jurisprudence of investor/state investment treaty arbitration. Toby’s advocacy cannot be faulted. He reads the tribunal extremely well and has a marked ability to put a difficult argument highly persuasively.’

‘Acute legal mind, good judgement, sensitivity to the court’s approach to a case, excellent cross-examination, and works well with solicitors and juniors.’

'Richard is an absolute pleasure to work with. He is a go to barrister for cases involving complex quantum analysis. Having been a quantum expert for years he knows exactly where to attack quantum experts and his style is death by a thousand cuts. Richard is a clear and responsive leader, well-liked by the team.'

Veronique Buehrlen KC

Keating Chambers

'Veronique is sharp, to the point and always on top of the case. She knows every detail of the case without losing focus on the bigger picture. She is an absolute pleasure to work with.'

Alain Choo Choy KC

One Essex Court

‘He is extremely meticulous and knowledgeable in his work, and responsive to queries. He expresses himself well before the courts and has rapid replies to sometimes complex queries from the bench.’

'Fantastic advocate; great with clients; good at getting to the heart of a case.'

Chantal-Aimée Doerries KC

Atkin Chambers

'She is an absolute star as an advocate in international arbitrations. She knows how to handle international arbitral tribunals and has a deep appreciation of how to put a client's case to them.'

'Andrew is one of the leading construction silks. He always rolls his sleeves up and gets into the detail.'

'The doyen of construction disputes in the Middle East, both as advocate and increasingly as an arbitrator. Clear, concise and firm in his views.'

Christopher Harris KC

3 Verulam Buildings

‘A formidable cross-examiner and an impressive advocate. Commands the respect of the tribunal. Diligent and hard-working, with a good eye for detail. Good judgement for the points that would resonate with the tribunal.’

Robert Howe KC

Blackstone Chambers

Timothy Howe KC

Fountain Court Chambers

James Howells KC

Atkin Chambers

‘Always calm and easily creates a rapport with the tribunal. He is able to easily and fluently change tack or approach as matters develop in the course of a trial. He is able to master foreign legal concepts quickly and debate these concepts with senior tribunal members who are well versed in the foreign law in question.’

Adrian Hughes KC

39 Essex Chambers

‘Adrian's strategic instincts are excellent, and his advocacy is masterful. He also has superb client care and inspires confidence.’

Simon Hughes KC

Keating Chambers

'Simon is very persuasive. He is charming which is disarming and very effective.'

'Riaz is a leading silk. He quickly gets on top of the issues and his oral advocacy is excellent.'

‘There are no weaknesses. He is simply better prepared than all his opponents and he has been up against the very best. He outworks them, and then he’s like the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but more courteous.’

Tim Lord KC

Brick Court Chambers

'Superb grasp of law and related strategy and an excellent advocate.'

Alison Macdonald KC

Essex Court Chambers

'Alison has incredibly depth of knowledge when it comes to arbitration. She adds specialist knowledge where required both on arbitration and human rights issues. She's also a real pleasure to work with - her cooperative, helpful approach has been much appreciated by the whole team.'

Harry Matovu KC

Brick Court Chambers

‘Harry is simply put, the best. He is strong on all accounts, and a pleasure to work with.’

'Hugely experienced, towering presence in international arbitration.'

‘Salim is an incredible team leader. He is a skilled, incisive advocate. His preparation is precise, thorough and meticulous. His cross-examination skills are excellent.’

Stephen Moriarty KC

Fountain Court Chambers

Sean O’Sullivan KC

4 Pump Court

'Accessible, responsive, knows the subject matter well.'

Lionel Persey KC

Quadrant Chambers

Andrew Rigney KC

Crown Office Chambers

'Andrew is a phenomenally effective cross-examiner, able to get the most difficult witnesses under control and responsive. He is extremely good at opening and closing submissions, where he gets to the point in a way that engages the tribunal at all times.'

'Exceptional advocate, very good on his feet and under pressure. Extremely good in conferences with clients. Very knowledgeable and hard working.'

'Very bright, very quick and extremely good as an advocate.'

'Tim is a top commercial Silk with fantastic analytical skills, who is very friendly and easy to work with. One of Tim's main strengths is his willingness to work on legally difficult or complex cases which challenge legal orthodoxy or group think.'

David Bailey KC

7 King’s Bench Walk

‘International arbitration is David’s forte. He is a big beast in this field. Brilliant with tribunals and clients, including governments, alike.’

'Rupert is a brilliant lawyer, who knows how to integrate another counsel team and bring a real input. He is a great strategist and is amazing in cross examination. He is a real expert in construction law.'

James Collins KC

Essex Court Chambers

'James can master a vast amount of factual material in a relatively short period of time. His cross examination is excellent. He is particularly strong on financial law.'

Jonathan Crow KC

4 Stone Buildings

'His advocacy skills are outstanding - he is one of a very small number of supersilks, and definitely the man to have on your side on multi-billion-dollar arbitration enforcement. He has the court's ear at every hearing and is grapples smoothly with the most complex point on geopolitically sensitive cases. Excellent to work with, and clients appreciate his wise, but charming counsel.'

Ricky Diwan KC

Essex Court Chambers

'Ricky's mastery of the detail is hugely impressive, and he combines a first-rate intellect with a measured style and powerful advocacy performance.'

‘Karim simplifies the most complex issues with ease and his ability to master large amounts of details with ease is unparalleled. He brings a calm presence to the proceedings, never loses sight of what really matters and what will resonate with the tribunal. His advocacy skills are incredible.’

'Andrew is a formidable KC. He is very clever, a great tactician, user friendly and, above all, a superb advocate particularly skilled at cross-examination. If ever there was a Silk for a difficult case, then Andrew is that person.'

'First class silk. An excellent and uncompromising advocate who leaves no stone unturned. An invaluable presence on complex and high value international disputes.'

Stephen Hofmeyr KC

7 King’s Bench Walk

'Senior and seasoned barrister. Very approachable and easy to instruct. Understands and reads Judges and tribunal well. Stephen works well in a big team as well.'

Philippa Hopkins KC

Essex Court Chambers

'Philippa is a formidable leading counsel and a real asset to any case. She is an excellent advocate who is able to present even the most complex of legal and factual points clearly and succinctly. Philippa is exceedingly intelligent and makes light work of the most mind bendingly difficult points. She is a strong team player and has a good way with clients.'

Sa’ad Hossain KC

One Essex Court

‘Sa’ad is absolutely fantastic. He is particularly strong on fraud and is excellent at explaining to clients the nuances of complex cases. He’s very user-friendly. It’s always is a great experience working with Sa’ad.’

Ben Juratowitch KC

Essex Court Chambers

'Excellent advocatory skills. Able to simplify an explain complex legal concepts. Very hard working and responsive. Always collegial and considerate.'

‘Philip’s reputation as a star is well-deserved. He is the complete package. Philip is a masterful advocate and a gifted strategist with an incredibly sharp wit. He is able to quickly grasp the issues and formulate a strategy to achieve the client’s legal and commercial objectives.’

Sara Masters KC

Twenty Essex

'Sara combines excellent subject matter knowledge (specifically on EU law implications for a foreign law award) and a real talent for focusing the client on the essentials which will make the difference between a winning case and a losing one. She's prompt, responsive, will take the initiative, and a pleasure to work with.'

'Tom is devastatingly good at dismantling the other side's expert witness. He has a brilliant way of bringing together disparate threads and ensuring that the key points land.'

Jonathan Nash KC

3 Verulam Buildings

'A very smooth advocate, highly persuasive and has a good rapport with judges.'

Jern-Fei Ng KC

7BR

'A tremendous advocate. He is able to distill the most complex facts and legal arguments into an incisive argument to win the case.'

‘Highly intelligent and effective advocate. One of the best cross examiners at the London Bar.’

David Railton KC

Fountain Court Chambers

Marc Rowlands KC

Keating Chambers

'His advocacy is robust, direct and well-reasoned.'

Rebecca Sabben-Clare KC

7 King’s Bench Walk

‘She has a wealth of experience in the insurance field. She gives excellent, practical advice. She is very easy to work with and pleasant to deal with. A very good team member and leader.’

Fountain Court Chambers

'Richard is confident and astute. He is clear in his advice and guides the clients through the issues despite the complexity of the cases.'

Sam Wordsworth KC

Essex Court Chambers

Guy Blackwood KC

Quadrant Chambers

'Guy is quick, clever and extremely client-friendly. He makes difficult to understand concepts straightforward and does so without any fuss. He is also exceptionally accommodating.'

Robert-Jan Temmink KC

Quadrant Chambers

‘Rob is an extremely effective advocate. He is true class. An excellent leader who gets stuck into the detail and processes information quickly to present it in the most compelling way. His cross-examination technique leaves no prisoners, and he knows instinctively when to press for more information and when not to. Rob is excellent with clients who all like him enormously and hold him in very high regard.’