Wilberforce Chambers

wilberforce.co.uk

''A popular silk known for his intellectual agility and strong advocacy skills”, Alan has long been recommended in the legal directories for commercial dispute resolution as well as commercial chancery work. He is also recommended in the related areas of civil fraud and information technology disputes. As well as having a “formidable reputation”, Alan is described as “a brilliant all-rounder” who is truly “outstanding” and a “go to for high value briefs”, his areas of practice also cover arbitration, banking litigation, company and insolvency. His experience covers a very wide variety of areas such as joint venture and shareholder disputes, claims involving banks and other financial institutions, contractual disagreements and complex commercial litigation generally. Clients praise the fact that he is “incredibly bright and hardworking; a real team player”.

Alice Hawker

Alice has a busy Commercial Chancery practice. In particular Alice has significant experience of property litigation, both commercial and residential. She is regularly instructed on cases involving civil fraud and asset recovery, corporate and personal insolvency, company and partnership matters, and trusts. Alice’s expertise across these practice areas means she is well placed to deal with cases raising a range of complex technical issues.

Andrew Child

Ranked for many years by the directories as a specialist contentious trusts and estates practitioner working in the fields of contentious trusts and estates both on and offshore. Specialises in estates / trusts with a fraud element, in particular noted for undue influence claims and removing trustees / personal representatives for breach of trust.

Andrew Mold KC

Andrew’s practice covers commercial and traditional chancery work. Within these fields, he has particularly strong interests in trusts, pensions, fraud and breach of fiduciary duties, professional liability, company and partnership disputes. He is also often brought into to assist with cases involving other areas of the law most notably family, insolvency and regulatory proceedings. Andrew enjoys both the advisory and advocacy sides of his practice and is experienced in the main forms of alternative dispute resolution. In recent times, Andrew has gained significant experience of working on so-called ‘big money’ divorce cases involving the treatment of trust assets. He has also been instructed in many of the recent leading pension cases especially those considering the use of The Pensions Regulator’s powers. Many of Andrew’s cases involve an international element, particularly in the context of trust disputes or fraud cases, and he has been admitted to the Bar of the Cayman Islands where he has appeared as an advocate. In the past few years, Andrew has been engaged on matters concerning proceedings in Jersey, the Isle of Man, Cyprus, Switzerland, Singapore, Bermuda, Nevis, the British Virgin Islands, several states of the USA and the Cayman Islands.

Anna Littler

Anna has a commercial chancery practice with a particular focus on civil fraud and insolvency disputes. As well as being instructed as a junior to leading counsel, Anna regularly appears as sole counsel on trials and interim applications (including freezing and ancillary orders). She also has substantial experience in dealing with cases involving conflict of laws and jurisdictional issues. Anna undertakes work both in England & Wales and offshore and has recently acted in cases in Bermuda, the Isle of Man and the Caribbean. She is recommended as a leading junior in offshore work in the 2019 edition of Legal 500.

Benjamin Slingo

Ben joined Chambers in September 2021 on successful completion of his pupillage. His pupil supervisors were James McCreath, Tom Roscoe, Jonathan Chew, Bobby Friedman, Simon Atkinson and Harriet Holmes. During pupillage he gained experience across the range of Chambers’ work, and he is now building a broad commercial chancery practice taking in pensions, trusts, property, commercial disputes, company law, tax, and insolvency. He is equally happy to be instructed as sole counsel or as part of a team.

Benjamin Faulkner

Barrister practising in a range of commercial and traditional Chancery work, with a particular emphasis on property and pensions work and related professional negligence. He has a wide experience in all of chambers’ other core areas, including insolvency, company, contractual disputes, trusts, wills and probate and other private client matters, civil fraud and general commercial disputes. Recognised as ‘a strong and confident advocate who is well regarded by peers and clients’ who is ‘bright, commercial, easy to work with and responsive’.

Bobby Friedman

Bobby is, as described in the legal directories, a “rising star” who is “staggeringly clever” and “noted for his advocacy capabilities and the practical approach he takes to cases.” He has a very busy practice focusing on commercial disputes, including civil fraud – with extensive experience of freezing injunctions, as well as Russian/CIS disputes; company and insolvency; commercial trusts; and pensions. Bobby appears frequently in both the Commercial and Chancery Courts as well as in arbitrations. He has substantial offshore experience and has been called to the bar in the BVI. Bobby works well both as sole counsel and when being led as a junior. He frequently appears unled in the High Court, often against silks, in high-value and complicated matters, and has also acted in a junior in numerous difficult and high-profile disputes. Bobby recognises the importance of a detailed and analytical approach, and combines this with pragmatism and tenacity.

Brian Green KC

One of the leading KCs at the Chancery Bar Chambers & Partners Chancery KC of the Year Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Barrister of the Year Consistently star and top rated in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 directories Equally recognised and recommended for contentious and non-contentious work, and UK and offshore work Featured as Lawyer of the Week in The Times and listed as one of the “Top 50 lawyers” in the UK by The Sunday Times Wide-ranging experience in Chancery matters Brian specialises in all aspects of: Commercial trusts and other property holding structures Pension schemes – occupational and public sector Private trusts and estates

Caspar Bartscherer

Caspar joined Chambers in 2020 upon successful completion of his pupillage. Caspar has gained a breadth of experience across Chambers’ practice areas, including commercial litigation, insolvency, pensions, probate and estates, professional liability, property, and trusts. Caspar accepts instructions in all of Chambers’ main practice areas and is equally comfortable being instructed in his own right or as part of a larger team.

Clare Stanley KC

Described as a ‘powerful advocate’, Clare is an experienced commercial chancery practitioner, well-known and highly regarded for contentious trust litigation, commercial and professional liability cases. Often instructed on behalf of PLC’s or high net-worth individuals in respect of large-scale and bitterly fought litigation, Clare is ‘praised for her grasp of detail’ and as someone ‘who is not afraid to take on challenging the odds’. Clare’s cases often involve allegations of misrepresentation, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.

Daniel Lewis

Dan is highly experienced in the full range of personal and corporate insolvency litigation, particularly in cases with an international element. He acts for and against directors in respect of claims by liquidators, particularly where tax mitigation schemes have been entered into. He regularly represents office-holders in respect of professional negligence claims. Outside insolvency, Dan undertakes a broad range of commercial and company claims, including arbitrations and shareholder claims.

Daniel Scott

Daniel is developing a diverse commercial chancery practice that spans all of Chambers’ practice areas. He is regularly instructed to appear as sole counsel in the High Court and County Court, and is often also instructed as part of a larger counsel team in more complex and high-value matters. Daniel’s practice also involves a considerable amount of advisory work. He has experience in both domestic and international work.

Daniel Petrides

Daniel joined Chambers in September 2019 on successful completion of his pupillage. His supervisors were Zoë Barton, Jonathan Hilliard QC, James Bailey QC, Fenner Moeran QC, Benjamin Faulkner and Jonathan Chew. During pupillage Daniel gained a broad range of experience across all of Chambers’ core practice areas. Daniel accepts instructions in all of Chambers’ main practice areas and is equally comfortable being instructed in his own right or as part of a larger team. Before studying law, Daniel read History at Jesus College, Cambridge and graduated with a starred double first, coming top of his year. He was awarded numerous college and university prizes during his degree. He stayed on at Cambridge to complete an MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History as a Goh-Coupe postgraduate scholar at Jesus College, also representing his college on University Challenge that year. Daniel obtained a distinction in the GDL at City, University of London and a commendation in the BPTC LLM in Legal Practice, also at City. While completing his legal studies, Daniel volunteered for the School Exclusion Project, representing the parents of children excluded from school at hearings before boards of governors and local authorities, and the Company Insolvency Pro Bono Scheme which provides representation for litigants in person appearing in the High Court’s Insolvency and Companies list. Daniel is also a Lord Bowen and Lord Denning scholar of Lincoln’s Inn, and a recipient of the Hardwicke Entrance Award.

David Phillips KC

A senior London based silk with an established reputation as a strategist and advocate in the field of commercial litigation and dispute resolution. David is also highly regarded in the fields of sport, professional negligence and EU transport regulation. Although the majority of his work is based in England and Wales, over recent years David has conducted substantial pieces of litigation on behalf of the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands (both on the Islands and in the Privy Council) in constitutional, commercial and judicial review cases, as well as litigation concerning the Island’s recent Commission of Inquiry. David has also appeared in and advised on major matters for institutional clients in other Caribbean territories including Anguilla, BVI and the Bahamas.

David Pollard

David’s practice focuses on pensions and trust law, insolvency law and employment law (particularly involving pensions).

Edward Sawyer

Edward has a commercial and chancery practice, with particular experience in the fields of pensions, trusts, commercial disputes, professional negligence, international work, financial services and civil fraud. His practice encompasses litigation and advisory work across the broad range of commercial chancery cases. Edward is regularly involved in large-scale litigation involving pension schemes, regulatory work, trust disputes, business disputes and professional liability, often with an international or offshore element. He has considerable experience of document-heavy long-running cases and working as part of multi-jurisdictional legal teams.

Elizabeth Houghton

Elizabeth has a very broad commercial chancery practice. She frequently appears in the High Court, County Court and tribunals, both in led teams and in her own right. She is often instructed in complex commercial matters with an international element. Recent work has involved jurisdictions including the Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Jersey, Mauritius, Andorra, Switzerland, Italy, Russia and the Marshall Islands. Elizabeth’s work frequently involves asset tracing in a number of jurisdictions and working closely with insolvency practitioners and other professionals. Her primary areas of practice are: Trusts and private client, including large offshore disputes in jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man and Hong Kong. Commercial disputes involving claims for breach of contract, misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duties. Arbitration, and the enforcement of foreign arbitration awards in England. Regulatory disputes, including acting for the Financial Reporting Council and the Pensions Regulator. Professional liability including claims against solicitors and auditors. Civil fraud claims and insolvency Property disputes

Emer Murphy

Emer’s practice focuses on property, commercial and trust disputes. She also advises on related professional liability matters. Emer offers intelligent, thorough and practical assistance. She prides herself on being user-friendly and approachable, and she enjoys working as part of the team. As an advocate, Emer is both engaging and tenacious. Emer regularly appears in the High Court, the County Court and before a variety of tribunals, both on her own account and as a junior. She is highly skilled in drafting and advisory work, and has worked on a significant number of high-profile, complex pieces of litigation.

Emily McKechnie

Emily specialises in complex commercial disputes, fraud, contentious trusts and professional liability. She has a wealth of experience in high value litigation, often involving an international dimension. Emily is a robust advocate who applies commercial common sense to complicated cases and has a strong tactical understanding of litigation.

Ernest Leung

Ernest joined Chambers in October 2023 on successful completion of his pupillage. During pupillage, he gained experience across the range of Chambers’ work and he is now building a broad commercial chancery practice. He is happy to be instructed as a sole counsel or as part of a team. Before joining Wilberforce, Ernest received a first-class degree in Jurisprudence, with various academic awards, and proceeded to complete the BCL with Distinction. Ernest is a seasoned mooter and has represented the university in various national and international moots. Ernest also tutored the Property II module (trusts and land) at LSE. His academic writing has been published in peer-reviewed law journals and, during pupillage, he was invited to give a seminar on cross-border legal issues at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Ernest is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese. In his free time, Ernest is learning Modern Standard Arabic.

Fenner Moeran KC

Fenner has a broad based chancery / commercial practice with an emphasis on litigation. Whilst he has particular specialities in pensions and civil fraud and asset recovery, he also regularly acts in general litigious chancery matters as well as insolvency, insurance, property and general commercial matters.

Francesca Mitchell

Francesca joined Chambers in 2019 upon successful completion of her pupillage. Her pupil supervisors were James Bailey QC, Fenner Moeran QC, Julian Greenhill QC and Emily McKechnie. Francesca has gained a wide experience of Chambers’ key practice areas, including insolvency, company law, property (including landlord and tenant), pensions, trusts, professional liability and commercial litigation. Francesca has been instructed in her own right, and is developing a broad commercial chancery practice across all of Chambers’ core areas of expertise. Prior to commencing pupillage, Francesca worked as in-house counsel for Darktrace, a leading cyber security company, and its sister company Luminance, an AI provider for the legal profession. Francesca is a Lord Mansfield Scholar at Lincoln’s Inn, and recipient of the Hardwick Entrance Award. Francesca accepts instructions in all of Chambers’ main practice areas and is equally comfortable being instructed in her own right or as part of a larger team.

Gabriel Fadipe

Gabriel has a wide-ranging practice covering commercial, property and modern chancery litigation. His cases range from small matters in the county courts and other tribunals, to multi-million pound disputes in the High Court and in offshore jurisdictions. He has a growing portfolio of fraud-related cases and his work often has international aspects, with a particular emphasis on Africa and the Caribbean. Much of Gabriel’s work cuts across traditionally defined disciplines. He combines intellectual rigour and attention to detail with a down-to-earth, common sense approach to litigation. As a result, Gabriel is often praised by clients, solicitors (including those acting for opposing parties) and judges for his ability to think outside the box.

Gilead Cooper KC

Gilead specialises in complex, high-value disputes, often involving allegations of fraud, breaches of trust and fiduciary duties, and professional negligence. He also has a notable specialism in matters involving art and antiquities. Gilead’s practice has a strong international element. He has appeared in the courts of Hong Kong, the BVI, Bermuda, Cayman and Nevis, and has been involved in litigation in Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar.

Graeme Halkerston

Graeme practices across a wide range of chancery commercial work and is consistently recommended in the leading directories for Chancery Commercial, Professional Liability, Offshore and Company Law. He is noted for ability to work with clients and as part of a litigation team with instructing solicitors, calling on his experience as a former partner in a leading offshore law firm.

Harriet Holmes

Harriet is a specialist property litigator, who also advises on related professional indemnity matters. Her practice encompasses the whole of property litigation, with an increasing emphasis on high value commercial property and development work. Harriet has appeared in the High Court, County Court, and Court of Appeal, as well as the Upper and First-tier Tribunals, sometimes on her own account, and sometimes as part of a team. She is also often asked to speak on matters relating to her practice, and has given talks or run workshops for the Property Litigation Association and numerous firms of solicitors.

Ian Croxford KC

Commercial litigation including: accountancy – for (and against) accountants in connection with various alleged breaches of duties including in respect of audit; reporting in respect of accountancy matters contested takeover bids, investigations on acquisition/sale; local government and administrative cases such as council tax capping, interest rate swaps, removal school governors; building and civil engineering for major contractors, with a small amount of white-collar crime; extensive experience, both as a junior and as QC, of litigation in Bermuda and in the Cayman Islands having conducted substantial trials there and advised in other matters.

Jack Watson

Jack has a busy commercial and chancery practice with significant experience acting in high value and complex disputes often in cases involving an international dimension. In particular Jack’s practice includes civil fraud disputes, company and insolvency, trusts, breach of fiduciary duties, professional liability as well as property-related work. Equally comfortable working on his own or as part of a larger team, he has significant advocacy experience appearing as sole counsel in a wide range of matters in his own right in both the county court, the High Court and appellate Courts and often appears on his own against QCs or senior junior barristers. Approachable and easy to deal with, Jack specialises in providing clear and structured advice on often complex issues and fighting hard in order to ensure the best outcome for his clients.

James Ayliffe KC

Barrister specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration across a wide range of fields including banking, company, insolvency, financial services, pensions, professional negligence, real estate and trusts.

James Bailey KC

James Bailey has developed a successful practice focused on commercial chancery, civil fraud, international arbitration, insolvency and company matters. James’s experience relates to all levels of court in England. His work also has a significant international dimension including cases relating to the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, the U.S., Switzerland, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Italy, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan. James has been instructed as an expert on matters of English law in courts abroad and his commercial work includes international arbitration.

James McCreath

Barrister practising in a broad range of commercial and traditional Chancery work, including general commercial litigation, real property, landlord and tenant, professional negligence, trusts and probate, contractual disputes, pensions, and company and insolvency.

James Walmsley

James has a broad commercial chancery practice including general commercial litigation and arbitration, trusts, pensions and professional liability. He is recommended in both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 for his commercial and pensions work.

James Goodwin

James has a diverse commercial chancery practice. He regularly appears in the High Court and the County Court, both in his own right and as a junior. Particular specialisms include trusts, pensions, property and commercial litigation. James is also often instructed in professional negligence cases, especially where such matters intersect with the above practice areas. James has a particular interest in offshore trust work, and has spent a significant period of time on secondment to a leading law firm in the Channel Islands, acting principally in relation to high value trust litigation.

Jamie Holmes

Jamie has a busy commercial chancery practice focussed around corporate and personal insolvency, trusts and probate, civil fraud (with extensive experience of freezing injunctions and other forms of interim relief) and commercial work (including international and London-based arbitrations). He appears frequently as sole counsel and as a junior (and increasingly as the middle junior) in both the High Court and County Court, and in arbitrations, for instructing solicitors based across the country and internationally. His principle practice areas are in contentious and advisory work concerning: Commercial Litigation Civil Fraud and Asset Recovery Insolvency and Restructuring International Arbitration Trusts, Estates & Probate

Jennifer Seaman

Jennifer practices in chancery and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on pensions, trusts, probate and estates, and professional negligence litigation. For several years, Jennifer has been recommended as a Leading Junior in the field of Pensions in Chambers & Partners and in The Legal 500. She has been described in the 2022 editions as: “Simply excellent. Very thorough, approachable and has excellent technical knowledge.”

Jessica Brooke

Jessica specialises in commercial chancery litigation, with a particular focus on insolvency and commercial disputes. She is an experienced advocate who appears regularly in the High Court, and she advises on and acts in high-value insolvency and commercial proceedings, including those involving cross-border issues and urgent injunctive relief. She frequently acts for both liquidators and respondents in misfeasance claims, often dealing with cases involving asset tracing and allegations of fraud or dishonesty, and has extensive cross-examination experience in this regard.

Jia Wei Lee

Jia Wei joined Chambers in 2018 upon successful completion of pupillage. Over the course of pupillage, Jia Wei gained a wide experience of Chambers’ key practice areas, including pensions, trusts, insolvency, company law, fraud, professional liability, property (including landlord and tenant) and commercial litigation. He has also been instructed in his own right, and is developing a broad commercial chancery practice. Jia Wei is happy to be instructed on his own or as part of a larger team.

Joanne Wicks KC

John McGhee KC

John maintains a wide and varied practice in the fields of modern commercial chancery work. He is well known as much for his acute intellectual analysis of problems and mastery of the detailed facts of a case as for his robust, practical and commercially realistic advice. John has appeared in all the civil courts in England and Wales from the Upper Tribunal to the Supreme Court and in arbitrations both as counsel and arbitrator. His court room presence marries an easy rapport with the court or tribunal, robust and incisive cross-examination and a lightning fast response to new points as they arise in the case.

John Grocott-Barrett

Having gained experience across the range of Chambers’ work, John is now building a broad commercial chancery practice. He is equally happy to be instructed as sole counsel or as part of a team. John is currently consulting with Harcus Parker where he is assisting on various group litigation matters which have been issued or are due to be issued in the High Court, including the Woodford Litigation, Energy Commission Claims and the Equal Pay Action. Before joining Wilberforce, John completed an LLM at UCL, having previously undertaken the graduate diploma in law and the bar course at City Law School. Previously, John worked for two years at a Big Four firm, EY, in its Corporate Governance team.

John Child

Barrister who covers all aspects of trust and property law advice, drafting and litigation (including charities, wills and probate) and associated revenue and private international law questions. He specialises in advising on trusts (both private client and commercial), on revenue matters and on matters relating to the Society of Lloyd.

John Martin KC

John Martin KC is an exceptionally experienced and effective advocate in a very wide range of commercial chancery and business disputes. He is adept at leading a team of specialists in complex litigation, whether within or without his own specialties. He has a particular expertise in contentious trust cases, in company and insolvency matters, in contract disputes of all types (often with a complex technical background) and in tort (particularly the economic torts). He deals also with professional liability disputes in these and other commercial chancery areas. His practice is both domestic and international: Overseas, he has dealt with matters originating in Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, Australia, Canada, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, Bermuda, Gibraltar, Netherlands Antilles, Nevis, the Cayman Islands and the Channel Islands among others, and has appeared in the courts of many of these jurisdictions.

John Furber KC

Barrister specialising in law of landlord and tenant; property litigation; property development, planning and compulsory purchase.

John Wardell KC

John has a very broad and varied commercial litigation practice. Most of his cases are heard in the High Court although he also does international arbitration work and regularly appears in offshore jurisdictions. Much of his time is taken up dealing with complex frauds. He also has a substantial professional indemnity practice. He is widely regarded as a leading silk. 'His advice has real clarity and strategic vision, and he always displays a strong tactical grip'. He is an 'outstanding advocate who is highly skilled at cross-examination. He is able to digest large volumes of information quickly and impresses clients with his commercial knowledge'. 'He has a great eye for detail, is incredibly numerate and user-friendly'. As well as applauding his strategic thinking and cross-examination skills, solicitors welcome his willingness to back his judgment. 'He gives bold advice and sticks to it. He is very calm, good on his feet, clever and has a nice touch with clients'.

Jonathan Seitler KC

Jonathan currently stands top of the pile in terms of KCs for heavy and important property litigation and property related professional negligence work. Jonathan Seitler KC recently won the Legal 500 Award for Real Estate, Environment and Planning Silk of the Year to add to the Chambers & Partners Real Estate Silk of the Year Award which he won on three separate occasions, in 2007, 2010 and 2015. In 2019 Jonathan was ranked as the top silk for Real Estate Litigation in Who’s Who Legal. Jonathan has accomplished these plaudits with a simple approach: his enormous success and enduring popularity has been achieved by immensely hard work, deep attention to detail, speed and decisiveness.

Jonathan Chew

Jonathan has a broad commercial and chancery practice including property (including landlord and tenant), pensions, commercial litigation (including civil fraud) and trusts. He also deals with insolvency, company and professional negligence issues arising out of these core areas. As sole counsel, Jonathan regularly appears in trials and applications in the High Court and county courts. Recent cases have been reported in the specialist reports (Dany Lions v Bristol Cars [2014] 1 Ll Rep 281 on frustration and mistake; Dany Lions [2014] 2 All ER (Comm) 403 on reasonable endeavours). He has appeared as sole counsel in the Court of Appeal. As a junior, Jonathan’s cases include leading cases on landlord and tenant law (Philips v Francis [2015] 1 WLR 741), the interpretation of construction contracts (Twintec v Volkerfitzpatrick [2014] BLR 150) and the proper approach to interim injunctions involving a London skyscraper (Century v Almacantar [2014] EWHC 394 (Ch). He acted on one of the Lawyer’s ‘cases of 2014’. Forthcoming cases include a Chancery Division trial on a pension scheme s75 debt and an appeal before the Court of Appeal on the need for signed writing in land contracts.

Jonathan Davey KC

Jonathan was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2016 at just 13 years’ call. Prior to taking Silk, Jonathan served on the Attorney General’s A Panel of Counsel to the Crown, the most senior of the 3 Crown Panels. Jonathan is a highly respected litigator with a broad commercial chancery practice encompassing areas including property, commercial, tax and trusts. Jonathan has considerable experience, in particular, of large-scale and high-value litigation in cases which involve more than one field of law. He is regularly instructed in complex commercial, property and financial/tax litigation, for example, the current high profile £1 billion Ingenious litigation. Jonathan has considerable experience of leading large legal teams.

Jonathan Hilliard KC

Barrister specialising in trusts and commercial litigation and advice, particularly pensions, private trusts, financial services, fraud, asset tracing, insolvency, contractual disputes and associated professional negligence. Has been listed as one of the 10 future stars of the bar in both the Times and Legal Week in recent years.

Joseph Steadman

Joseph has a diverse commercial chancery practice, spanning all of Chambers’ practice areas. He is regularly instructed to appear as sole counsel in High Court and County Court litigation, as well as being instructed as part of a larger counsel team. His practice also often involves advisory work.

Julian Greenhill KC

Julian took silk in 2018 following many years as one of the leading juniors in his principal fields of practice. He is now forging a busy and successful practice in silk. The core of Julian’s practice lies in property, commercial and professional liability litigation. Often his cases straddle these different fields. Julian prides himself on handling often complex cases in an approachable and user-friendly manner. Persuasive advocacy, both oral and written, is central to Julian’s approach in every case.

Lawrence Cohen KC

Barrister specialising in corporate and business law matters, particularly with an international/cross-border and offshore bias; practice area includes equity and offshore trust matters, including major civil fraud by fiduciaries and professional negligence, distinguishing features are: large-scale, complex and long-running case – clients are often investment bands or funds, institutional trustees, listed or multinational corporations, foreign governmental organisations or professional litigants such as liquidators; transactional work using extensive experience of financial markets in Europe and the US and of many aspects of financial accounting and reporting; this requires commercial acumen and sensitivity, as well as technical expertise in company, trust and insolvency law and practice; significant cross-border or international cases requiring private international law expertise (including tracing type claims, conservatory measures, recognition of foreign judgments or awards, eg Brussels, Lugano and New York conventions); practice often necessitates working closely with lawyers and other professionals (particularly accountants and financial services professionals) in different countries (eg Switzerland, Greece, Luxembourg, Central and South America), devising creative solutions and overcoming linguistic and cultural barriers; a feature is frequent court appearances in offshore financial centres, including the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands, building wide experience of offshore and cross-borders corporations, trusts and other holding structures.

Lemuel Lucan-Wilson

Lemuel joined Chambers in September 2020 upon successful completion of his pupillage. During his pupillage, Lemuel gained a wide variety of experience across Chambers’ key areas of practice such as trusts, property (including landlord and tenant work), insolvency, company law and commercial disputes. Lemuel has been instructed in his own right, and is developing a broad commercial chancery practice across all of Chambers’ core practice areas.

Lexa Hilliard KC

Lexa Hilliard KC is a popular and well-respected silk who is recommended by the legal directories as a leading silk for commercial dispute resolution, commercial chancery, company, insolvency and professional negligence. Her expertise also covers arbitration, banking and finance as well as fraud. She regularly advises in connection with off-shore disputes in the Channel Islands, the Caribbean and the Isle of Man. Her insolvency practice covers all aspects of corporate restructuring and insolvency. She advises creditors, directors, companies and office holders on a wide variety of corporate insolvency matters including, liquidation, administration, schemes of arrangement, CVAs and other less formal work-outs. Her contentious insolvency work covers asset tracing, the setting aside of prior transactions, wrongful and fraudulent trading and directors’ disqualification. Her work often has an international dimension which, as the legal directories point out, means that she is “particularly adept at advising on cross-border insolvency issues”.

Marcia Shekerdemian KC

Marcia is a leading practitioner in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious insolvency, company and partnership law as well as commercial litigation. Her work encompasses both domestic and international matters. She has appeared in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands and in the Isle of Man. She also sits in the High Court as a Deputy Insolvency and Companies Judge. Marcia is an active provider of talks and seminars and sits on the editorial board of Lexis PSL for insolvency. She is a contributing editor to Kerr & Hunter “Receivers and Administrators” (Sweet & Maxwell , 20th Edition).

Martin Hutchings KC

Specialises in property litigation, professional negligence, general Chancery/commercial. He has a broad property practice covering both contentious and non-contentious matters and professional liability in related areas. He has acted in many recent high-profile cases covering all aspects of property litigation. He has particular experience in commercial landlord and tenant matters including business tenancies, dilapidations; insolvency-related lease issues, and consent for alienation. Martin also regularly appears in and advises on real property cases. He has a wealth of recent reported cases. They concern such diverse areas as restrictive covenants; development agreements; easements; commercial lease interpretation and land registration.

Max Mallin KC

Max has a broad commercial practice covering a wide range of contractual and other business disputes (including commercial fraud) often with a significant international element. In recent years, he has acted on an increasing number of shareholder disputes (principally unfair prejudice petitions and derivative actions). Prior to coming to the Bar, Max had a successful career as an investment banker and trader which gives him a first-hand understanding of financial markets and products (including complex derivative instruments). This background has proved invaluable in the financial markets and related disputes for which Max is regularly instructed. A facility with numbers (Max has been described as having a “tremendous head for figures”) and a real understanding of finance has also proved of great benefit in other areas of his practice (e.g. claims for loss of profits and share valuation issues) and gives him a great advantage when cross-examining expert accounts in such areas. Max has well-recognised experience and expertise in commercial fraud claims and specialises in obtaining and responding to freezing injunctions and all related pre-emptive remedies. In common with other areas of his practice, this frequently involves significant jurisdiction and applicable law issues. Max is also regularly instructed in relation to international arbitrations governed by bodies including the ICC, the LCIA and the LME.

Michael Tennet KC

Michael’s practice encompasses litigation and advice in the fields of pensions (including professional negligence), financial services and private trusts. Has appeared in many of the most high profile and complex pensions cases of recent years. He has a particular knowledge of the work of actuaries, both in relation to pension funds and life assurance funds.

Michael Furness KC

Barrister; formerly first standing junior to the Inland Revenue in Chancery matters; appears regularly in the High Court and Court of Appeal, both for the government and for private clients; outside Revenue litigation, his practice concentrates on pension schemes, trusts, charities and professional negligence, principally in the fields of pensions and tax. Overseas, he has a substantial contentious and non-contentious trust practice mainly in Bermuda, and involving large family trusts. He also appears regularly in the courts of Hong Kong, including three appearances in the Court of Final Appeal.

Michael Ashdown

Michael has a broad chancery practice, encompassing all areas of commercial and traditional work. He appears regularly in the High Court and County Court, both as sole counsel and as a junior in a larger team. Michael’s particular interests are in all aspects of litigation and advice relating to trusts law. This encompasses both traditional private client work and pension schemes, together with professional negligence in those fields.

Nikki Singla KC

Nikki has a breadth of expertise covering a wide range of commercial and business disputes particularly in the fields of complex contracts, company valuation, joint ventures, director and shareholder disputes, trustee and fiduciary disputes, professional negligence and media and entertainment. He brings additional depth to his commercial cases with his expertise in equity, equitable remedies including asset tracing, trusts and trusts litigation, and company and partnership law. He is an experienced trial advocate and has appeared in a number of reported cases in the High Court (Chancery Division and Commercial Court) and in other jurisdictions, including Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. He has extensive experience of leading teams in arbitrations, both domestic and international. Many of his cases have a strong international element particularly in the Caribbean, the Channel Islands and the Middle East.

Paul Newman KC

Barrister who has a litigation and advisory practice concentrating on financial and private client disputes, most notably pensions, financial services and trusts. A substantial proportion of his practice also involves advising on and acting in liability and negligence disputes involving professionals. As well as representing some of the highest profile pension schemes in the UK and several major life insurers, he acts regularly for The Pensions Regulator. He has been heavily involved in advising on, and appearing in cases relating to, various provisions of the Pensions Act 2004, and also has extensive experience of advising and litigating on various public sector and industry-wide pension schemes. He has advised the Royal Bank of Scotland in connection with its successful recovery of pension benefits from Sir Fred Goodwin. He has also advised the Department of Work and Pensions on the age discrimination regulations, and has recently advised the senior UK judiciary on the effect of the reforms to public sector pensions on the judicial pension schemes. He regularly acts in contentious private and commercial trust disputes both in the UK and overseas, particularly Jersey and the Caribbean, involving disputes concerning the role of protectors, claims by beneficiaries and the role and duties of trustees.

Rachael Earle

Rachael has a busy insolvency practice which encompasses all areas of corporate and individual insolvency but with a particular emphasis on complex directors’ misfeasance claims (in which she acts both for Liquidators and for defendant directors). She is also frequently instructed on company and commercial disputes, in which she has significant experience dealing with allegations of fraud and dishonesty. Rachael appears regularly in the High Court, both as sole and junior counsel.

Ram Lakshman

Ram practices across all of Chambers’ core practice areas, including trusts, property, pensions, insolvency, company and commercial law. He regularly appears as sole counsel in both the High Court and the County Court and is equally comfortable being instructed in his own right or as part of a larger counsel team.

Robert Ham KC

Robert has a litigation and advisory practice, largely related to trust law. It covers not only traditional private client work, and associated tax law, but also pension schemes together with professional negligence in those fields. He enjoys devising complex transactions and drafting the documents to give effect to them, as well as sorting out the legal effect of complex transactions for which others were responsible.

Samuel Cathro

Before joining Wilberforce, Sam practised in New Zealand as a barrister, and as a solicitor in one of New Zealand’s leading litigation firms. He had a broad practice and frequently acted on large cases involving difficult contractual and equitable issues. In one such case Sam acted for PwC as liquidator of Ross Asset Management, New Zealand’s largest Ponzi scheme – a matter which raised novel questions about the intersection between equitable and insolvency principles. Sam's practice spans all of Chambers’ key areas, including trusts, commercial disputes, property, pensions, and insolvency.

Sebastian Allen

Barrister practising in a broad range of commercial and traditional Chancery work. He has particular experience, both as an advisor and advocate, of large-scale litigation relating to pensions, commercial and company litigation, financial services, trusts, insolvency, professional negligence and property disputes. He is frequently instructed on cases with an international element and is used to working with multi-jurisdictional legal teams.

Simon Atkinson

Barrister practising in a range of commercial chancery work, including: property (including landlord and tenant); trusts, tax, probate and estates; pensions; and commercial disputes.

Sri Carmichael

Sri specialises in civil fraud, commercial litigation, company law and insolvency. Much of her practice focuses on fraud claims, often involving wrongdoing by directors. She also specialises in shareholder, joint venture and contractual disputes, as well as applications on behalf of officeholders and creditors. She is frequently instructed on complex civil fraud cases due to her cross-disciplinary expertise in company law and insolvency. Many of her instructions have an international dimension. Sri is an experienced trial advocate and has appeared both as sole counsel and with a leader in high value Commercial Court, Chancery Division and arbitral matters. She has succeeded in a number of claims that have required her to undertake extensive cross-examination in respect of allegations of fraud and dishonesty.

Stephen Brown

Stephen has a broad-based dispute resolution practice and acts in complex commercial disputes, usually with an international dimension. He has successfully advised some of the world’s largest corporations. His experience covers both litigation and international arbitration, extending to all types of contractual dispute, including joint venture and warranty claims, across sectors including asset management, automotive, aviation, chemicals, hospitality, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, technology and telecoms. Stephen regularly advises in relation to shareholders’ rights and directors’ duties. He has been instructed in a number of high value fraud cases. Before coming to the Bar in January 2014, Stephen was an international law firm partner between 1998 and 2013, recommended by both Chambers UK and Legal 500 as a leading individual in commercial litigation. Having qualified as a Higher Rights advocate in 2001, Stephen has appeared regularly since 2001 in various divisions of the High Court, including the Commercial Court, the Chancery Division, the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal. Stephen has appeared in arbitrations both ad hoc and under the rules of various institutions including the AAA, ICC, LCIA and LMAA and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the LCIA. Stephen is a CEDR Accredited Mediator and has extensive experience of mediation having acted as mediator and appeared for clients in dozens of mediations.

Stuart Isaacs KC

Recognised as a leader at the Bar in all of his areas of practice, Stuart Isaacs KC is conspicuous for his exceptional legal and technical knowledge and abilities. Noted in legal directories as having a practice of international standing, he is also commended for his ‘tactical head’ and as being a ‘strong litigator’ and ‘superb tactician’ who ‘gets results that others only dream of’. He is ‘highly rated’ by Legal 500. Stuart has an established reputation as a barrister specialising in international commercial arbitration and litigation, with a particular focus on London and Asia. He was the first London KC to be authorised to practise as a foreign lawyer in Singapore. Stuart advises and represents clients in court and arbitration proceedings worldwide. He sits regularly as an arbitrator and is a Deputy Judge of the High Court of England and Wales. With an almost exclusively international focus, his practice covers the range of heavy commercial disputes. Stuart is highly experienced in international commercial arbitration and investment treaty arbitration, both as counsel acting for the parties and as a much in-demand arbitrator. Stuart has also given expert evidence on English commercial law issues in courts and arbitration tribunals in a number of overseas jurisdictions. These have included courts and tribunals in New York, Singapore, Italy and Israel, in the form of both written opinions and oral evidence.

Tara Taylor

Tara is developing a broad commercial chancery practice, spanning Chambers’ main practice areas. She regularly appears as sole counsel in the High Court and County Court, as well as being instructed as part of a larger team. Tara’s practice also involves a wide range of advisory work and she has experience in both domestic and international disputes.

Terence Mowschenson KC

Terence is a chancery/commercial practitioner with extensive litigation and advisory experience in all aspects of financial and commercial matters. In particular, he has established an expertise and reputation in the fields of banking law, corporate finance and financing arrangements, civil fraud and asset recovery, company law (including shareholders agreements and disputes, stock exchange trading and broking), financial services (including disciplinary matters), insolvency, insurance, partnership and joint ventures, professional liability, and trusts (both commercial and private) including breach of trust. Terence has been admitted in the BVI and called to the East Caribbean Bar.

Theo Dixon

Theo joined Chambers in October 2023 following the successful completion of his pupillage. During pupillage Theo gained experience across the full range of Chambers’ work. He is now building a broad commercial chancery practice encompassing commercial disputes, civil fraud, trusts, insolvency, company law, property, and pensions. Theo is equally comfortable being instructed as sole counsel or as a junior member of a counsel team. Theo holds a First-Class degree in History from the University of Oxford and an MPhil in World History from the University of Cambridge. He was subsequently awarded a Distinction on both the GDL and BVS. Before joining Wilberforce, Theo worked as a judicial assistant to various judges in the Chancery Division and as a paralegal in the BVI dispute resolution department of a leading offshore law firm.

Thomas Grant KC

Thomas practises mainly in the Chancery Division and Commercial Court, as well as in the BVI and Cayman Islands, and has particular experience in heavy multi-party disputes. Regarded as one of the leading advocates at the commercial chancery Bar Thomas was awarded Chancery Silk of the Year 2021 by Chambers and Partners. He spends a good part of his professional life in the courtroom and has appeared in a very large number of reported decisions (over the last four years alone Thomas has appeared in over 40 reported cases). Thomas also has a substantial international arbitration practice. Thomas has a particular interest in fraud claims and is well known for his expertise in obtaining and defending freezing and related interim orders, including Norwich Pharmacal orders. He is also well known for his experience in committal applications arising out of fraud claims, having appeared in some of the most significant cases in this area over the last 10 years. He is also instructed to provide chancery and company law input in very high value matrimonial disputes and has appeared on a number of occasions in leading cases in the Family Division. His advocacy has been commended by the Court of Appeal as “lucid and compelling” (Zinda v BOS) and as “engaging and very able” (Platform Home Loans v BOS).

Thomas Seymour

Highly experienced barrister and accredited mediator with a broad commercial chancery practice, with an emphasis on pensions; trusts; private client; property (and professional negligence related to those areas). His areas of work are pensions, principally advising on occupational pension schemes, including regulatory matters, pensions mis-selling and pensions liberation; trusts and private client, contentious trust litigation both in the United Kingdom and overseas (including Gibraltar and Cayman Islands); wills, contentious probate, estate and charities; property, real property disputes, contracts for sale or lease, title and boundaries, restrictive covenants, easements, mortgages, commercial landlord and tenant, and conveyancing; partnership and company law matters (including advising Financial Reporting Review Council on International Accounting Standards).

Thomas Lowe KC

Queen’s Counsel practising in all areas of commercial chancery work, particularly insolvency, asset tracing and corporate fraud as well as traditional trust and probate work. He has appeared in a substantial number of reported and high-profile cases both in the UK and overseas and worked on some of the biggest insolvencies and international fraud cases. A large proportion of his practice involves cross-border litigation in offshore jurisdictions. He is one of very few barristers who have had full and not merely ad hoc practising certificates in both the BVI and the Cayman Islands. Much of his work stems from collapses of complex investment structures and from high-value private client disputes. Hence he has acted for a variety of different parties in hedge fund and banking disputes and in contentious offshore trust cases. He is regularly called upon to give expert evidence on both UK and offshore law in the US on matters of company law and the liability of fiduciaries.

Thomas Robinson

Thomas has a strong commercial / chancery practice with particular emphasis on pensions, insolvency and commercial litigation (including IT matters). He has been recommended as a leading junior by The Legal 500 and Chambers UK for several years. He has been nominated as “Insolvency / Restructuring Junior of the Year” at the Chambers UK Bar Awards and was ‘highly commended’ in Legal Week’s “Stars at the Bar”. His six month placement with the commercial litigation department of a firm in Guernsey at the outset of his practice gave him experience of off-shore litigation as well as direct exposure to a wide range of clients.

Tiffany Scott KC

Tiffany is an experienced advocate specialising in commercial litigation, trusts and estates disputes, property litigation and professional liability claims. She has experience in ‘business’ litigation of all kinds, often with an international element, including fund and partnership disputes, shareholder disputes, claims against fiduciaries, and claims arising out of insolvency and civil fraud. She has appeared before Courts and Tribunals at all levels, including the Privy Council and, more recently, The Supreme Court.

Tim Matthewson

Barrister with a commercial chancery practice encompassing pensions, commercial litigation, insolvency, professional negligence, property and trusts. Commercial litigation work includes injunctions, civil fraud, company and contractual disputes.

Tim Penny KC

Tim has a strong commercial and chancery litigation practice, specialising in the areas of commercial fraud, shareholders and partnership disputes, financial services related claims and breach of confidence, ‘soft’ intellectual property and sports disciplinary disputes. Tim has a particular expertise in worldwide freezing orders and search orders, and much of his work involves cross-border and conflicts of laws issues. He has been involved in cases dealing with the admissibility of evidence. Tim has also been involved in the leading recent cases on collective investment schemes. He is regularly instructed in high value litigation and has conducted numerous successful High Court trials. He is well used to both leading a team of counsel and solicitors as well as working within a large team, often including solicitors within this jurisdiction and lawyers in other ‘offshore’ jurisdictions.

Tom Roscoe

Barrister practicing across a broad range of commercial and chancery work, including: general commercial and contractual disputes, residential and commercial property; trusts; wills and probate; pensions; professional negligence; corporate and personal insolvency and company law.

Zoë Barton KC

Call: 2003

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