Administrative law and human rights

Monckton Chambers

Monckton Chambers‘ team is well versed in representing claimants and defendants in complex cases across the public law arena, with particular focus on commercial and regulatory judicial reviews. The ’superb‘ Robert Palmer KC recently acted for the Secretary of State for the Home Department in successfully defending the second judicial review claim brought by the Duke of Sussex concerning his security arrangements in the UK. The ’proactive‘ Gerry Facenna KC has established strength in representing claimants, interveners and states before the European Court of Human Rights. Nikolaus Grubeck is very experienced in advising on claims involving issues of national security. Strengthening the team at the senior end, Brendan McGurk KC and Ewan West KC took silk in March 2024.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Steven Duffett is my first port of call and he is a pleasure to deal with, offering practical solutions, availability and accurate costs information.'
'The clerks are so easy to talk to and are problem solvers, they have great communication skills.'
'Reliable and responsive clerks.'
'The clerks are all very helpful.'
'Extremely strong set.'
'Good strength in depth and consistent quality.'

Silks

Leading Silks

KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.

'A very strategic silk with a good client manner.'

3

Robert Palmer KC

Monckton Chambers

'A silk with an incredibly powerful brain.'

2023 Silks

KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.

Ben Lask KC

Monckton Chambers

2024 Silks

KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.

Brendan McGurk KC

Monckton Chambers

'He has judges eating out of his hands with his encyclopaedic knowledge of case law and legislation.'

Ewan West KC

Monckton Chambers

'He is very knowledgeable, good on his feet and respected by judges.'

Juniors

Leading Juniors

Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.

1

Eric Metcalfe

Monckton Chambers

'Eric is such a joy to work with for many reasons: he is skilled in explaining complicated legal concepts in simple terms, tailoring it to the audience, and is very quick to respond in fast paced litigation. His written and oral advocacy is outstanding. Judges appreciate his advocacy and are assisted by both his submissions and questioning of witnesses. '

2

Julianne Kerr Morrison

'He is one of the most intelligent barristers at the Bar, and is incredibly down to earth.'

'A formidable senior junior. He provides robust, sensible and strategically sound advice to extremely vulnerable clients with compassion, and remains calm and thoughtful under pressure.'

4

Alexandra Littlewood

Monckton Chambers

'She is an exceptional junior, whose drafting, strategic insight and advocacy all well exceed her year of call.'

4

Jonathan Lewis

Monckton Chambers

'An extremely bright and practical junior.'

4

Conor McCarthy

Monckton Chambers

'Clever, even in an area with lots of clever barristers.'

Rising stars

Rising stars at the Bar are defined as barristers between four and eight years’ call who are seen as up-and-coming members of the Bar in their respective practice areas by clients and peers alike. They will already be instructed in high-profile, complex, and high-value contentious and non-contentious matters, working with and opposite more experienced leading counsel.