Three Stone

Adam has a broad commercial chancery practice, encompassing: Company and insolvency Partnership Commercial fraud Professional Negligence Insurance and reinsurance General commercial litigation Adam’s primary focus is on litigation but he also regularly acts for insurers and reinsurers on insurance business transfer schemes and schemes of arrangement.

Christopher Howitt

Chris has a broad commercial practice encompassing complex commercial disputes, international arbitration, company law, and cross-border insolvency. He is recommended for Commercial Litigation by Legal 500. Chris joined chambers in July 2020 from Kobre & Kim, where he gained extensive experience of complex and cross-border disputes, with experience in particular of developing and executing global strategies for the enforcement of court judgments and arbitration awards. In addition to acting as both junior and sole counsel in proceedings before the English Courts, Chris has worked extensively on off-shore representations with jurisdictions including the BVI, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and Gibraltar. He has also worked closely with co-counsel in civil law jurisdictions including France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Switzerland (Geneva and Zurich), the Republic of Korea, Jamaica, and the Netherlands. Chris’s international arbitration experience encompasses both commercial and investor state arbitration, with recent experience including representation of Elliott Associates in its ongoing investor state dispute against the Republic of Korea (PCA Case No. 2018-51). Before Kobre & Kim, Chris practised in the arbitration team at Wilmer Hale in London, specialising in international commercial disputes in a wide range of commercial areas, including financial services, oil and gas and aviation disputes. Chris has experience of working as a secretary in international commercial arbitrations under the ICC and LCIA rules. He is one of the editors of Gore-Browne on Companies. Chris accepts instructions in a range of chambers’ work, with a particular focus on commercial litigation and arbitration, company law, commercial chancery, enforcement of judgments and awards. Chris is admitted in the BVI and also accepts instructions in offshore work.

Daria Gleyze

Daria is a highly demanded junior with a thriving commercial chancery practice. Her expertise is broad and varied, encompassing civil fraud, contentious trusts and estates, art and cultural property work, company law, insolvency, property law and a full range of domestic and offshore commercial disputes. Daria is also able to advise and represent clients on issues of public law and planning, especially those arising in the broader context of commercial and insolvency proceedings. Daria very frequently works with lawyers and clients from other jurisdictions and advises and acts in matters involving international and conflict of laws elements. She is accustomed to working closely with foreign lawyers and addressing issues of foreign law. She appears in the county courts, the land tribunals and in the High Court and in arbitrations and mediations, both as sole counsel and part of a larger team (she has, on occasion, been led by no fewer than 4 silks at once, on the same case). She frequently appears as sole counsel, often against silks, or silk and junior teams, in high-value and complicated matters. Daria also has extensive appellate experience, having worked in her early days at the Court of Appeal as the judicial assistant of Sir Terence Etherton (then the Chancellor) for a full year and having since acted in myriad appeals, both as appellant and as respondent. She has been described by clients as “a fantastic advocate”, “fearless”, “extremely persuasive, especially on difficult issues”, “a rottweiler in court”, “a clever and impressive tactician”, and “an all‑round superstar”. Her drafting, especially skeleton arguments and pleadings have been described by clients as “superb”, “very impressive” and “a work of legal and literary genius”, with many clients saying they were “delighted” and “over the moon” with the results obtained by Daria and a returning client being “always confident that she will get me the best result”. Daria often receives praise from the judiciary, with a High Court judge remarking that “Ms Gleyze’s clients sailed close to the wind. But Ms Gleyze’s eloquence persuaded the trial judge and she has also persuaded me on this appeal”. A senior judge also commented, in allowing 3 times more in costs than the cap imposed by the rules: “I found Ms Gleyze’s skeleton and submissions extremely helpful and I consider her fees justified in their entirety”.

David Lord KC

Barrister also called to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands and New York (FLC) specialising in chancery and commercial litigation and arbitration including offshore litigation, insurance and reinsurance, and insolvency. Cases include MC Bacon, Henderson v Merett, Deeny v Gooda Walker, Feasey v Sun Life, Freakley & Ors v Centre Re and Ors, Konkola Copper Mines v Coromin Ltd, Prince Jefri Bolkiah v the State of Brunei, Aspinalls Club Ltd v Al-Zayat, Cherney v Deripaska, Weavering Fund Ltd v Peterson, and Fairfield Sentry v Quilvest Finance Ltd & Ors.

Francis Collaco Moraes

Francis has a commercial chancery practice with an emphasis on litigation specialising in contentious property, insolvency (corporate and personal), company, partnerships and professional negligence.

Ian Watson

Barrister and New York attorney specialising in US and English wills, trusts and private client advice, US and UK gift, estate and inheritance tax, cross-border and offshore issues.

James Couser

James’ practice is largely based in the areas of insolvency and company law, and he has wide experience in all of the various insolvency regimes both personal and corporate. He is recommended for insolvency work by both Chambers & Prs and Legal 500. He has particular expertise of asset recovery following liquidation, and insolvency practitioners and solicitors acting for creditors regularly instruct him in these and related matters. James has acted for a number of former directors in disqualification proceedings and claims brought by liquidators. In addition to his insolvency practice James undertakes a wide range of commercial litigation, both at first instance in the Chancery and Queen’s Bench Divisions and in the Commercial Court and the County Courts, and on appeal in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

James Gibbons

Barrister specialising in Chancery and commercial litigation including in particular, breach of confidence and restraint of trade (involving employers and employees, directors, partners, and purchasers and vendors of businesses), and related pre-emptive remedies; cases include: Faccenda Chicken v Fowler [1987] Ch 117 (confidential information); Symphony v Hodgson [1994] QB 179 (costs against non-parties); Primavera v Allied Dunbar [2002] EWCA Civ 1327 (causation in the avoidance of loss).

Katherine Hallett

Katherine has a broad practice encompassing a wide variety of chancery and commercial litigation, including advisory work. She has particular interest in insolvency and property law. As regards insolvency, Katherine’s practice includes: petitions for bankruptcy and winding up applications to set aside statutory demands validation orders annulment and rescission applications applications for possession and sale actions against officers for misfeasance transactions at an undervalue, preferences, unlawful dividends etc challenges to office-holders’ remuneration and expenses Katherine’s property-related work includes: landlord and tenant disputes (residential and commercial, including ASBO-related matters) real property (boundary disputes, adverse possession claims, easements and rights of way) trusts of land matters (including orders for sale) proprietary estoppel mortgage repossessions (including mortgage fraud) She is also particularly interested in disputes relating to beneficial interests in property. Katherine’s commercial practice covers: company law breach of contract sale of goods supply of services contracts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 personal guarantees and indemnities Katherine’s probate-related practice covers: the validity, interpretation and rectification of wills administration of estates claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975 challenges to wills on the grounds on lack of testamentary capacity, want of knowledge and approval and undue influence Katherine appears before a variety of tribunals, predominantly the High Court, the County Court and First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)/Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). Katherine also contributes regularly to Lexis PSL Restructuring and Insolvency. She has written several Case Notes (see below) and Practice Notes (on after-acquired property in bankruptcy and partnership disqualification). Public Access Katherine undertakes Public Access work. Please see the Bar Standard Board’s Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients here. Upon accepting instructions, Katherine or her Clerks will agree the basis upon which the Public Access client is to be charged for the work to be done. In direct access cases, fees (plus VAT) will be charged on a stage by stage fixed fee basis, which will be set by reference to the nature and complexity of the case, the amount of reading and research involved, the likely length of any hearing, and Katherine’s experience in that area of law. The agreed fee (together with the VAT) must be paid as soon as Katherine accepts instructions on the case. Katherine is not authorised to conduct litigation. This means that Public Access clients will need to do certain things themselves. That includes issuing proceedings, filing documents at Court, and serving documents on other parties. VAT Katherine is registered for VAT. Her number is 979115288.

Mark Watson-Gandy OBE

Mark practices in the areas of insolvency, company, banking and private international law. He is the author of “Watson-Gandy on Accountants“, “Corporate Insolvency Practice” and “Personal Insolvency Practice“. He is one of the Editors of the Butterworths Corporate Law Service. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Westminster. His Holiness Pope Benedict knighted him in recognition of “his work as a barrister and law professor for the Catholic Church” in 2007 (Knight of the Order of St Gregory of the Great). Mark is also a member of the Bars of the Eastern Caribbean (BVI) and DIFC (Dubai).

Mark Baldock

Mark has a busy practice, frequently instructed, as sole counsel or as part of a team, in complex, high-value disputes in the Chancery Division, Commercial Court, and County Court. Mark has a particular interest in disputes with a company-law element, but acts in the full range of commercial Chancery work (unfair prejudice proceedings, minority shareholder actions, civil fraud claims, insolvency act claims, and property and contractual disputes). Mark is equally comfortable, and has experience, dealing with such disputes in the context of arbitral proceedings (ad-hoc or institutional). Prior to joining Three Stone, Mark undertook his pupillage at Erskine Chambers, with a focus on company and insolvency matters. After a short stint as a judicial assistant in the Chancery Division to Marcus Smith J and Snowden and Birss LJJ, Mark joined Chambers in January 2021. Mark also has a burgeoning interest in offshore work, having recently been instructed to work with local counsel on a number of matters before the Financial Services Division of the Grand Court (Cayman Islands). Recent highlights of Mark’s work include: Acting, led by Jonathan Dawid (Brick Court) and Stephen Ryan, for the Metha family in a claim brought against them for $1 billion in respect of an alleged scheme perpetrated by them to divert the proceeds of the sale of gold bullion for their own benefit. Acting, led by Tony Beswetherick KC (Twenty Essex), for Firexo Group Limited in a $66m claim brought by shareholders against it arising out of the failure to pursue an IPO of its shares on NASDAQ. Acting, led by Tony Beswetherick KC (Twenty Essex), for the petitioners in a dispute concerning a medical technologies company in which the Respondents are alleged, inter alia, to have removed the existing board to prevent investigation into the CEO’s alleged wrongdoing. Acting, led by Adam Chichester-Clark, for the petitioner in a bitter dispute concerning the shares in a property development company in the context of a bitter family, in which the petitioner accuses his brother of diverting corporate opportunities away from the company for this own benefit. Instructed (with Rupert Coe) to assist Stephen Atherton KC (Twenty Essex) in a two-week trial before the Financial Services Division of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands in a dispute seeking $55m in damages for a brokers unlawful sale and retention of shares (Fortunate Drift Ltd v Canterbury Securities, Ltd). Acting, led by Daniel Lightman KC, for the respondents to a petition in a shareholder dispute over the exclusion of a founding member of a technology start-up. Mark, led by Daniel, recently appeared on an application to strike out the permission, which raised fundamental questions about the scope of relief which can be sought on a petitioner (Re Contingent and Future Technologies [2023] EWHC 2451 (Ch)). Acting, led by John McDonnell KC, for Mr Haider in a claim brought by him alleging the group of companies of which he was CEO was the subject of a systematic fraud perpetrated by the use of false letters of credit. John and Mark recently obtaining permission at preliminary stage for Mr Haider to continue his claim on behalf of a UAE company, the first instance of such permission being granted (Haider v Delma Engineering Projects Co LLC [2023] BCC 600). Acting, led by Jonathan Turner, in an application to resist enforcement of a peremptory order of an arbitral tribunal, which raised interesting issues about confidentiality in arbitral proceedings and repudiation of the arbitration agreement (RQP v ZYX [2022] EWHC 2949 (Comm).

Robert Levy KC

Robert specialises in commercial and chancery matters, ranging from complex international litigation (often involving conflicts of law and multi-jurisdictional claims) to general commercial disputes such as those arising from commercial contracts, joint ventures and share sale agreements. Many of his claims involve complex fraud and dishonesty allegations. He is a particular expert on claims involving directors’ duties and an acknowledged expert on BVI law. In addition to his company law expertise, he also specialises in insolvency and shareholder appraisal valuation cases. Robert is renowned for his international work both onshore and offshore, appearing regularly in many offshore jurisdictions. He is recommended in both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for commercial litigation, fraud and offshore. Chambers & Partners also recommends him for commercial chancery.

Rupert Coe

Rupert is a chancery and commercial barrister. He has repeatedly been recommended in the leading directories including Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 (for both his London and Caribbean practices) and Chambers HNW, where he is described in the most recent edition as “an astute and very capable advocate” whose attention to detail is “superb” and who “fights very hard for his clients”. Rupert has a broad traditional chancery practice involving trusts, probate and estates disputes, including cases concerning the validity or otherwise of Wills and inter vivos transactions, construction and rectification applications, breach of trust claims, applications for the removal or substitution of trustees and personal representatives and applications under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Rupert also has a strong commercial practice encompassing contractual, company and partnership disputes, professional negligence, fraud and asset tracing and insolvency (both corporate and individual). Rupert has a substantial offshore practice relating to all of his areas of specialism. He has recently advised in relation to matters in jurisdictions including the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong and Gibraltar. Prior to joining Chambers, Rupert was a senior associate in the Cayman Islands office of the market-leading offshore firm Appleby. He had full admission to the Cayman Islands Bar from 2010-2016 and appeared in many of the most significant cases in the jurisdiction during that period, including cases in the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal and the Privy Council. Before moving to Appleby, Rupert trained and practised as a litigation solicitor, and subsequently as a solicitor-advocate, with Herbert Smith LLP (now Herbert Smith Freehills) in London from 2005-2010.

Sebastian Kokelaar

Sebastian undertakes a broad range of commercial and Chancery work including commercial litigation and arbitration, civil fraud and asset recovery, company and insolvency, contentious trusts, wills and probate, art and cultural property, and property litigation. He is a highly experienced advocate, often appearing un-led against Silks, but equally happy being led. His experience covers lengthy, complex trials, applications for interim relief (often of an urgent nature) and appellate work (up to Supreme Court level). Much of his work has an international element to it and he has extensive experience of dealing with conflict of laws and jurisdiction issues. He is called to the Bar of the British Virgin Islands and is regularly instructed on proceedings in that jurisdiction. He has also appeared in the Supreme Court of Seychelles and the European Court of Human Rights, and has provided advice and assistance in relation to proceedings in the Cayman Islands, Jersey, and the Isle of Man.

Stephen Woodward

Stephen has practiced in the area of Personal Tax, Trusts, Wills and Estates (both in the UK and offshore) since 2002. He is recommended both for his personal tax practice and Private Client: Trusts & Probate by Legal 500. He specialises in providing effective advocacy and clear advice on the taxation of individuals, and their trusts and businesses, to Solicitors, Accountants and Foreign Lawyers. Stephen originally qualified as a Solicitor in 2002, and as a Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA) in 2005. Stephen maintains his status as a Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA). He previously worked at Withers LLP and at Payne Hicks Beach where he was a partner in the Private Client Department. Stephen’s move to the Bar was prompted by a strong desire to specialise in providing high quality advice on a broad range of Private Client Tax and Trust issues. Whilst the subject matter of advice is often complex, he is guided by the principle that what clients need is clear practical advice on their options. Stephen advises on: Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax and Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT); Residence, domicile and the remittance basis of taxation; The taxation of UK and offshore trusts; The trust law position of England & Wales trusts; Wills and Estates, including cross-border Estates; The taxation of UK real estate; The taxation of privately-owned UK businesses, including agricultural businesses; The tax efficient structuring of international privately-owned businesses, including the use of Private Trust Company structures; and Tax and trust advice to Matrimonial lawyers, both in the context of divorce and pre/post-nuptial agreements.

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