Brick Court Chambers

Aarushi Sahore

Aarushi practises across all areas of commercial and public law. She joined chambers as a tenant in September 2021 following the successful completion of pupillage. Before coming to the Bar, Aarushi was a dual-qualified solicitor in Australia and England & Wales. Aarushi graduated with an LLB (First Class) from the University of Sydney in 2014 and an LLM (First Class) from the University of Cambridge in 2019. At Cambridge she ranked first in two subjects (Legal History and the Economics of Law and Regulation), and was awarded the President’s Prize at Queens’ College.

Aidan Robertson KC

Aidan Robertson KC specialises in competition, EU and public law. He has appeared in numerous cases in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in England and in the General Court and Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as appearing at oral hearings before competition and regulatory authorities. He has acted as counsel, expert witness and arbitrator in arbitrations. He also has an extensive advisory practice. He has a broad client base, acting for both private clients and public authorities.

Alan Roxburgh

Barrister specialising in general commercial and common law, including banking, insurance and reinsurance, sale of goods, professional negligence, shipping and international trade. Reported and other important cases: Seaconsar Far East Ltd v Bank Markazi Jomhouri Islami Iran [1994] 1 AC 438; The Mahkutai [1996] AC 650; Nederlandse Reassurantie Groep Holding NV v Bacon and Woodrow [1995] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 404, [1997] LRLR 678; Camdex International Ltd v Bank of Zambia [1997] CLC 714; Republic of India v India Steamship Co Ltd, The Indian Endurance and Indian Grace (No 2) [1994] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 331, [1998] AC 878; British Coal Respiratory Disease Litigation (23 January 1998); R v Lord Saville of Newdigate, ex parte B [1999] EWHC Admin 232, [1999] EWCA Civ 1136; R v Lord Saville of Newdigate, ex parte A [1999] EWHC Admin 556, [2000] 1 WLR 1855; R (A) v Lord Saville of Newdigate (No 2) [2001] EWHC Admin 888, [2002] 1 WLR 1249; counsel to the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, 1998-2010; AstraZeneca UK Ltd v International Business Machines Corporation [2011] EWHC 306 (TCC), [2011] EWHC 3373 (TCC); Standard Bank plc v Via Mat International Ltd [2013] 2 All ER (Comm) 1222; Fortress Value Recovery Fund I LLC v Blue Skye Special Opportunities Fund LP [2014] EWHC 1052 (Comm), [2014] EWHC 551 (Comm); Fairfield Sentry Ltd v Migani [2014] 1 CLC 611; Akers v Samba Financial Group [2014] 16 ITELR 808, [2015] Ch 451; ABN AMRO Fund Services (Isle of Man) Nominees Ltd v Krys (BVIHC (COM) 2009/0136, 11 March 2016).

Alastair Richardson

Alastair practises in public, competition and commercial law. He joined chambers as a tenant in September 2022 following the successful completion of pupillage supervised by Sarah Abram KC, Sarah Bousfield and James McClelland KC. Alastair studied law at Trinity College Dublin (LLB, First Class) and the University of Oxford (BCL, Distinction). At Oxford, he received the Herbert Hart prize for ranking first in Jurisprudence and Political Theory. Prior to commencing pupillage, Alastair worked as a Research Assistant at the Law Commission of England & Wales and completed the bar course at the Inns of Court College of Advocacy.

Alec Haydon KC

QC

Allan Cerim

Allan is a highly sought after junior in the fields of commercial litigation, international arbitration (both commercial and investor-state), and public international law. He has experience well beyond his years of call, including cross-examining various witnesses over the course of three days in a $50m ICSID arbitration. He regularly acts in high-profile and high-value cases, including a number of cases featured in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases. His practice spans a number of jurisdictions, including Russia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Alongside his general commercial practice, Allan is a leading junior in the field of sanctions. He has acted in high-profile sanctions litigation, and regularly advises clients on the UK and EU regimes, including de-listing applications, issues of ownership and control, licence applications, compliance, enforcement, and the effect of sanctions on commercial contracts.

Anderson of Ipswich KBE KC

David’s practice is built on his knowledge of European Union, human rights and public law, developed with the help of skills learned working in Brussels and Washington DC and teaching at King’s College London.  He has written and lectured widely on these subjects and appears regularly in Luxembourg (EU courts), Strasbourg (European Court of Human Rights) and in the full range of English courts.

Andrew Thomas

Barrister specialising in general commercial litigation. Cases: Bancomext v ETECSA (recognition of foreign judgment, and associated domestic and worldwide freezing orders); IPOC v L V Finance (international commercial arbitration relating to telecommunications industry); BHP v Dalmine (junior Counsel during quantum stage of proceedings in relation to delayed production of oil and gas); Barings Plc v Cooper & Lybrand (auditors’ negligence action); junior counsel to BSE inquiry 1998-2000; Raja v Hoogstraten.

Andrew McIntyre

Andrew practises in public, administrative, European and commercial law. He has broad experience of domestic and international human rights litigation, having worked on Constitutional Court cases in South Africa, Alien Tort Statute claims in the United States and judicial review claims in the UK. Recent cases include Žilic v Croatia, an application to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of a state’s failure to prosecute war crimes (with Martin Chamberlain QC). At Yanagida & Partners he worked on several international antitrust cases; his recent experience in European and competition law includes GTS Gas Turbine Services v Rolls-Royce, a damages claim under Article 102 TFEU (with Robert O’Donoghue). He regularly appears on his own in the High Court and in the county courts.

Ben Woolgar

Ben specialises in heavy-duty, high profile commercial litigation and arbitration. His broad commercial practice spans civil fraud, energy, banking, mining and insurance work, including jurisdiction challenges and injunctions. He is recommended as a “Rising Star” in Legal 500 for Commercial Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration, Civil Fraud, Banking and Finance and Energy, and is also recommended in Chambers & Partners for Commercial Dispute Resolution and Civil Fraud. He has appeared in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases list in all but one of the years he has been in practice.

Catharine Otton-Goulder KC

Catharine works in general commercial and common law. She handles very large, paper-heavy, litigation as well as smaller trials, arbitrations, and applications. She particularly enjoys complicated and intellectually stimulating work, and solving knotty problems. She has extensive experience in work involving many jurisdictions, both in foreign courts and in arbitrations in this jurisdiction and elsewhere, foreign laws and conflicts of laws issues, injunctions (especially freezing orders) and the tactical, strategic and evidential problems which arise in the conduct of such litigation. She is particularly interested in the best ways of achieving enforcement of judgments and awards.

Charles Hollander QC

Charles practises as an advocate both in the English courts and internationally. He has been called to the Hong Kong Bar and also accepts instructions as a full member of Temple Chambers in Hong Kong. He has appeared in court in Cayman, Bermuda, Bahamas, BVI, Gibraltar and Brunei. He is principally a commercial litigator with a broad practice whose strength is his vast experience in court, whether at interlocutory, trial or appellate level or in arbitrations. His books Documentary Evidence and Conflicts of Interest are well-known and he has argued many of the leading cases in those areas.  He is also used as an advocate in major EU and competition matters.

Charlotte Thomas

Charlotte has a broad practice which covers all areas of chambers’ work, including commercial, EU/competition and public law.

Charlotte Tan

Charlotte has a broad commercial practice, with a particular focus on civil fraud, international arbitration, insurance, international trade and finance, and private international law. She is regularly instructed in matters in the High Court and the Court of Appeal. Charlotte also acts in international arbitrations under different rules (London Court of International Arbitration, International Chamber of Commerce and London Maritime Arbitrators Association). She has substantial experience of applications for interim relief, in particular freezing orders and anti-suit injunctions. Charlotte regularly accepts instructions from overseas clients, in particular from Singapore and Hong Kong. She provides advices and pleadings as well as assisting with all aspects of case preparation for final hearings. In 2014, she was selected in Legal Week’s “Stars at the Bar” as one of ten “up-and-coming commercial and Chancery barristers recognised for their exceptional abilities”. Charlotte was described as a junior who is “unflappable and always manages to maintain a calm, clear head and a sense of perspective”, “highly sought after” and a “real star”. In 2009 Charlotte spent time at a large London LLP working within the international trade department. In 2010 she was seconded to Rajah & Tann in Singapore.

Chintan Chandrachud

Chintan joined chambers in July 2021, after spending four years as a solicitor at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. His practice covers commercial litigation, arbitration and public law litigation. His past and present representations include acting for NMC Health in a $2.5 billion professional negligence claim against EY at the Commercial Court, acting for a Ukrainian commercial bank in PCA arbitration proceedings under the Russia-Ukraine Bilateral Investment Treaty, and acting for a British mining conglomerate in the largest ever tax dispute ($200 billion) against the Tanzania Revenue Authority. As a solicitor, Chintan was listed by Chambers & Partners as an “associate to watch”, and by Legal 500 as a “key lawyer”, for tax litigation. In 2023, Chintan was the only barrister to receive an India-UK Achievers Award (from amongst the 75 achievers selected) at the India UK Achievers Honours.

Colin West KC

Colin practises in commercial law and competition law. His commercial law practice covers contractual disputes of all kinds, including shipping/shipbuilding, offshore construction/exploration, insurance and reinsurance, shareholder disputes, civil fraud and conflict of laws. His competition practice consists primarily of damages claims, whether in relation to anti-competitive agreements or abuse of dominance, although he has also had substantial involvement in FRAND litigation recently. His practice encompasses industry sectors including financial services, telecoms, media, sport and entertainment, transport, food and drink, consumer goods and professional services. He appears both in litigation and arbitration. Important recent cases in which Colin was instructed include the following: Conversant Wireless Licensing SARL v Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. [2020] UKSC 37 (Supreme Court) (heard together with the Unwired Planet appeal). The leading judgment concerning jurisdictional aspects of FRAND litigation in England and Wales. OnePlus Technology v Mitsubishi Electric Corp [2020] EWCA Civ 1562 (Court of Appeal). Judgment concerning confidentiality protection for comparable licences in FRAND litigation. IPCom v HTC [2020] EWHC 2941 (Pat) (Birss J). Judgment concerning jurisdictional scope of damages inquiry in claim for infringement of standards-essential patent. Allianz Global Investors v Barclays Bank [2021] EWHC 399 (Comm). Judgment concerning pass-on in massive follow-on litigation arising out anti-competitive manipulation of the forex market. iiyama UK Limited v Samsung Electronics Ltd. [2018] EWCA Civ 229 (Court of Appeal). The leading case on the territorial scope of competition laws in private damages proceedings. Renate Blauel v Sir Elton John. Litigation concerning whether superstar musician’s memoir and involvement in biopic contravened the contractual terms upon which he had separated from his former wife. Michael Standing and Axis Football Investments Ltd. v Lee Power. Litigation concerning ownership and future management/control of Swindon Town Football Club.

Craig Morrison KC

Craig practises in all areas of chambers’ work, with a particular focus on commercial litigation and arbitration. He regularly appears in the High Court and the appeal courts, both led and unled, and is currently instructed in a wide range of commercial disputes. Cases that Craig has appeared in include UBS v. KWL (for the successful Defendant in a USD340 million claim to enforce several complex derivatives, raising issues of bribery, conflict of interest and negligent portfolio management, with Tim Lord QC and Simon Salzedo QC), Berezovsky v Abramovich (for the successful Defendant in a high-profile dispute between Russian oligarchs, with Jonathan Sumption QC, Helen Davies QC and Daniel Jowell QC); Howden North America Inc v Ace European Group Ltd (the English phase of an insurance dispute arising out of mass-tort litigation in the United States, with Harry Matovu QC and John Lockey QC); SNCB Holdings v UBS AG (a claim by the Belgian state railway company arising out of derivative transactions, with Jasbir Dhillon QC); and Arsanovia Ltd v Cruz City I Mauritius Holdings (a claim to set aside an arbitration award, with Jonathan Hirst QC).

Crawford Jamieson

Crawford accepts instructions across all areas of Chambers’ practice, including commercial law, public international law, EU/competition law, human rights law and public law. Crawford joined Chambers in 2021 after successful completion of his pupillage with Tony Singla KC, Sarah Abram KC and Richard Eschwege. From 2021 to 2022, Crawford was seconded to the Supreme Court where he worked as the judicial assistant to Lord Lloyd-Jones.

Daniel Jowell KC

Daniel Jowell KC is one of the Bar’s foremost silks for both commercial law and competition law.  He is listed across multiple categories of the legal directories and appears regularly at all levels of the court and tribunal system, including the Court of Appeal, Commercial Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal. He has also acted in a number of major international commercial arbitrations.

Daniel Piccinin KC

Daniel Piccinin practises in all areas of chambers’ work and has particular expertise in competition law matters. Recent EU/competition law cases include Tesco v OFT (acting for Tesco in its challenge to the OFT’s Dairy Cartel decision); Ryanair v Competition Commission and Aer Lingus (acting for Aer Lingus before the Court of Appeal in support of the CC’s decision to continue investigating Ryanair’s minority stake in Aer Lingus) and Case 201/11 P UEFA v Commission (acting for UEFA in its free movement and competition law challenge to the Commission’s approval of the UK’s protected list of sporting events). Daniel has also acted in a number of commercial disputes, including the Cherney v Deripaska Commercial Court litigation.

David Scannell KC

David Scannell KC is a specialist in competition, pharmaceutical, regulatory and EU law. He  acted for Sky in its successful appeal against the imposition by Ofcom of the wholesalemust-offer obligation in respect of premium sports channels (Sky v Ofcom [2012] CAT 20) and continues to act for Sky in relation to consequential aspects of the appeal. He also acted in a series of appeals against the imposition of fines by the European Commission for cartel offences in the elevators and escalators market (Case T-151/07 KONE Corporation & ors v Commission). In 2006, he appeared, unled, in a series of Article 101 TFEU/Chapter I cases in the Chancery and Queen’s Bench Divisions, each of which resulted in the successful enforcement by Punch Taverns plc of the beer-tie provisions in its leases. David has also acted in a number of EU law cases before the European and English courts. He acted for Telefonica 02 Europe plc, Orange and T-Mobile in the landmark Vodafone & ors v S/S BERR litigation before the Grand Chamber of the ECJ (Case C-58/08) and for Audace in its successful challenge of the imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports of glyphosate from China (Case T-498/04 Zhejiang Zinan Chemical Industrial Group v Council and, on appeal, Case C-337/09P). He currently acts for Aer Lingus in its challenge to the Commission’s state aid decision relating to the Irish air travel tax (Case T-500/12 Aer Lingus v Commission) and in its intervention in similar proceedings brought by Ryanair (Case T-500/12 Ryanair v Commission). Currently acts for Erste Bank in large debt and conspiracy claims against multiple Russian defendants (Erste v Red October), for the National Asset Management Agency (Ireland) in claims for the recovery of assets in the UK (National Asset Loan Management v Grehan), for Deutsche Lufthansa in proceedings against insolvent Spanish airlines (Deutsche Lufthansa v Futura International Airways), for the National Trust in proceedings that are currently confidential and in proceedings relating to the provenance of Persian art (Sarikhani v Horiuchi). He has represented international creditors of Greece in relation to Greece’s restructuring of her sovereign debt and continues to act for institutional creditors of Iceland in relation to the collapse of the Icelandic banks in 2008. David is also a member of the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and has appeared in complex fraud proceedings in the BVI.

David Bailey

David Bailey specialises in competition and EU law. David has appeared in a number of notable competition cases at the Bar. He acted for the European Commission in defending its decisions in Ryanair/Aer Lingus, Lundbeck, Servier and Power Cables. He is acting for HSBC, Bank of America and Facebook in challenging Commission decisions in, respectively, Euribor, European Government Bonds and Facebook data. He is currently instructed in various competition disputes in the Competition Appeal Tribunal and High Court, including the claims for damages in Trucks, FX, Smart Card Chips and RoRo. He has also appeared, both led and unled, for the Competition and Markets Authority, including in the appeals against the CMA’s decisions in Paroxetine, Phenytoin, Liothyronine and Hydrocortisone.

Edward Ho

Edward advises on commercial disputes of all kinds, in particular those with a public or private international law element, and has appeared as sole counsel in the Court of Appeal, High Court and in arbitration. Across Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500 Edward is identified as a leading junior in five practice areas: Commercial Dispute Resolution; International Commercial Arbitration; Public International Law; Civil Fraud and Energy.

Edward Harrison

Edward Harrison has a broad commercial litigation and arbitration practice encompassing civil fraud, banking and finance, professional negligence (including accountants' negligence and proceedings involving the FRC), energy and the conflict of laws. He also has experience of public international law and human rights, and is regularly instructed in proceedings overseas (including, on a number of occasions, before the DIFC and QFC Courts). Before coming to the Bar, Edward was an undergraduate and graduate student at Worcester College, Oxford, where he was subsequently a lecturer in contract law. Edward has been instructed in a number of the leading commercial cases before the English Courts of recent years, including ENRC v Dechert, BayernLB v Bernie Ecclestone, Libyan Investment Authority v Goldman Sachs and UBS v KWL. His recommendations in the legal directories cover multiple practice areas, including commercial litigation, civil fraud and professional negligence. As well as referring to his “very strong intellectual and analytical mind” and “commercial approach” he is also described as “fantastically responsive” and a “strong team player”.

Emilie Gonin

Emilie specialises in investment treaty and international commercial arbitration as well as commercial litigation relating thereto. She also has significant expertise in public international law and human rights law. She is ranked in the legal directories for international arbitration and public international law, which describe her as a “brilliant lawyer, thorough in her analysis, precise in her drafting and clear in her thoughts”, “an excellent and committed junior who is a great team player and a joy to work with” and a barrister whose “enthusiasm is matched with a razor-sharp mind”.

Emily MacKenzie

Emily takes instructions in commercial, administrative and competition/European law. She regularly appears in the High Court and the appeal courts, both led and unled. Cases that Emily has appeared in recently include: R (Forge Care Homes) v Cardiff & Vale University Health Board and Others (a judicial review concerning the respective responsibility of the NHS and Local Authorities for the funding of nursing care in nursing homes, for the Local Authority Interested Parties with Richard Gordon QC); Barco de Vapor v Thanet District Council (a Chancery Division claim for Francovich damages and for breach of statutory duty following a ban on transporting live animals through Ramsgate Port, with Andrew Henshaw QC); Stott v Thomas Cook (instructed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the Supreme Court on behalf of a disabled claimant seeking damages for injury to feelings during the course of flight, with Martin Chamberlain QC and Robin Allen QC); and Resolution Chemicals v Lundbeck (appealing to the Court of Appeal against Arnold J’s decision not to recuse himself from hearing the underlying patent action on the grounds of actual bias alleged to arise as a result of his association whilst a student with one of the party’s expert witnesses, with Richard Gordon QC). Emily has also advised in a wide range of public, commercial and competition work.

Emma Mockford

Emma is a sought after junior, with a busy practice spanning all areas of chambers’ work including EU and competition law, public and human rights law, and commercial law. She is regularly instructed in complex and high-profile litigation, both led and as a sole advocate, across all of her core practice areas and in a range of tribunals including the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, and Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Fergus Randolph KC

Fergus Randolph KC is at the forefront of EU and competition law litigation at the English bar. He regularly appears before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), General Court, all divisions of the High Court and the Competition Appeal Tribunal as well as acting for clients before competition regulators. In addition, Fergus is particularly sought after for his expertise in EU and UK Sanctions, Commercial Agency, and Public Procurement and all aspects of EU related Judicial Review. He has been a member of the Bar Council Brexit/Future Relations committee and has been in regular discussions with civil servants on the Brexit transition and the eventual Trade and Cooperation Agreement agreed at the end of 2021.  He has written extensively on those arrangements and will continue to contribute his thoughts on the TCA. Fergus is a full member of the Brussels bar and as such is entitled to advise and represent clients on matters of EU law before the EU Commission and the EU Courts in Luxembourg. Prior to practising at the London bar, Fergus spent 15 years in Brussels including time at the European Commission and his practice has taken him to international jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, the Falkland Islands and the South Georgia Supreme Court. His present cases include competition follow-on claims both in the English and continential EU courts, constitutional EU cases in the EU General Court, fisheries disputes in the London High Court, sanctions issues involving the EU Blocking Regulation and commercial agency arbitration. Throughout his career, he has appeared in many leading cases including White v. White (House of Lords), Lonsdale (House of Lords). Quark (South Georgia Supreme Court and the House of Lords), Ingmar (European Court of Justice), Arkin v. Borchard Lines (High Court and Court of Appeal), Albion Water (Competition Appeal Tribunal), Churchill Insurance v. Wilkinson (High Court, Court of Appeal and European Court of Justice), Bloomsbury International (Supreme Court) and IRISL (General Court). Prior to taking silk in 2009, Fergus Randolph had been identified as one of the leading juniors in EU and Competition law in Chambers and Partners and in Legal 500 and is now recognised in both as a leading silk. In appropriate cases Fergus will accept instructions on a direct access basis within his areas of expertise. He is fully accredited under the Bar Council’s Public Access Rules.

Fionn Pilbrow

QC

Fred Hobson KC

Barrister undertaking general commercial work, with focus on fraud and banking and financial services.  Recent work includes: Terra Firma v Citibank; Pinchuk v Bogolyubov & Kolomoisky.

Frederick Wilmot-Smith

Frederick’s practice is principally in commercial law. He has substantial appellate experience, having appeared before the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court on a number of occasions, and has also appeared in the Privy Council. As well as his practice as a litigator, he provides advice and acts as an expert on all aspects of English private law. Fred is currently instructed in Republic of Mozambique v Credit Suisse International, a claim in the Commercial Court of over US$2 billion, and in Azima v RAKIA and others, a claim alleging State-sponsored hacking and which seeks to set aside judgments of the High Court and Court of Appeal as having been procured by fraud. And he is instructed as sole counsel in a number of arbitral matters as well as (in both the British Virgin Islands and United Kingdom) a claim brought by numerous Mongolian State entities. A number of his unled cases are valued at over US$100m. He has also appeared unled in the High Court and County Court on a range of applications. In all his work he is able to draw on his considerable experience as an academic lawyer. He was previously an academic at the University of Oxford, where he is a Fellow of All Souls College. He has published widely on a range of subjects and taught, for example, graduate seminars in commercial remedies and restitution of unjust enrichment. His work has been cited by the United Kingdom Supreme Court, as well as the highest courts in Australia, Canada and Singapore.

Geoffrey Kuehne

Geoffrey’s practice covers the full range of commercial litigation and international arbitration. He is ranked as a leading junior in Commercial Dispute Resolution and Banking & Finance, with the current edition of Legal 500 describing him as “a Silk for the future” with a “first rate legal mind” and a “pragmatic and user-friendly approach”.  The directories have also described him as: “One of the rising stars of the London Bar across both commercial litigation and arbitration.” “A pleasure to work with, … very bright but also pragmatic and practical, and his background as a solicitor means that he really gets what we are looking for from junior counsel and how he can add value to the team.” “A true expert in derivatives litigation. Geoff has the perfect combination of technical brilliance plus the courtroom skills to fight as hard as it takes.” “An exceptional talent, with really deep knowledge of finance and particularly derivatives disputes.” Geoffrey has extensive experience in large-scale and high-profile High Court litigation, including two of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2022 (Privatbank v Kolomoisky & Ors, and Rowe v Ingenious Media), as well as international arbitration, banking and financial disputes (in particular derivatives litigation), civil fraud, professional negligence, sport, technology and energy and resources.  Geoffrey also regularly acts as sole counsel in trials in the Chancery Division, Commercial Court, and the TCC.  Many of the cases in which he is instructed involve the application of foreign law, or otherwise have an international element. Prior to joining chambers in 2012, Geoffrey was a Senior Associate and solicitor-advocate at Herbert Smith Freehills (London office). His experience at HSF included a year seconded to a major investment bank, and nearly two years as a member of HSF's in-house advocacy unit. Geoffrey was first admitted as a barrister and solicitor in Western Australia in 2006, before relocating to London.

Georgina Petrova

Georgina undertakes a broad range of commercial work in litigation and arbitration. Before joining chambers, Georgina practised as part of the International Dispute Resolution Group in a leading US law firm. She has represented states, multinational companies and high net-worth individuals in complex, high-value disputes relating to Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Russia and the CIS. Examples of Georgina’s recent court cases include: AutoStore v Ocado: acting for AutoStore, a Norwegian warehouse robot technology innovator, in a high profile patent infringement dispute with Ocado, which gives rise to (inter alia) novel and complex conflict of laws issues in breach of confidence claims (led by Vernon Flynn QC). The High Court trial took place in March and April 2022. Bourlakova v Bourlakov and 12 others: acting for Loudmila Bourlakova, wife of deceased oligarch Oleg Bourlakov, against her deceased husband’s relatives and associates in claims arising from a conspiracy to defraud Mrs Bourlakova and her daughters of their rightful share of the family’s assets (led by Helen Davies QC).  The claimants successfully defeated multiple challenges to the English Court’s jurisdiction. Trower J’s judgment is available here: [2022] EWHC 1269 (Ch) EnQuest v. BP: acting for EnQuest, a UK-based petroleum exploration and production company,   in a dispute with British Petroleum regarding the operation costs of one of Europe’s largest oil terminals (led by Fionn Pilbrow QC). The High Court trial is listed in March 2023. VTB v Sberbank and others: acting for Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, in a High Court dispute with VTB involving allegations of fraud in the context of the insolvency of one of Russia’s largest oil refineries (led by Lord Goldsmith QC and James Willan QC). The dispute gives rise to complex and novel issues of jurisdiction relating to proceedings commenced in support of London-seated arbitration proceedings. Sberbank successfully challenged the English Court’s jurisdiction. Cockerill J’s judgment is available here [2021] EWHC 1758 (Comm) Hinduja v Hinduja: acting for the Hinduja brothers in a multi-billion dollar High Court dispute over the family’s assets (led by Lord Goldsmith QC). The Federal Republic of Nigeria v Royal Dutch Shell plc and others [2020] EWHC 1315 (Comm): acting for the Shell defendants in multi-billion dollar High Court proceedings commenced by Nigeria and involving allegations of fraud and bribery of senior public officials including four former Nigerian presidents in relation to the grant of a prospecting licence over one of Africa’s largest oil deposits (led by Lord Goldsmith QC and James Willan QC). The Shell defendants successfully challenged the English Court’s jurisdiction. Butcher J’s judgment is available here [2020] EWHC 1315 (Comm) United Company Rusal Plc v Crispian Investments Ltd and Whiteleave Holdings Ltd [2018] EWHC 2415 (Comm): acting for Vladimir Potanin’s company, Whiteleave Holdings, in a multi- billion dollar dispute involving Rusal and Roman Abramovich’s company, Crispian, with respect to shares in Norilsk Nickel (led by Lord Goldsmith QC and Daniel Toledano QC). Investec v Glenalla Properties Ltd and others [2018] UKPC 7: acting for Robert Tchenguiz and trusts associated with him in nine complex, long-running, conjoined appeals to the Privy Council from the Guernsey Court of Appeal involving issues of trusts law, contract and restitution (led by Lord Goldsmith QC). Georgina’s arbitration practice includes disputes under all major institutional rules and ad hoc, as well as related court proceedings in England and abroad. Examples of her recent work in arbitration are listed below. Georgina graduated from University College London (UCL) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München with First Class Honours and various academic prizes and scholarships. She completed an LLM (with Distinction) in international commercial law at UCL and since October 2017 has held a Teaching Fellowship in contract law at UCL’s Laws Faculty. Georgina is fluent in Bulgarian and German and has working knowledge of French and Russian.

Gerard Rothschild

Barrister specialising in commercial, competition, energy and public law. Notable commercial law cases have included: Prismall v. Google (representative proceedings for misuse of private information); Micula v. Romania (Supreme Court appeal on enforcement of ICSID awards); Apple v. Qualcomm (global IP licensing/FRAND dispute); Secretary of State for Transport v. Paragon (Commercial Court proceedings to recover the cost of replacing all V5 vehicle registration documents); Cherney v. Deripaska (a claim said to be for over $3 billion and cited by The Lawyer among the ‘top cases of 2012’); Sir Keith Mills v. Coutts & Co (Chancery Division claim alleging mis-selling of investments); and Terna v. Binkamil (enforcement proceedings under the Arbitration Act 1996). From his postgraduate studies, he has particular interests in restitution and the conflict of laws. In the field of competition law, Gerard’s experience includes: Evans v. Barclays (Court of Appeal on collective proceedings orders); proposed collective proceedings before the CAT for foreign exchange and power cables cartels; the Meta/GIPHY merger investigation and associated proceedings;  iiyama v. Samsung (High Court follow-on action arising out of the Cathode Ray Tube cartel); appearing before the Supreme Court in SCOP v. CMA (on the scope of the CMA’s merger jurisdiction); BMI Healthcare v. CC (challenging the unfair procedure adopted in the then-pending Private Healthcare market investigation); the Pay TV appeals against Ofcom (both before the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal); the Construction Recruitment Forum penalty appeals brought by Hays plc and others; Virgin Media v. BSkyB (a High Court action concerning the pricing of television channels); and Chester City Council v. Arriva (a Chapter 2 claim relating to public transport). He is a contributing author of Competition Litigation: UK Practice and Procedure (OUP). As to public law, Gerard taught constitutional law at Magdalen College, Oxford for 5 years. Court experience of note includes: acting pro bono for the parents of Charlie Gard in the appeals as far as the European Court of Human Rights challenging the decision to restrict medical treatment for their child; R (Good Law Project) v. Electoral Commission (judicial review proceedings on the application of expenditure rules at the 2016 EU referendum); R (Wheeler) v. Prime Minister (challenging the Government’s opt-in to the European Arrest Warrant scheme); R (BASTA) v. Birmingham Airport (a judicial review concerning taxi licensing); and R (Higher Burrow) v. DEFRA (concerning the policy for controlling tuberculosis in cattle). Gerard has particular familiarity with commercial judicial review and cases arising in the energy sector. He has acted for Scottish Power in the CMA’s review of the RIIO-T2 and RIIO-ED1 price controls, for the Utility Regulator of Northern Ireland in the GD17 licence modification appeal by Firmus Energy, and separately for National Grid and for UK Power Networks in judicial review proceedings arising out of decisions of Ofgem.

Harry Matovu KC

Harry Matovu is a noted advocate, “a consummate cross-examiner, who's great on his feet" and “tremendously tenacious and committed, he's an absolute team player" (Chambers & Partners).  He has a wide-ranging and high-profile commercial practice, both domestically and abroad, including energy and natural resources, civil fraud, finance, insurance/reinsurance and international arbitration.  Historic cases of note have included Excalibur Ventures LLC v Texas Keystone Inc (a US$1.7 billion dispute over oil exploration rights in Iraqi Kurdistan); Mbasogo v Logo Ltd (major conspiracy claim arising out of an attempted coup against the Government of Equatorial Guinea); and R (Luton BC and others) v Secretary of State for Education (judicial review of the decision to cut the Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme).

Helen Davies KC

Helen Davies is the joint Head of Brick Court Chambers. She has extensive experience in all aspects of Commercial Litigation, EU and Competition Law, having appeared as an advocate in numerous cases in the Commercial Court and Chancery Division of the High Court, as well the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and the CJEU. She has also acted in many international and domestic arbitrations, and sits as an arbitrator.

Hilary Heilbron KC

Hilary Heilbron KC now focuses principally on international arbitration, sitting frequently as an international arbitrator all over the world, but also acting as counsel both in arbitration and arbitral related court work. As leading counsel she has a wealth of experience of major commercial disputes and many foreign laws with appearances in the highest courts in the land including the Supreme Court, House of Lords and Privy Council.

Hugo Leith

Hugo’s practice spans all areas of chambers’ work, with a particular focus on competition and commercial litigation.  The directories say: "Immensely smart and hard-working; he leaves no stone unturned" (Chambers & Partners 2021) "A brilliant, versatile lawyer who can turn his hand to almost everything. He has a huge range of practice in commercial law, EU law, competition law and even public law” (Legal 500, 2021) “He doesn't just give the textbook answer but instead offers a practical solution to the problem."  (Chambers & Partners UK & Global 2020) Hugo is regularly instructed in leading and high-profile cases, including cases in The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases from 2016-2021, grappling with new legal issues and often leading to appeals.  He frequently appears in the High Court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, as well as the General Court of the EU and the Court of Justice of the EU, appearing for private parties, government bodies and NGOs.

Jacob Rabinowitz

Jacob is developing a broad practice, focused primarily on commercial and competition litigation. He has particular experience in large multi-party disputes, notably in claims brought by shareholders under FSMA and claims for ‘follow-on’ damages following infringements of competition law. He also has a developing sports law practice, having acted for a global sports regulator in a range of disputes involving issues of competition law. Jacob studied History at Balliol College, Oxford before completing the GDL and BPTC at City Law School. Prior to beginning pupillage, Jacob worked as the Judicial Assistant to Longmore LJ in the Court of Appeal.

Jagoda Klimowicz

Jagoda practises in public, competition/EU and commercial law. She joined chambers in September 2022 following successful completion of pupillage supervised by Sarah Love, Richard Eschwege and Malcolm Birdling. Jagoda holds first class degrees from King’s College London (LLB) and the University of Cambridge (LLM). Prior to coming to the bar she worked in various research assistant and paralegal roles, including at the Law Commission of England and Wales and at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law. She holds 14 awards and scholarships.

Jamaae Hafeez-Baig

Before joining Brick Court Chambers, Jaamae practised as a barrister in Australia, where he gained experience in a broad variety of commercial matters. He is currently instructed in the appeal to the High Court of Australia from Redland City Council v Kozik [2022] QCA 158, which raises a number of issues in the law of unjust enrichment, including whether the Woolwich principle should be adopted in Australia. In addition to working as part of counsel teams in the higher courts, Jaamae regularly appears unled in the County Court. In Australia, he appeared unled in the Magistrates Court of Queensland and Federal Circuit Court of Australia on interlocutory applications and other interlocutory hearings.

James Flynn KC

James Flynn KC is a leading competition law litigator at the London Bar. His wide experience at the Bar builds on his years of practice at a magic circle law firm in London and Brussels together with his work as a Legal Secretary at the European Court of Justice. Current high profile cases in London include acting for the Road Haulage Association in the proposed collective proceedings against the truck cartel and for GSK in its appeal against the UK’s first pharmaceutical patent reverse settlement proceedings (currently the subject of a reference to the European Court of Justice). He has considerable expertise concerning the interface between Competition and Intellectual Property law, particularly on the licensing of standard essential patents and FRAND terms (acting for Qualcomm, IP Com and Samsung) as well as ‘pay for delay.’  Significant CAT appeals in recent years include acting for Sky in the long-running Pay TV litigation; for BMI in relation to the Private Healthcare Market Investigation; for Aer Lingus in its dispute over Ryanair’s protracted hostile shareholding; and for Asda in the successful appeals against the OFT’s Tobacco decision. His considerable experience of competition damages cases embraces follow-on (public examples include envelopes, synthetic rubber and CRT and LCD screens) and standalone actions in the High Court and CAT, including acting for Inntrepreneur in Courage v Crehan, the first standalone damages case to go to full trial in the United Kingdom, and for Cardiff Bus in the first follow-on damages action to come to trial and to lead to a damages award. He also appeared in the leading cases on the interaction between criminal law and competition law.  Recent appearances in competition cases in Luxembourg include cartel appeals and the interchange fees litigation.  He is acting pro bono for ClientEarth in an important appeal in Luxembourg concerning the right for NGOs to request a review of decisions of EU bodies in the environmental sphere.  Notable previous EU cases include the leading authority on legal privilege in competition proceedings (Akzo Nobel) and the landmark Microsoft appeal.  He has experience of arbitrations, as counsel and as arbitrator (including recently in Queen’s Park Rangers v EFL in respect of the application of the Championship rules on Financial Fair Play). His broader EU practice covers the areas of state aid, public procurement, IP, telecommunications and broadcasting, direct and indirect taxation, free movement and professional and financial services regulation.

James McClelland KC

James has a wide-ranging practice specialising in commercial, public and regulatory law. He is ranked as a leading practitioner in 6 practice areas: (i) Administrative and Public Law; (ii) Banking & Finance; (iii) Commercial Disputes; (iv) Energy; (v) Financial Services Regulation; and (vi), Professional Discipline & Regulation. James’s cases frequently straddle more than one of these practice areas and he has been recognised as “particularly strong at the intersection of commercial law and public law” (Legal 500) and "one of the few people that has cross-over between banking, regulatory and public law" (Chambers and Partners). He is often sought out for cases raising complex points of law (in particular statutory construction) including in fields previously outside his core areas of practice (such as insolvency, pensions, tax and agriculture).

Jasbir Dhillon KC

Jasbir is an advocate with over 25 years’ experience of complex and high value commercial disputes. After a 1st class law degree from Oxford and an LLM from Harvard, Jasbir spent three years at the New York Bar with Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Since 1997 he has been a member of Brick Court Chambers and has been involved in many leading commercial cases. Jasbir is recognised by the legal directories as a leading barrister in Banking and Finance and Commercial Litigation. Jasbir’s experience extends over a variety of areas of commercial law including banking and finance, conflict of laws, cross-border fraud, asset tracing, professional negligence, and public international law. Jasbir’s versatility as an advocate extends to other areas of civil law, including company law (including shareholders’ rights and company valuation), insolvency, intellectual property, defamation, regulatory, competition, public and administrative, sports and EU. As well as the English Courts, Jasbir has appeared in the courts of New York, Florida, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands as advocate or expert witness.

Jemima Stratford KC

Jemima Stratford KC is widely recognised as a leading litigator in EU, competition and public law/human rights. Jemima’s EU and competition expertise range from FRAND licensing to pharmaceuticals, and from free movement to financial services. She has appeared in more than 50 cases in the General Court and Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Her domestic practice includes competition law cases in the CAT, Commercial Court and Patents Court. Jemima's public law and human rights work have taken her to the Supreme Court and to the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR. Before taking silk, she was a member of the Attorney General’s ‘A’ Panel. She acts for both claimants and defendants across a wide range of cases, some of which also have a connection with EU law. Jemima also advises both States and international organisations on immunities from jurisdiction, dealing with both public international law and human rights arguments before the ECtHR, the High Court and Employment Tribunals. Jemima has been called to the Bar of Ireland.

Jennifer MacLeod

Jennifer MacLeod is a leading junior barrister who is particularly sought after for her experience in complex, challenging and high-profile litigation.  She has a wide ranging practice, with substantial expertise in human rights, public, and competition law. Jennifer frequently appears in the High Court, Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and other international tribunals. She is particularly experienced in acting unled, as her practice entails a mixture of led work and work as sole advocate, both domestically and internationally.  She acts for a range of clients, from multinational corporations to government and public bodies, NGOs and private individuals. Full professional details can be found at www.brickcourt.co.uk

Jeremy Gauntlett KC

Arbitrations, public law (particularly constitutional, administrative and regulatory – including competition and telecommunications – law) and commercial law. Arbitrator in IATA contractual and damages claim between two European airlines. ICC arbitrator regarding Seychelles contractual dispute. Leading counsel in ICC mobile telephony arbitration. Leading counsel for Zimbabwean commercial farmers before Southern African Development Community Tribunal, African Commission and African Court. Leading counsel for Total and Gold Fields Ltd in their successful opposition to merger proceedings, and inter alios for SASOL, Walmart and Glencore in other competition proceedings. Leading counsel for Attorney-General of Botswana, Attorney-General of Namibia, National Treasury and SA Revenue Services in variety of constitutional and international law, human rights, public finance and tax disputes.

Jessie Ingle

Jessie has developed a broad practice covering all aspects of Commercial, Public and International law. Jessie has experience and a particular interest in investment treaty arbitration, public international law, international human rights law, civil fraud, sanctions and cryptocurrency matters.

Joanne Box

Jo practises in all areas of Chambers’ work, with a particular emphasis on commercial litigation, arbitration and intellectual property law. She appears regularly as an advocate and is instructed in cases before the High Court, the County Court and in arbitration, both led and unled. Her recent cases include: Cattles Limited v PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP (Commercial Court), a substantial claim concerning alleged auditor negligence (with Mark Hapgood QC and Thomas Plewman); Malhotra v Malhotra [2014] EWHC 113 (Comm), an action on a cross-undertaking raising issues of reflective loss (with Roger Masefield QC); an ICC arbitration concerning liability under an IT contract, raising issues of capacity and restitution (with Hilary Heilbron QC and David Scannell); an ad hoc shipping arbitration under the AA 1996 concerning demurrage and alleged wrongful arrest of a vessel (with Richard Lord QC).

Jon Lawrence

Before being called to the Bar in 2018, Jon was a partner for 25 years at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, led the antitrust litigation team at that firm for many years, and participated and advised on in the co-ordination of the international defence of many of the major cartels uncovered in the last 20 years.  His expertise ranges from advising on the making of immunity applications, attending dawn raids and advising on strategy in those pressurised situations, assisting in the defence of regulatory proceedings at European and national authority level, and addressing issues and risks relating to increasingly common national court damages claims.  He has acted in many of the major UK competition litigation proceedings, particularly damages claims, of the last 15 years.

Jonathan Dawid

Jonathan Dawid has a broad commercial practice, including banking, private equity, financial services, professional negligence and civil fraud. Recent instructions include cases involving securitisations, structured investment vehicles and private equity financing. He is also experienced in EC law particular as relevant to commercial law, and has experience of commercial litigation in overseas jurisdictions including Hong Kong and Bermuda.

Jonathan Scott

Jonathan has a broad practice, including heavy-duty commercial litigation, arbitration, and competition cases before the Competition Appeals Tribunal and the Courts. He has considerable experience of working on big cases, in big teams, with a leader (or leaders); but is equally happy acting as sole counsel. Jonathan’s more recent commercial work has had a particular focus on banking, energy and professional negligence, but he is interested in, and will happily accept instructions in, all types of commercial disputes, as well as competition matters.

Josh Pemberton

Josh practices in public, commercial and competition/EU law. He joined chambers in July 2022 following the successful completion of pupillage under the supervision of Sarah Abram KC, Edward Harrison and Malcolm Birdling. Josh qualified as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand in 2015. Before coming to the English bar, he worked as a judge’s clerk (judicial assistant) to Justice William Young at the Supreme Court of New Zealand. He then worked at the Open Society Foundations, the world’s largest human rights philanthropy, where he was a Presidential Fellow before working in organisational strategy and human rights litigation. Josh graduated with an LLB (First Class Honours) and BA (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) from the University of Otago, New Zealand in 2014. He completed an LLM at Harvard Law School in 2017. Josh placed top of his year in law at Otago and was awarded multiple scholarships and top-of-class prizes at both Otago and Harvard.

Klaus Reichert SC

Senior counsel specialising in international arbitration. Has undertaken in excess of two hundred international cases as arbitrator or counsel (ICSID, ICC, LCIA, ICDR/AAA, UNCITRAL, DIFC-LCIA, CAS, and DIAC in London, Paris, Zürich, Munich, Lausanne, Dubai, New York, San Francisco, Geneva, Helsinki, Miami, Stockholm and Dublin). These cases have encompassed energy, mining, intellectual property, hedge funds, investments, joint ventures, construction, competition, and general commercial contracts. He was counsel in the leading case of Dallah v Pakistan before the English courts.

Kyle Lawson

Kyle practises in all areas of Chambers’ work, with a particular emphasis on commercial litigation and arbitration. His experience covers banking and financial services, shipping and international trade, insurance and reinsurance, professional negligence, conflicts of law, international arbitration and general commercial litigation. Current and recent instructions include: Property Alliance Group v the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, a banking dispute involving LIBOR manipulation and the mis-selling of interest rate swaps; Stemcor UK Limited v Global Steel Holdings Limited & Mr Pramod Mittal, a US$142 million claim against the guarantors of a Bosnian company engaged in the production of steel; and RC Cayman Holdings Limited v Michael Ryan, a high value commercial dispute before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands arising out of the sale of the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Hotel. Kyle also has experience of acting in arbitral proceedings under a variety of different institutional rules (including LCIA, ICC, the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration and Ad Hoc proceedings under the Arbitration Act 1996). His recent work in this field includes acting in a LCIA arbitration relating to the construction of a US$2bn fertilizer plant in Nigeria and a substantial ICC arbitration arising out of the sale of a network of telecoms companies in the Caribbean.

Laura Newton

Laura Newton is a leading junior barrister with a commercial practice which sees her regularly instructed in high-value international commercial disputes and arbitrations, often with a fraud aspect.  She has appeared as sole Counsel, as well as being led, in a number of substantial cases in the Commercial Court, Chancery Division and the LCIA.

Margaret Gray KC

Margaret is a silk at both the English Bar and the Irish Bar, specialising in EU, competition and public law litigation. In the past year, she has appeared in the Supreme Courts of both the UK and Ireland, as well as the Court of Justice of the EU where she has led over 80 cases. She frequently represents the Governments of the UK and Ireland, in both national and EU Courts, and appeared as counsel for the European Commission in a number of multi-million pound fine cartel appeals. Margaret has built-up a unique expertise in EU regulation of utilities and services between the UK and Ireland, due to her practices at the Bars of Ireland and also in Northern Ireland, in particular in competition, energy, procurement and telecommunications matters. She has advised and acted for each of the UK devolved administrations in EU matters. Margaret has had the privilege of being briefed by each of the Attorneys General of England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Ireland. Recent work includes leading cases on the application of the doctrine of restraint of trade to land agreements (Peninsula v Dunnes Stores), the right to be forgotten and extra-territorial application of the Data Protection Directive (Google v CNIL) and a cartel follow-on damages claim. Margaret has invaluable multi-jurisdictional experience in the UK, and in cross-over competition and procurement issues. Margaret's State aid practice includes recovery and damages actions. .

Marie Demetriou KC

Marie Demetriou QC has a broad practice specialising in competition law, EU law, public law and human rights.  She is highly ranked in all of these areas by the legal directories and is regularly nominated for legal awards.  In 2018, Marie was shortlisted as the Lawyer’s Barrister of the Year and in 2016,Marie was awarded EU and Competition Law Silk of the Year by Legal 500, which in addition nominated her as Public Law Silk of the Year.  Marie was also one of three nominees for Chambers & Partners Competition Law Silk of the Year. In 2015, Marie was appointed Standing Counsel to the Competition and Markets Authority, a position she continues to hold, representing the CMA in its major litigation in the courts.Marie has been Chair of the Bar European Group between 2016-2018.

Mark Hoskins KC

Mark Hoskins was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1991 and was appointed QC in 2009. He was called to the Irish Bar in 2017 and is a member of the Law Library. He is widely regarded as one of the leading litigators in the fields of competition, EU/EEA, Administrative & Public and Sports law. He is renowned as a “highly skilled analytical advocate” and “very good at working within a team”.

Mark Howard

Mark Howard is the joint Head of Brick Court Chambers.  He is widely regarded as one of the leading commercial silks at the bar, and has very wide experience of commercial and 'City' litigation, along with banking, professional negligence, fraud, energy and insurance and reinsurance. He also has significant experience of Competition Law and Administrative Law cases. He is an experienced advocate appearing before the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal frequently, as well as dealing with high value and complex first instance disputes. He also has great experience of appearing before arbitral tribunals, including ICC, FIA (F1 Sports) and BIT panels. He has appeared on many occasions in cases before the Courts of the BVI. Mark Howard has also advised clients and appeared before the Takeover Panel.

Matthew Kennedy

Matthew joined chambers in 2018 upon successful completion of his pupillage. He has a busy practice spanning competition law, data protection law, commercial law (including arbitration), public law, and public international law. Matthew acts both led and unled. Since becoming a tenant, he has appeared unled in the Commercial Court on four occasions and recently appeared unled in the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Matthew has particular expertise in group claims, having acted in and advised on numerous group claims in both the competition and data protection fields.

Max Schaefer

Max has been instructed in some of the most significant commercial disputes of recent years, often involving complex financial or economic issues. Current and recent instructions acting for Hewlett-Packard group companies in their US $5 billion fraud claims against former executives of Autonomy; for Asda and other high-street retailers in competition damages claims against MasterCard (and, previously, Visa) relating to the networks’ multilateral interchange fees (Max’s clients succeeded before both the Court of Appeal in 2018 and the Supreme Court in 2020); for Goldman Sachs International in a jurisdiction dispute relating to US $830 million claims against Novo Banco, a Portuguese “rescue bank” (before the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court); and for Banco Central de Venezuela in its efforts to release €930 million of the value of gold bars held in the Bank of England to fund COVID-19 relief via the United Nations Development Programme. Other notable cases include acting for John Walker at every stage of the Walker v Innospec litigation, which concluded in a landmark Supreme Court judgment upholding the right of Mr Walker and his husband (and thousands of other civil partners and same-sex married couples) to the same pension benefits as spouses of the opposite sex; and for Sebastian Holdings Inc in its mammoth dispute with Deutsche Bank; and for Iveco in competition damages claims in the wake of the European Commission’s Trucks decision. Max came to the Bar after a previous career in media and technology.

Michael Swainston KC

Michael Swainston KC has a broad litigation and advisory practice in England and overseas in areas including commercial and corporate litigation, international arbitration, human rights, humanitarian law and related public international law. He has particular experience in litigation connected with Russia and CIS countries, and acts for the Russian Federation in the European Court of Human Rights.

Michael Bools KC

Michael Bools's practice covers all areas of commercial law and advocacy. He is recommended by the legal directories in the fields of commercial dispute resolution, and energy and natural resources. Chambers & Partners 2017 describes Michael as "An intellectual heavyweight who is always thorough and detailed in his preparation." "He's got exactly the right touch for the big cases" and is "excellent on his feet." He appears at all levels of the court system and in arbitrations and mediations.

Michael Bolding

Michael is ranked as a leading junior for commercial dispute resolution. He has a broad practice covering all aspects of commercial litigation and international arbitration. Michael appears regularly in the High Court in a wide range of commercial cases. He has worked on a number of very high-value and complex civil fraud claims and joint venture disputes in recent years, in addition to insurance, professional negligence and jurisdiction disputes. Recent cases on which Michael has been instructed include: a fraud claim relating to the sale of part of a business listed on the London Stock Exchange; Part 20 Claims relating to proceedings concerning the collapse of a dam in Brazil, in which over 730,000 claimants are seeking damages of around £36 billion; an arbitration relating to claims under reinsurance treaties concerning losses arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic; an LCIA arbitration involving a claim for damages of over US$650 million relating to the sale of a secured debt; and a claim against a City law firm for damages of over US$500 million for alleged breaches of duty owed to a former client.

Nicholas Saunders KC

Nicholas Saunders KC has a broad practice which encompasses commercial, competition and intellectual property law. He has a strong technical background and is usually instructed in complex cases including financial, telecoms, IT and pharmaceuticals disputes. He is regularly instructed relatively close to trial in major cases where effective cross-examination and presentation of technical expert evidence is critical.

Paul Bowen KC

Paul Bowen KC practises across the spectrum of public and administrative law, often with significant human rights, EU or other international law elements.  He acts domestically and internationally, including offshore.   He has appeared on over twenty occasions in the Supreme Court/ House of Lords and Privy Council and many times in the European Court of Human Rights.  Paul is on the ‘A’ Panel of Counsel to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).   Paul’s clients range from corporations to ordinary individuals, NGOs, public authorities and governments. His current and recent case-load includes: a £multi-billion commercial claim involving parallel criminal proceedings in relation to disclosure issues and the privilege against self-incrimination; a judicial review of pensions regulations; two judicial reviews of Coroners’ refusals to certify an inquest under Article 2 (Supreme Court, Court of Appeal); a judicial review of the Home Office ‘10 year route to settlement’ as it applies to young migrants; a judicial review of the financial regulator in relation to alleged breaches of anti-money laundering regulations (Cayman Islands, Grand Court), a judicial review of a cross-border prisoner transfer (Cayman Islands, Privy Council); appeals against conviction and sentence, including the death penalty (Bermuda and Trinidad, Privy Council); a judicial review of tax information exchange notices in Jersey issued at the request of Norway (Jersey, Privy Council); a judicial review of the regulator of the telecoms industry (Cayman Islands, Grand Court); and a human rights case involving privacy and data protection in relation to the harvesting of online profiles (European Court of Human Rights).

Richard Slade KC

Richard Slade KC is a versatile silk with a wide commercial practice, with particular expertise in commercial litigation, banking and insurance/reinsurance disputes. He has been consistently ranked in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 for many years as a leading practitioner in these areas, being described as "a real team player and a real battler" (Chambers & Partners), “more than happy to roll his sleeves up and get stuck in” (Chambers & Partners) . He was instructed by UBS in UBS AG v Kommunale Wasserwerke Leipzig from 2010 up to the Court of Appeal in 2017, and is currently engaged in enforcing a USD 350m worldwide freezing order in a Russian joint venture dispute.

Richard Eschwege KC

Richard Eschwege has a broad, predominantly commercial, practice. He has advised on and acted across a wide range of commercial disputes, including energy, banking, financial services, civil fraud, insurance, telecommunications, and conflicts of laws and jurisdiction. He is currently working on a number of matters concerning natural resources, civil fraud, and 'oligarch' disputes. His recent cases include: Arcadia Petroleum v. Bosworth [2016] EWCA Civ 818; Bank St Petersburg v. Arkhangelsky (Chancery Division); Scottish Power UK v. BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd [2015] EWHC 2658 (Comm); Bonhams v. Lawson & Ors [2015] EWHC 3527 (Comm); Peak Hotels v. Tarek Investments [2015] EWHC 1997 (Ch.); Excalibur Ventures LLC v Texas Keystone & ors [2015] EWHC 566 (Comm), [2014] EWHC 3436 (Comm), [2013] EWHC 4728 (Comm); CF Partners v Barclays Bank [2014] EWHC 3049 (Ch.); Georgian American Alloys v. White & Case LLP [2014] EWHC 94 (Comm); Berezovsky v Abramovich [2012] EWHC 2463 (Comm); Katsouris Bros v Haitoglou SA [2011] EWHC 111 (QB); Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines v Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Bermuda) Ltd [2011] 2 All ER (Comm); Dana Petroleum v Woodside (Commercial Court) (2010).

Richard Lord KC

The core of Richard Lord's practice for over 25 years has been commercial litigation and arbitration, with a particular specialisation in dry shipping and shipbuilding, insurance and reinsurance, commodities, energy and professional negligence claims. He has appeared in and advised on numerous cases in tribunals from The Supreme Court/House of Lords to the High Court in The British Virgin Islands. His 'home territories' are the Commercial Court in London and International Arbitrations, including ICC, LCIA, LMAA and Bermuda form arbitrations.

Richard Blakeley KC

Richard has a broad practice that covers all aspects of Chambers’ work but with particular expertise in commercial dispute resolution, civil fraud, banking, competition law and EU law. Recent high-profile cases in which Richard has been instructed include multibillion-dollar claims brought by the Libyan Investment Authority, claims brought by Chevron in respect of an alleged $18bn fraud in Ecuador, the trial of the JPMorgan v BVG litigation, involving a CDO transaction worth in excess of $200million; the still on-going Pay TV litigation in which Richard is instructed for the FA Premier League and Ofcom’s investigation into the Premier League’s rights sales; and a number of cases on behalf of Boris Berezovsky, including the litigation against the estate of his former business partner; Richard also specialises in challenging and advising on EU, UK and EU sanctions measures and is currently instructed by more than a dozen banks, companies and individuals to challenge the sanctions imposed upon them both in the EU Courts and the Administrative Court. Of the seven of Richard’s sanctions cases that have reached final determination, six have resulted in the sanctioned person or entity being de-listed.

Richard Howell

Richard joined chambers as a tenant in September 2019, following the successful completion of his pupillage under the supervision of Martin Chamberlain KC, Tony Singla KC and Marie Demetriou KC. He has a broad practice including all of chambers’ main practice areas, including public, EU/international, competition and commercial law.

Robert O'Donoghue KC

Mr O’Donoghue’s practice focuses on all aspects of EU and UK competition laws (including international mergers and acquisitions, restrictive practices, abuse of dominance); EU law matters more generally (eg internal market, conflicts of law/forum, challenges to EU legislation, public procurement); and regulatory and public law (in particular utilities regulation). He has frequently appeared before EU and national competition authorities and regulators in respect of these practice areas, as well as in litigation before the EU courts, UK courts, foreign courts and arbitral bodies. Leading cases include: Telefonica O2 & ors v British Telecommunications [2012] EWCA Civ 1002; Asda & ors v Office of Fair Trading [2011] CAT 41; Foundem v Google Inc (abuse of dominance (pending); CEF & EWRG v General Electric UK Ltd & ors (recycling) (settled); PLUS Markets plc v London Stock Exchange plc (Commercial Court); Emerald & ors v British Airways plc [2009] EWHC 741 (Ch), [2011] 2 WLR 203 (CA); Tesco plc v Competition Commission (Competition Appeal Tribunal); iDealing Ltd v London Stock Exchange (High Court); St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust v S [1999] Fam 26 (Court of Appeal); European Climate Exchange v LCH Clearnet Ltd (High Court), Sel-Imperial v British Standards Institution (High Court); Case No 1093/3/3/07 T-Mobile (UK) Ltd v Ofcom Competition Appeal Tribunal); and British Association of Airline Pilots v British Airways plc (High Court); EU cases (Luxembourg): British Airways v Commission (air cargo cartel) (pending); Case T-184/01 R, IMS Health Inc v Commission [2001] ECR 11-3193; Case C-481/01 P(R), NDC Health Corp & NDC Health GmbH & Co KG v IMS Health Inc [2002] 5 CMLR 1; Case C-381/98 Ingmar GB Ltd and Eaton Leonard Technologies Inc [2000] ECR 1-9305; Case C-95/04 P British Airways plc v Commission, judgment of March 17 2007; Case T-15/02 BASF AG v Commission, judgment of March 15 2006.

Roger Masefield KC

Roger Masefield has over 20 years’ litigation experience of all aspects of commercial law (including arbitration, banking, civil fraud, energy, insurance and reinsurance and professional negligence). Since taking silk in 2013, Roger Masefield has been instructed as leading Counsel in a wide range of high profile and high value matters, including claims on behalf of the Libyan Investment Authority against Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale (each worth in excess of $1 billion); claims on behalf of PT Ventures (a Portuguese telecoms company) against companies owned and controlled by Isabel dos Santos (involving a $2 billion freezing injunction in the BVI); and most recently claims on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against JP Morgan (worth in excess of $875 million), and against the oil majors Royal Dutch Shell plc and Eni S.p.A (worth in excess of $3.5 billion).  As a lead junior, Roger Masefield was involved in the high profile Berezovsky v Abramovich litigation (worth in excess of $5 billion).

Salim Moollan KC

Salim Moollan specialises in international commercial and investment arbitration. He has acted as counsel in high profile investment arbitration cases (White Industries v India, Philip Morris v Australia, Cairn Energy v India), and currently acts as lead counsel in a number of prominent investment arbitrations for both States and investors. In the commercial field, he acts in high-value cases in (in particular) the energy and telecoms fields. He frequently sits as arbitrator (party-appointed and chair) in investment and commercial arbitrations. He has an in-depth knowledge of the procedural regimes of all major international arbitral institutions, being a past chairman and vice-chairman of UNCITRAL, a past Vice-President of the ICC Court, a past member of the LCIA Court, a member of the World Bank’s ICSID Panel of Arbitrators and a former editor of the ICSID Law Review; and having worked closely with these and other institutions in the establishment of an African platform for international arbitration in Mauritius. The holder of a mathematics degree from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris (in addition to a first class law degree from Cambridge University and to a degree in economics and political science from Sciences-Po, Paris), he also has a unique grasp of technical and quantum expert issues. He is also called to the Mauritian Bar and appears from time to time before the Mauritian Courts in complex and high value cases. He frequently appears in the Privy Council on issues ranging from civil law to administrative law and tax matters. He is a Visiting Professor in International Arbitration Law at King's College London. Salim Moollan is a foreign lawyer registered to practice in Singapore (“Registered Foreign Lawyer”). In order to comply with Singapore immigration and employment law, Salim is employed by and practises primarily through a private limited company incorporated under the laws of Singapore.

Sarah Abram KC

Sarah Abram KC was called in 2006 and took silk in 2022; she is described in the directories as a “without a doubt a star of her generation”. Sarah has for some years – including prior to taking silk – been acting as lead counsel or sole advocate in the most high-profile litigation and arbitration across the fields of competition, EU and commercial law.  Her wide-ranging practice involves multi-jurisdiction and multi-party cases, raising novel points of law. In addition to commercial and competition disputes of all varieties, Sarah regularly acts in class action litigation, FRAND litigation, jurisdiction disputes and matters involving data/big tech.  Examples of her current and recent case-load include acting unled in the Rail Fares CPO litigation; acting as sole counsel for the successful claimant in the Commercial Court trial Acerus v Recipharm; leading on global FRAND issues in Nokia v Oppo; acting for Telefonica in the litigation regarding the collapse of Phones4U (The Lawyer Top 20 case for 2022).  She is instructed in substantially every large competition damages matter of the day, including Trucks, FX, Power Cables and RoRo.

Sarah Bousfield

Sarah has an expansive practice in complex, high value commercial litigation and high profile regulatory/ public law matters. Sarah has particular expertise and experience in civil fraud, including cryptocurrency matters, for which she is ranked in Chambers & Partners (Band 2), as well as related proceedings concerning pre-emptive remedies (such as asset freezing orders) and contempt of court. Sarah is also ranked in the directories in the field of Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory Law (Band 4), which reflects her work across the professional discipline, banking/ financial services and aviation sectors. Sarah undertakes both advisory and litigation work. As sole counsel, she has appeared in numerous different courts and tribunals, including unled in the High Court (Chancery Division and Commercial Court) and the Court of Appeal. Sarah has also appeared in the Supreme Court as part of a wider counsel team and has acted in various major international arbitrations.

Sarah Ford KC

Sarah Ford KC was called to the Bar in 2002 and took silk in 2017. She is “a great advocate and incredibly easy to work with” (Chambers & Partners 2021) who is “strategic, hard-working, pragmatic” (Chambers & Partners, 2022) and “very impressive across a broad range of work” (Chambers & Partners, 2021). Sarah is frequently instructed in leading competition cases and appears in the Chancery Division, Commercial Court, Administrative Court, Competition Appeal Tribunal, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Sarah is instructed in numerous follow-on damages claims including in Trucks for Volvo/Renault and Smart Card Chips and DRAM for Infineon. She appeared for ABB in the High Court and the Court of Appeal in BritNed, the first cartel damages claim to reach judgment. She has appeared in appeals to the Court of Appeal in leading cases concerning mitigation in Ballbearings; limitation in DRAM and binding recitals/abuse of process in Trucks. Sarah has a strong collective proceedings practice, being instructed for JPMorgan in FX, for BT in Le Patourel and for the Proposed Class Representative in McLaren. She appeared in the Court of Appeal in BT’s appeal concerning whether proceedings should be certified on an opt-in or an opt-out basis.

Sarah Lee KC

Sarah Lee KC practises in the fields of EU Law, Public Law and Competition/Regulatory Law. Her practice includes both advocacy and advisory work and she is experienced in conducting cases and appearing in a variety of courts and tribunals including the High Court, the Court of Appeal, the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the Competition Commission, the Court of First Instances and the European Court of Justice. She has been on the Government's Treasury A Panel since 2007 and was a B Panel member prior to that. Her clients include public and private companies and government bodies. Sarah Lee is currently instructed by BT in relation to challenges to Ofcom's regulatory decisions which are continuing before the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Competition Commission. She has also recently been involved in judicial review proceedings on diverse topics such as oil stocking regulations, pharmaceutical products marketing authorisations, air passenger duty, in proceedings before the Court of First Instance relating to Article 81 EC and in number of EU cases before the European Court of Justice.

Sarah Love

Barrister specialising in competition and regulatory law, public and administrative law, European Union law and commercial law. Cases include: Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National plc & ors [2009] UKSC 6, the ‘Bank Charges’ test case (acting for the OFT); Office of Fair Trading v Foxtons Ltd [2009] EWHC 1681 (Ch) (acting for the OFT); Competition Commission v BAA Ltd [2010] EWCA Civ 1097 (acting for Ryanair Ltd, the successful intervener); Hereward and Foster LLP & anor v Legal Services Commission [2010] EWHC 3370 (Admin) (acting for the LSC, which succeeded); Cases 1156-9 & 1170/8/3/10 Virgin Media, Inc & ors v Office of Communications, the ‘Pay TV’ appeals against Ofcom (acting for BT); and WHA v HM Revenue & Customs, forthcoming Supreme Court appeal against [2007] EWCA Civ 728 (acting for HMRC).

Sarah O'Keeffe

Sarah practises in competition, commercial and public law. She joined chambers as a tenant in September 2022, following the successful completion of pupillage supervised by Laura Newton, Tim Johnston and Daniel Piccinin. Sarah graduated with a BA in Jurisprudence with Law Studies in Europe (Spain) (First Class) from Brasenose College, Oxford in 2017. This included a year studying Spanish Law at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. She then obtained a distinction in the BCL (Brasenose College, Oxford), studying competition law, law and computer science, commercial remedies and conflict of laws. During her studies, Sarah secured six scholarships and six university prizes, including for the highest marks in human rights (UPF) and criminal litigation (the Bar Course). Before coming to the Bar, Sarah was a research assistant to professors Ariel Ezrachi and Rebecca Williams, primarily in competition law, law and computer science, and public law. She then worked with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, researching private international law and AI. She speaks fluent Spanish and conversational Turkish.

Simon Salzedo, KC

Simon Salzedo KC is one of the UK’s leading commercial advocates. He is ranked as a leading silk by Legal 500 in 8 areas of commercial practice: Commercial Litigation, Banking and Finance, Civil Fraud, Professional Negligence, Insurance and Reinsurance, International Arbitration, Offshore and Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory. Legal 500 2021 describes him as “An excellent judge of when to go for the jugular on a particular point and really sees the big picture – put simply, if you are in for a tough battle involving fine points of law there is no other counsel I would rather have on my side.” Simon is an author of the leading practitioner works on: Conflicts of Interest; Accountants’ Negligence and Liability; and Fraud and Breach of Warranty (M&A litigation). Simon is a Deputy High Court Judge authorised to sit in the Commercial Court and the Chancery Division, a governing Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn and a Director of Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Limited.   Municipio de Mariana v BHP Group (UK) Ltd [2023] EWHC 2030 (TCC) Umbrella Interchange Fee Claimants v Umbrella Interchange Fee Defendants [2023] CAT 49 Patisserie Holdings Plc (In Liquidation) v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] EWHC 3022 (Comm), [2022] Bus. L.R. 1 Heritage Travel and Tourism Ltd v Windhorst [2021] EWHC 2380 (Comm) School Facility Management Ltd v Governing Body of Christ the King College [2021] EWCA Civ 1053, [2021] 1 W.L.R. 6129 Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] UKSC 20, [2022] A.C. 783 Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd [2021] UKSC 1, [2021] A.C. 649 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP v BTI 2014 LLC [2021] EWCA Civ 9 Njord Partners SMA-Seal LP v Astir Maritime Ltd [2020] EWHC 3474 (Comm) AssetCo Plc v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2020] EWCA Civ 1151, [2021] 3 All E.R. 517, [2021] Bus. L.R. 142, [2021] 2 B.C.L.C. 227, [2021] P.N.L.R. 1 Keymed (Medical and Industrial Equipment Ltd) v Hillman [2019] EWHC 485 (Ch) Playboy Club London Ltd v Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA [2018] EWCA Civ 2025, [2019] L.L.R. 90 Playboy Club London Ltd v Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA [2018] UKSC 43, [2018] 1 W.L.R. 4041, [2019] 2 All E.R. 478 UBS AG (London Branch) v Kommunale Wasserwerke Leipzig GmbH [2017] EWCA Civ 1567, [2017] 2 Lloyd's Rep. 621 Marashen Ltd v Kenvett Ltd [2017] EWHC 1706 (Ch), [2018] 1 W.L.R. 288 Cosmetic Warriors Ltd v Gerrie [2017] EWCA Civ 324, [2017] 2 B.C.L.C. 456 Gerald Metals SA v Timis [2016] EWHC 2327 (Ch) CitizenM LND St Paul's Properties BV v Chil Ltd [2016] EWCA Civ 771 Europa Plus SCA SIF v Anthracite Investments (Ireland) Plc [2016] EWHC 437 (Comm) Tchenguiz v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2015] EWHC 3209 (Comm) Erste Group Bank AG (London) v JSC (VMZ Red October) [2015] EWCA Civ 379, [2015] 1 C.L.C. 706 Barclays Bank Plc v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2015] EWHC 320 (Comm), [2015] 2 B.C.L.C. 537, [2015] 1 C.L.C. 180 Rawlinson and Hunter Trustees SA v Serious Fraud Office [2015] EWHC 266 (Comm) Ageas (UK) Ltd v Kwik-Fit (GB) Ltd [2013] EWHC 3261 (QB) Standard Life Assurance Ltd v Ace European Group [2012] EWCA Civ 1713, [2013] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 1371, [2013] 1 C.L.C. 255, [2013] Lloyd's Rep. I.R. 415 Terna Bahrain Holding Co WLL v Al Shamsi [2012] EWHC 3283 (Comm), [2013] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 580, [2013] 1 Lloyd's Rep. 86 Generics (UK) Ltd v Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 726, [2013] Bus. L.R. 777, [2013] F.S.R. 13 Pegasus Management Holdings SCA v Ernst & Young [2012] EWHC 738 (Ch), [2012] 2 B.C.L.C. 734, [2012] P.N.L.R. 24 Mobile Telesystems Finance SA v Nomihold Securities Inc [2011] EWCA Civ 1040, [2012] 1 All E.R. (Comm) 223, [2012] Bus. L.R. 1166, [2012] 1 Lloyd's Rep. 6 Consolidated Contractors International Company SAL v Masri Privy Council (Bermuda) [2011] UKPC 29 Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Co SAL [2011] EWCA Civ 746, [2011] 2 C.L.C. 566 Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Co SAL [2011] EWCA Civ 1352 Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Co SAL [2011] EWCA Civ 21, C.P. Rep. 20 Les Laboratoires Servier v Apotex [2011] RPC 20 Lilly Icos v 8PM Chemist [2010] FSR 4 Pegasus v Ernst & Young [2010] EWCA Civ 181, [2010] 3 All ER 297 Dennard v PricewaterhouseCoopers [2010] EWHC 812 (Ch) Masri v Consolidated Contractors [2009] UKHL 43, [2010] 1 AC 90 Masri v Consolidated Contractors [2008] EWCA Civ 625, [2009] QB 503 Masri v Consolidated Contractors [2008] EWCA Civ 303, [2009] QB 450 City Index Ltd v Gawler [2007] EWCA Civ 1382, [2008] Ch. 31 Man Nutzfahrzeuge AG v Freightliner Ltd [2007] EWCA Civ 910, [2007] B.C.C. 986, [2008] 2 B.C.L.C. 22, [2007] 2 C.L.C. 455, [2008] P.N.L.R. 6 Real Estate Opportunities Ltd v Aberdeen Asset Managers Jersey Ltd [2007] EWCA Civ 197, [2007] 2 All E.R. 791, [2007] Bus. L.R. 971 Masri v Consolidated Contractors [2005] EWCA Civ 1436, [2006] 1 WLR 830 Equitable Life Assurance Society v Hyman [2002] 1 A.C. 408 Stewart v Engel [2000] 1 WLR 2268

Simon Birt KC

Simon’s practice covers all aspects of commercial litigation and arbitration, including banking and financial services, insurance, civil fraud, professional negligence and shipping. Since taking silk in 2015, he “has established himself in silk as a skilled advocate in banking and general commercial disputes” (Chambers & Partners, 2018) and is listed in the legal guides as a leading silk in the fields of commercial dispute resolution and banking and financial services.  He has appeared in a wide variety of cases in the High Court in London, in offshore litigation and in arbitration.

Sophie Shaw

Sophie has a broad practice across the range of work undertaken in chambers, with a particular focus on commercial litigation and arbitration.

Sophie Bird

Sophie practises in commercial, public and competition/EU law. She joined chambers as a tenant in September 2021 following the successful completion of pupillage supervised by Craig Morrison, Malcolm Birdling and Nicholas Saunders KC. Sophie graduated with a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford in 2015, going on to work in Mergers and Acquisitions at Credit Suisse in London. She then graduated with a LLB (First Class) from the University of Cambridge in 2018, ranking first in Constitutional Law. She completed the LLM from Harvard University in 2019.

Stephen Ruttle KC

Stephen has been in practice at Brick Court Chambers since 1978.  He stopped practising as a barrister and QC in 2002 and since then has worked full time as a Commercial Mediator.  By January 2019 he had mediated nearly 1500 cases of nearly every legal type from both public and private sectors.  Most of these disputes have involved seven or eight figure sums; but Stephen regularly mediates larger cases where hundreds of millions and occasionally billions are at stake.  He practises mainly in London, but mediates regularly in other parts of the UK and Ireland and in many jurisdictions abroad.  For many years he has been rated as one of the leading mediators in the UK. In 2017 he featured in a new list, Who’s Who Legal “Thought Leaders: Mediation” as one of only five in Europe and 16 in the world. Stephen is increasingly active as a mediator of community and faith-based disputes. He is currently involved in projects that aim to train a new generation of peacemakers and to use faith-group buildings as places from which community mediation services can operate as neighbourhood reconciliation centres. In 2018 Legal 500 included Stephen in its Mediator Hall of Fame which recognises individuals who have received constant praise by their clients for continued excellence over many years.

Stephen Midwinter KC

Stephen Midwinter KC advises on and appears in a broad range of commercial disputes, in litigation and arbitration. He has appeared in commercial cases in the Supreme Court, the House of Lords, the Privy Council, the Court of Appeal, the Commercial Court, the Chancery Division and the European Court of Human Rights. He has been recommended as a leading silk by the directories in eight fields: commercial dispute resolution, insurance and reinsurance, banking, international arbitration, energy and natural resources, civil fraud, offshore and professional negligence. A significant proportion of Stephen's work takes place in arbitration and he has appeared in and advised on arbitrations under the ICC, LCIA, ARIAS, UNCITRAL, ICSID and Stockholm Chamber of Commerce rules, as well as ad hoc arbitrations pursuant to the Arbitration Act 1996 and under the Bermuda Form. Recent instructions include a $150million dispute in the oil sector and a US$25 million LCIA arbitration concerning offshore drilling rigs. Stephen is also experienced in proceedings dealing with the enforcement of arbitral awards in the domestic courts. Stephen also sits as an arbitrator in arbitrations for the LCIA and ICC. Stephen is a member of the bar of the British Virgin Islands where he regularly appears in the Commercial Court and Court of Appeal. Recent instructions include jurisdiction disputes, freezing order applications, international fraud claims and insolvency disputes.

Thomas Plewman KC

Heavy commercial litigation practice focussed on fraud, financial services, professional negligence and insurance. 2023/22 cases include the ongoing defence of $1.9bn fraud claims in PJSC Bank v Kolomoisky (on trial in 2023, previously reported on jurisdiction [2019] EWCA Civ 1708); leading the defence of Ernst & Young LLP against the $3bn professional negligence claims brought by the Administrators of NMC Plc; leading the team for the counterclaimant in Azima v RAKIA, Dechert, Gerrard and Buchanan (on trial 2024, previously reported at amongst others [2023] EWCA Civ 507); and the arbitrations and related claims in the $10bn dispute over the SGS Investment Branch's stake in FESCO, the holding company of the Russian port of Vladivostok. Acted in The Lawyer’s top 20 cases in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 and 2022 (postponed to 2023), and was named in The Lawyer Hot 100 2019. He has also been called in the British Virgin Islands and the DIFC.

Tim Johnston

Tim is recognised as a leading junior in all his key areas of work. His practice spans public law, public international law, civil liberties and EU/Competition law. He has substantial expertise in business and human rights, international environmental law and ESG standards. He regularly appears in ground-breaking cases at the highest level such as Ramoon v Governor of the Cayman Islands [2023] UKPC 9; Pfizer Inc and another v Competition and Markets Authority [2022] UKSC 14; Lungowe and Others v Vedanta Resources Plc [2019] UKSC 20; and “Miller 1” [2017] UKSC 5. His public law work spans both the Claimant and Defendant sides: he acted for the UK Government before the Supreme Court in the Archie Battersbee case and for the largest claimant group challenging the Government’s policy of removing asylum seekers to Rwanda.  He regularly advises NGOs, private parties and States in relation to public international law issues. In the completion law space he has a busy practice that spans both challenges to decisions by regulators and follow-on-damages litigation. He was nominated for Competition Law Junior of the Year in 2022. He is also called to the Bar of Ireland and practices in European law from the Law Library in Dublin.  

Tim Lord KC

Tim Lord KC took Silk after 16 years at the Bar, on the strength of a broad commercial practice taking in not only banking and finance but insurance and reinsurance, professional negligence, civil fraud, energy, conflict of laws, TMT and arbitration. His experience of playing first class rugby and cricket has stood him in good stead for both the adversarial aspects of litigation and the crucial need for teamwork. Tim’s reputation as a cross-examiner and trial Silk means that he is regularly brought in to head up heavyweight disputes where he will lead a large team.  He is also increasingly instructed to hold the leading appellate brief in cases where he did not appear below. Tim was invited to speak on Appellate Advocacy at the IBA Annual Litigation Forum in Chicago, USA in May 2018. He undertakes work in offshore jurisdictions where he has rights of audience, as well as international arbitrations. He is recommended as a leading Silk for Commercial Litigation, Banking & Finance, Professional Negligence and Civil Fraud by the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, for Commercial Dispute Resolution, Banking & Finance, Civil Fraud and Professional Negligence by Chambers & Partners and Insurance by Legal Experts. Tim was awarded 'Commercial Litigation Silk of the Year 2013' at the Chambers Bar Awards 2013, and 'Banking and Finance Silk of the Year 2014' at the Chambers Bar Awards 2014.  He was also nominated for 'Commercial Litigation Silk of the Year' at the Legal 500 Awards 2014. In 2016 he was nominated by Legal 500 for Commercial Litigation Silk of the Year. Since 2017, Tim has been highlighted by Who's Who Legal as one of the most highly regarded silks for Banking & Finance. Tim was awarded Commercial Litigation Silk of the Year 2018 at the Chambers Bar Awards 2018 and was nominated for Commercial Litigation Silk of the Year in the Legal 500 UK Awards 2019.

Tom Pascoe

Tom’s practice covers Commercial, EU/Competition and Public Law. Tom’s previous experience includes working as the judicial assistant to Lord Dyson MR in the Court of Appeal, where he was involved in a number of prominent commercial, public and EU law cases. He holds a law degree from the University of Cambridge (Double First) and a BCL degree from the University of Oxford (Distinction). Tom is called to the Bar of Gibraltar as well as the Bar of England and Wales. He is ranked as a leading junior in the field of energy law, having acted in both commercial and competition cases in this field.

Tom Wood

Tom has a broad practice spanning all areas of chambers’ work including commercial, public law and EU/competition law. He previously practised as a Solicitor Advocate and Associate at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, London, specialising in commercial litigation, arbitration, and civil fraud. He also undertook extensive pro bono work across a range of areas, including asylum support law, criminal appeals, and employment disputes.

Tom Adam KC

Tom Adam KC is well-known as a leading advocate and adviser in a broad range of significant and high value commercial work. Recent cases include acting for the successful claimant in a hard-fought two week arbitration between well-known oligarchs; bringing a £120m claim for Northern Rock against its former solicitors; a successful appeal (having not acted below) for the Candy brothers against a freezing order (Holyoake v Candy [2017] 2 All ER (Comm) 513); and defending a firm of solicitors accused of fraudulent conspiracy to procure false evidence (Accident Exchange v McLean & Others [2018] EWHC (Comm) 23).

Tony Singla KC

Tony Singla KC has a broad practice which covers all areas of Commercial Law. He took silk in 2021 at only 14 years’ call. According to Legal 500 “Tony’s promotion to silk so quickly is testament to his brilliance. He is one of the future stars at the commercial Bar”.  Chambers & Partners says he is “more than capable of leading a team in the largest and most complex of disputes”. Tony is regularly instructed as the lead advocate in the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Competition Appeal Tribunal, and he has also appeared on numerous occasions in the Supreme Court.  In addition, Tony has a substantial arbitration practice and he appears frequently before tribunals under LCIA, ICC, and other rules. Tony is recommended as a leading silk in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 in eight fields: Banking and Finance, Civil Fraud, Commercial Litigation, Competition Law, Group Litigation, Insurance, Professional Discipline, and Professional Negligence. He is also recommended in Who’s Who Legal for Banking and Finance and Competition Law.  For many years Tony has been instructed in the highest-profile and highest-value cases in each of these fields, including more than 10 of The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases in the last 10 years. He has particular expertise in group litigation having acted in a number of shareholder claims and competition class actions.

Tony Willis

Areas of practice include mediation, arbitration, dispute resolution, process design and negotiation. Tony Willis is an independent mediator in commercial, business and regulatory matters. He was for more than 25 years a partner in Clifford Chance, London spending two years as a full time managing partner and then seven years leading the litigation practice there. Since 1998, he has been engaged full time as a mediator, negotiator, and in designing dispute resolution processes. He joined Chambers when he transferred to the Bar in 2004. With a background of advising on, running and managing some of the largest international litigation in the English Courts, in the US, elsewhere in Europe and in Asia, he has a profound knowledge of dispute resolution of all kinds and of managing teams of professionals. He has for many years ranked highly in the top of the published lists of mediators in ‘Chambers’ directory and ‘The Legal 500’. He has conducted many hundreds of mediations and advised on many more, some outside the UK in locations such as New York, Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania, Jersey, Guernsey, Ireland, Dubai, the Bahamas and Hong Kong. He has also been appointed Settlement Counsel. Sums in issue have ranged up to $1.2bn. Issues include professional negligence, board room and shareholder disputes, partnership, pensions, information technology, employment, family trusts and related disputes, insolvency, tax, charity, oil and gas, civil engineering and construction, insurance and re-insurance. Parties have included multinationals and other companies, individuals, governments and departments such as the Home Office, MOD, Revenue & Customs and DEFRA. He has been appointed mediator by the FSA and dealt with other regulatory matters, including competition cases. Important cases: all the matters dealt with as a mediator are confidential, but information can be provided about cases dealt with in recent times provided it is understood that the names of the parties must remain confidential. He has spoken widely on the civil justice system for organisations such as the Society of Practitioners in Insolvency, COMBAR, the Franco-British Lawyers Society, the British Israel Law Association, the Law Society, the TMC Asser Institute in the Hague, the Academy of European law in Trier, the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Arbitrators & Mediatiors Association of New Zealand, PRIME Foundation and others.

Vernon Flynn KC

Vernon Flynn KC is a “superstar” and “veteran of many heavyweight litigation battles”. He has a wide ranging practice in international and domestic commercial law “at the highest level” or “in the premier league”. He has extensive experience of trial work and appellate advocacy and has unusually extensive experience of civil tribunals (often where the substantive or procedural law is not English law). He is frequently instructed in very high value, multi-jurisdictional disputes across the globe. “His sheer force of energy, intelligence, advocacy and politely devastating skill in cross-examination put him among the best silks in the world of international arbitration.”

Victoria Wakefield KC

Victoria Wakefield KC was called in 2003 and took silk in 2019. Her practice spans a wide range of cases across competition law, EU law, public law, human rights and commercial disputes. She is an advocate who is as comfortable in the Supreme Court as in a fact-heavy trial and has been described by the legal directories as “a star of her generation” (Chambers & Partners 2020).

William Wood KC

Bill Wood KC is one of the UK's leading commercial mediators. Bill Wood was awarded Mediator of the Year 2018 and is ranked #1 Mediation Silk 2019 in WWL’s UK Bar Guide. He is consistently ranked in the top tiers by Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.  He has been included in the Who’s Who Legal top ten list of commercial mediators globally every year since the list was first published in 2011.  His mediation practice now takes him to Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, Kenya, Mexico and the US as well as to all parts of the UK and the Channel Islands.  In all he conducts around 80 mediations each year.

William Hooper

Will is recognised as a leading junior in commercial dispute resolution. He has a broad commercial litigation and arbitration practice and acts both led and unled in a wide range of commercial matters, including banking and finance, sale of goods, private equity, shipping and international trade, energy, civil and commercial fraud, media and advertising, telecoms, and competition. Will regularly appears in the High Court (Commercial Court and Chancery Division) and in arbitration, as well as off-shore. He was named The Lawyer’s Barrister of the Week in June 2021 after successfully representing the claimants unled in the Court  of Appeal in  Fisken v Carl  [2021]  EWCA Civ 792 (the Ferrari 250 GTO case which attracted global media attention and which was marked as one of The Lawyer’s top 15 appeals of 2021). Will was also recognised as one of The Lawyer’s Hot 100 legal professionals for 2022, one of only 19 barristers to feature. Will read History and English Literature at Jesus College, Oxford, finishing with the second highest First in the university. After spending some time in the charity sector, he took the GDL at City Law School and the Bar Course at BPP Law School, ranking second in his year at BPP. He was awarded the top scholarship from the Middle Temple for both years of his legal training.

Zahra Al-Rikabi

Zahra has a broad practice encompassing commercial litigation, public international law (including investment treaty arbitration), EU law and public law. She is recognised as a leading junior for both public law and EU law (Legal 500, 2021) and was appointed Junior Counsel to the Crown (the UK Attorney General’s Public International Law C Panel) in 2020. Zahra is frequently instructed in high profile cases in her areas of practice. She appeared in Municipio de Mariana and ors v BHP Group, which featured in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases for 2020 and in Canary Wharf v European Medicines Agency, the top case in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases for 2019. Zahra was selected for The Lawyer Hot 100 in 2020. Zahra has appeared as sole counsel in the High Court and Court of Appeal. She has also been led in cases before the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union. Zahra has acted for a wide range of clients, including states and international organisations. She is a native Arabic speaker which makes her well placed to deal with any domestic litigation or international arbitration where her language skills can be used. Zahra is a member of the London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation’s panel of arbitrators and co-Chair of Racial Equality for Arbitration Lawyers’ Arbitral Appointments Committee. She is also a CEDR accredited mediator.