David Railton KC
Fountain Court ChambersRated highly for being a ‘leading set in banking work with strength in depth across all parts of the banking sector,’ Fountain Court Chambers handles all aspects of banking and finance matters, ranging from acting for and against large retail and investment banks, to representing their current and former customers in a wide variety of claims. In terms of banking disputes, members of chambers have been involved in a number of precedent setting cases, including NMC Healthcare and Others v Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC and Others, which saw Bankim Thanki KC, Henry King KC, Nico Leslie, Alexandra Whelan and Damien Bruneau represent successful claimants in a dispute arising from competing claims regarding security arrangements over high-value loans. Other standout cases include Loreley Financing v Credit Suisse, where Patrick Goodall KC, Adam Sher, Laurie Brock and Marcus Field successfully acted for Credit Suisse in a claim relating to a CDO that it had entered into, which was linked to residential mortgage-backed securities. Richard Coleman KC and Patricia Robertson KC are noted for their work on a broad range of banking matters, while Rebecca Loveridge is praised as ’responsive and dedicated,’ as well as being involved in a number of high-value and high-profile claims. James Duffy KC was appointed silk in 2024.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ''The clerking at Fountain Court is second-to-none. Sian Huckett, Alfie Harper and George Hack in particular are brilliant: responsive, easy to work with and very knowledgeable.'
- 'The clerks are personable, easy to get hold of and helpful.'
- 'Strong chambers with excellent juniors.'
- 'The clerks are generally good and more responsive and pro-active than some other chambers.'
- 'Fountain Court Chambers are excellent and always a pleasure to work with.'
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.
Timothy Howe KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Tim brings an uncompromising, no-stone-left-unturned approach to the cases he leads, with a willingness to get into the fine detail which you don’t often see at his level of seniority. He does not shrink from difficult points and is a formidable cross-examiner.’
Patricia Robertson KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Lightning grasp of detail in a complex factual landscape.’
Andrew Mitchell KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Andrew is one of the best banking/commercial litigators. He always has the ear of the court, he inspires confidence, and gives 150 per cent to his cases.’
Bankim Thanki KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Bankim is justifiably a super-silk. He can come in to any case at any stage and he brings gravitas and a lifetime’s experience. He has the court’s ear, not because he is in the least flamboyant or bombastic, but simply because what he says is right.’
Richard Coleman KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘He knows the areas better than almost anyone else. His written and oral advocacy is excellent and he never puts a foot wrong.’
Patrick Goodall KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Outstanding legal analysis. Presents difficult arguments in a way the judge will find attractive. A formidable opponent.’
Richard Lissack KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Richard has a proven ability to turn the tide in complex cases.’
Richard Handyside KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Richard is one of the absolute leading lights of the banking and finance Bar. He is a stellar advocate, delivers beautifully written work, and is an absolute delight to deal with. He is also a tenacious fighter – meaning clients adore him because they really see how he fights their corner hard. Richard achieves excellent results and is constantly in high demand as a result.’
Jeffrey Chapman KC
Fountain Court Chambers
Adam Zellick KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Adam is a pleasure to work with. He is calm under pressure, analytical and authoritative and has a deep knowledge of contract and banking disputes.’
Tamara Oppenheimer KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Smooth advocate and has ear of court. Strong expertise on privilege issues. All round impressive court room performer.'
Ben Valentin KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Ben is a convincing speaker with an impressive command of the facts of the case and a good way of simplifying complex matters.'
James Cutress KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘James is an experienced counsel and advocate. His written advocacy is excellent, and he delivers oral submissions on complex matters in a concise, persuasive and effective manner.’
Akhil Shah KC
Fountain Court Chambers 'Akhil is a go-to silk for trade finance-related work. His speed of analysis and responsiveness really sets him apart.'
Paul Sinclair KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Paul is highly intelligent, impressively concise in his written arguments and a good advocate.’
John Taylor KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘John is a tenacious and effective advocate, but a thoroughly decent opponent who acts with objectivity and integrity.’
Derrick Dale KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Derrick always comes up with solutions and avenues for even the most difficult of cases. A robust advocate who remains calm and controlled in all situations.’
Laura John KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Laura is a formidable opponent, identifying her points with clarity and arguing them with tenacity.’
Raymond Cox KC
Fountain Court Chambers
Henry King KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Henry is the real deal. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law and the factual record. He is also a powerful oral advocate who isn’t afraid to argue difficult points. A real star of the Bar.’
Giles Wheeler KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Giles is a top class banking litigation silk. He is a formidable advocate, with an ability to win the ear of the court quickly. He is fantastic with clients.’
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.
Simon Atrill KC
Fountain Court Chambers2024 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.
James Duffy KC
Fountain Court Chambers ‘James is a pleasure to work with. He is very hard working, extremely able, and very commercially minded.’
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.
Rupert Allen
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Rupert is incredibly bright, a dream junior and future superstar KC. His written work product is excellent, and he has a great strategic nous.’
Adam Sher
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Adam grasps the detail of complicated cases impressively quickly. His input is always well-considered and valuable. He has great command of the detail, and strong drafting skills.’
Nico Leslie
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Very intelligent and diligent, user-friendly and engaging to work with.'
Simon Paul
Fountain Court Chambers
Ian Bergson
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Ian is a superstar in the making and enormously in demand in chambers and externally. He is utterly relentless in his work ethic, and always in good cheer. He is genuine, thoughtful and creative with a genuine interest and talent for the law. He always masters the factual detail, so he is on top of the points of detail in a way that is astounding.’
Natasha Bennett
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Natasha is very hard working and clear in her advocacy. She is also a pleasure to be opposite: always respectful and polite which allows the issues to fight each other, not the individuals!’
Nick Daly
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Nick has infectious enthusiasm for cases and the complex issues they throw up. He is a pleasure to work with.’
David Murray
Fountain Court Chambers
Rebecca Loveridge
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Rebecca is an absolute star of the Bar. She is extremely quick and very easy to work with; she has fantastic judgement and her advocacy is compelling. She also remains calm under pressure and is a reassuring presence for the client.’
Daniel Edmonds
Fountain Court Chambers 'Daniel is an exceptionally talented lawyer. His written advocacy is extremely persuasive and he always has an eye for detail.'
Aaron Taylor
Fountain Court Chambers
Alex Barden
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Alex displays sharp legal analysis paired with a sensible commercial approach.'
Christopher Langley
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Exactly the junior you want on a difficult and substantial case. Incredibly intelligent, really excellent analytical ability, produces great paperwork and a joy to work with.'
Leonora Sagan
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Leonora is articulate, has clarity of thought and is robust in how she presents her arguments.'
Joseph Farmer
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Joseph was a pleasure to deal with. He is very intelligent and drafts really well.’
Craig Ulyatt
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Craig demonstrated a rare level of rigour in understanding the instructions that were provided to him.’
Alexandra Whelan
Fountain Court Chambers ‘An outstanding commercial junior. Sharp, extremely hard-working and efficient, with excellent judgment. Alexandra is a standout junior at the commercial Bar.‘
Daniel Carall-Green
Fountain Court Chambers ‘He has strong and sophisticated written advocacy skills. He also provides excellent support to leading counsel in the context of complex hearings.’
Laurie Brock
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Laurie has an utterly formidable work ethic; for him near enough is never good enough. He combines ever-present strategic thinking with a command over the detail which is second-to-none.’
Marianne Butler
Fountain Court Chambers
Max Evans
Fountain Court Chambers ‘Max is an excellent barrister – extremely clever, thorough, very good judgement and wonderful with clients. His documents are always clear and persuasive. A go-to junior in this area and a strong addition to any counsel team.’