Noted for its ‘strength in depth’ within banking and finance matters, Twenty Essex‘s barristers handle high-value cases, including banking disputes, as well as cases that intersect with other practice areas, such as civil fraud, crypto and cyber energy. Members are instructed both for and against financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds and HNWIs, with Duncan Matthews KC and Philip Riches KC being instructed on Republic of Mozambique v Credit Suisse, a complex litigation involving allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption. Charles Kimmins KC has been involved in the leading cases on derivatives, as well as advising on large claims by regulators for market misconduct. Tony Beswetherick KC handles cases with an international element, with experience in cross-border issues arising from bankruptcies and pre-emptive relief.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Very responsive and helpful practice management and clerking team. Particularly Arron Zitver and Robert Wheeler.'
- 'Good strength in depth.'
- 'Twenty Essex is a fantastic set; all of the barristers are reliably excellent and we use them extensively.'
- 'The clerks at Twenty Essex are superb; very user friendly and always available.'
- 'Clerks are very efficient and helpful. They are always willing to come up with competitive fee quotes for cost sensitive clients which is much appreciated.'
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.
Paul Lowenstein KC
Twenty Essex ‘Paul is an outstanding advocate. His analysis is excellent. His particular strengths lie in identifying crucial issues in the case which the judge is likely to base their decision on, and relentlessly pursuing those points in the interests of his client.’
Duncan Matthews KC
Twenty Essex ‘Highly experienced, well prepared, thorough and resonant advocate who is a strong team leader.’
Charles Kimmins KC
Twenty Essex ‘Charles is absolutely brilliant. His ability to see the way through complex financial disputes and achieve superb outcomes is masterful.’
Tony Beswetherick KC
Twenty Essex
Andrew Ayres KC
Twenty Essex ‘Andrew is a team player, has a very good advocate style and is good on strategy.’
Andrew Fulton KC
Twenty Essex ‘Andrew Fulton is intellectually very able, extremely knowledgeable on trade, banking and arbitration. He is great on tactics, always fights the clients’ case with vigour; able to cut to the heart of the dispute quickly; understands the pressures of private practice and the need to adopt a commercial approach rather than giving ivory tower solutions.’
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.
Luke Pearce KC
Twenty Essex ‘Luke is fantastic. He is laser focused and his oral advocacy is clear, precise and hugely persuasive. He ran rings around far more senior KCs. A real star.’
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.
Sean Snook
Twenty Essex ‘Sean is an excellent barrister. His written work is excellent and his oral advocacy skills are superb. He is reliable and extremely diligent and does what it takes to get the job done. His technical skills in his field of focus are superb.’