Wilberforce Chambers is recognised as an ‘excellent commercial Chancery set’, offering specialist expertise across various areas including banking and finance, insolvency, fraud, and commercial contract disputes. In a notable cryptocurrency dispute, John Wardell KC leads Bobby Friedman and Sri Carmichael in representing the claimant in Tulip Trading LLP v Bitcoin Association following a hack on the computer of CEO Craig Steven Wright, raising questions about whether Bitcoin developers owe fiduciary duties to fraud victims. Alan Gourgey KC represents principal defendants in Bourlakova v Bourlakov, a case involving assets worth nearly £3bn belonging to the late Russian businessman Oleg Burlakov. Additionally, in Mitchell v Al Jabar, Clare Stanley KC defended Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber regarding whether directors of BVI companies owe fiduciary duties post-liquidation.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The clerks at this set are as good as any at any leading commercial set, especially Andrew Barnes. Nick Luckman is very impressive.'
- 'Stewart Cameron leads a very tight ship of charming and helpful clerks. Particular mention to Grace Mahoney!'
- 'Andrew Barnes is one of the best clerks around and is always on top of the details of a case and can match the right barrister to the right case. Connor Michaels and Antonia Matthews are also very good to work with and have great skills.'
- 'Andrew Barnes is efficient and easy to deal with.'
- 'A strong set with good practitioners at all levels. Very accessible.'
- 'Good strength at the junior, senior junior and silk level for civil fraud and offshore litigation.'
- 'Excellent commercial Chancery set looking to lead the pack.'
- 'Excellent Chambers with a great selection of commercial litigators.'
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.
John Wardell KC
Wilberforce Chambers ‘John is second to none. An intellectual powerhouse and formidable cross-examiner who is lovely to work with.'
Thomas Grant KC
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Cuts straight to the point and immediately grasps the relevant detail. He is a barrister that judges listen to.'
Lexa Hilliard KC
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Lexa has the rare ability to distil complicated concepts into such beautifully logical and simple arguments that you cannot help but agree with her. Commercial and forthright with clients and opponents - she is a joy to have on any litigation team.'
Tim Penny KC
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Tim is just great - he has an excellent strategic view of a case and can quickly unpick the weaknesses in both sides’ cases. He is very clever and highly collaborative.'
Clare Stanley KC
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Clare is frighteningly intelligent, but with a personal touch not often seen at the bar. Absolutely brilliant on her feet.'
Fenner Moeran KC
Wilberforce Chambers ‘A terrific advocate and able to persuade a wavering court. He is supremely quick off the mark but listens to the mood of the room.'
Nikki Singla KC
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Nikki is brilliantly analytical and fantastically clever. Just the right combination of intellectual brilliance, determination and courtroom savvy.'
James Bailey KC
Wilberforce Chambers ‘James is incredibly hard-working and not averse to rolling his sleeves up to get the best results for his clients. His star quality is the effectiveness of his advocacy, both in his written and oral submissions.'
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.
Anna Littler
Wilberforce Chambers ‘A fiercely intelligent, analytical and creative lawyer with tremendous judgement skills. Superb on her feet and excellent on paper.'
Sri Carmichael
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Sri’s strategic insight is overlaid with a brilliant analytical mind and a superb eye for detail.’
Emily McKechnie
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Emily is direct and clear in her advice and is extraordinarily bright. She can easily hold her own against the most difficult of opponents.'
Edward Sawyer
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Edward has excellent legal knowledge and great tactical skills and is a great advocate on paper and on his feet. His super power is being able to use his strong technical knowledge of different areas of law and procedural rules to plot a clear way through a very unusual dispute, coming up with a clear, entirely novel, and incredibly good approach.'
James Walmsley
Wilberforce Chambers ‘James is an exemplary problem solver. He is popular with judges and his written work is clear and thorough.'
Bobby Friedman
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Bobby has the extremely useful ability to provide cogent, focussed advice on the law, while also keeping in mind the commercial drivers a client will be considering. His advocacy is robust and persuasive.’
Jessica Brooke
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Jessica is hands-on, detail-oriented and robust in the face of slippery opponents. Great advocate and a delight to work with.'
Jack Watson
Wilberforce Chambers ‘An exceptional team player and a very good advocate. Commercially minded, aware of the needs and objectives of clients and prepared to adopt strategy accordingly.'
Stephen Brown
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Stephen has a unique ability to align legal strategy with commercial objectives, ensuring that clients' interests are represented with both precision and practicality. He has an approachable demeanour and ability to explain complex legal issues in an accessible manner.'
Tara Taylor
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Extremely talented, with an impressive intellect, in-depth legal knowledge, coupled with great interpersonal skills.'
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.
Daniel Petrides
Wilberforce Chambers ‘Daniel is very personable, hard-working and very highly regarded by the seniors with whom he works. A real team player.'