23 Essex Street

23ES is a modern, innovative, approachable set of barristers, with a leading reputation in crime, fraud, a range of regulatory and disciplinary matters and more recently commercial law. Kate Lumsdon KC and Eloise Marshall KC were elected as joint head of chambers in November 2021. Under their collective stewardship chambers has continued to grow and is a national criminal set in London and Manchester.

The set: Chambers has a genuine commitment to teamwork, supported by both its formal training programme and its inherent culture, which ensures important recent experience is shared across chambers. This experience is broad, with members of chambers undertaking the entire range of mainstream criminal law, as well as associated regulatory and civil work. Within this, chambers has set up a number of specialist teams, offering a strong portfolio of barristers who are effective at all levels, to harness and develop expertise in certain niche practice areas.

Members regularly appear in high-profile cases in all levels of court in England and Wales as well as other jurisdictions, including the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

Chambers is supported by a motivated clerking team that are committed to delivering a first-class service to clients and members alike.

Types of work undertaken: Chambers deals with crime, financial and corporate crime, regulatory and professional discipline work, Inquests and Inquiries,  civil and commercial work. Specialist areas include corporate and financial regulatory, healthcare discipline, police discipline, environmental crime, IP crime and trading standards. Chambers also undertakes  court martial, prison law,  property law, sports law and direct access work. Chambers also has a strong track record in international work with members appearing in human rights cases involving genocide, war crimes, and international terrorism.

Crime: 23ES is one of the largest and strongest sets of criminal barristers in England and Wales. Chambers currently has over 117 barristers. The size and national presence of chambers enables it to offer a genuine depth and expertise across the full spectrum of criminal law. Chambers not only defends at the highest level, but is also instructed by all of the major prosecuting agencies including the Serious Fraud Office, FCA,  Organised Crime Division, the Complex Casework Units and BEIS, on a national level. The general crime team also have a particular expertise in sexual offences involving vulnerable witnesses, and county-lines drug offences.

Financial and corporate crime: 23ES continues to enjoy a superb reputation in this field, with talented and sought after members prosecuting and defending in many serious and notable fraud cases both in the UK and other common law jurisdictions. Chambers has significant and growing experience in advisory and investigation work in fraud related HMRC tribunal work. Alongside the financial crime practice, runs the civil fraud team comprising commercial law specialists with expertise in civil consequences of fraud such as insolvency. Many of the juniors undertake secondments at the key financial regulators, including the FCA, HMRC and SFO, enhancing chambers knowledge and experience.

Professional regulatory and discipline: Chambers continues to present the most serious of cases on behalf of various regulators, including appellate and public law work. These include healthcare regulators (GMC, GDC, GCC, GOC, NMC, RCN, SRA, HCPC), financial regulators (notably ACCA and CIPFA), police work and niche work regulators, including the British Psychoanalytical Council and the Forensic Science Regulator.

Chambers services cross-over criminal/regulatory work from BEIS, FCA, Environmental, Trading Standards and CMA. There is strength across call bands, including the junior members of chambers have a depth of experience beyond their call built on secondment posts with the regulators.

Commercial: The team offers barristers of differing seniorities and styles, with specialisms ranging from traditional chancery areas such as trusts, wills, probate and real property, company law, partnership, Inheritance Act claims, charities and taxation to general commercial litigation, sale of goods and professional negligence. It also has considerable expertise in corporate and personal insolvency.

Additionally, a number of members of the team have significant experience in banking and finance matters, acting for a number of large lenders as well as borrowers on areas ranging from securities to the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Education and training: Members of chambers are involved in all stages of education and training at the Bar. Chambers is proud to have provided several chairmen of the Criminal Bar Association as well as a leader of the South Eastern Circuit and many members of the committees of these and other organisations; thereby contributing to the sustainability and growth of the bar. Paul Ozin KC co-authors a leading practitioners text on the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and was co-ordinating editor of 23 Essex Streets Financial Crime Update in Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law. The general editor of Archbold and Criminal Law Week, James Richardson KC, remains a door tenant having practised from chambers and members regularly contribute to a range of legal periodicals. 23 Essex Street is a recognised leader in the field of legal training, running its own continuing education seminars and a well renowned pupillage training programme. Chambers commitment to education and training is ongoing.

Tenancy: Applications should be addressed to the director of tenancy, Alan Gardner KC. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence. Please see the website for further details.

Pupillage: Applications are advertised on the website – www.23es.com

Mini-pupillage: A limited number are available.

Correspondence regarding mini-pupillages should be made via the email address [email protected].

London:  1 Grays Inn Square, London, WC1R 5AA

Manchester:  Waterhouse, 2nd Floor, 41 Spring Gardens, Manchester M2 2BG Tel: 0161 870 9969 DX: 303434 Manchester