Erskine Chambers stands out as 'the leading company law set', with 'deep knowledge of this area of law' and 'the best range of counsel in the market, with excellent strength in depth'. Shareholder disputes are a core area of strength for the team, which is regularly sought after to advise on a wide range of complex contentious and non-contentious company law work. David Chivers KC is a highly regarded practitioner in the space, with an excellent track record in handling restructuring and insolvency work in the corporate field as well as offshore matters. Edward Davies KC and Jack Rivett appeared in ClientEarth v Shell, involving a derivative claim brought against the directors of Shell for alleged breaches of directors' duties in relation to Shell's climate change risk management strategy.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Very good. I have dealt with Alex Calder and Samantha Rouse. They are both very helpful and knowledgeable.'
  • 'The clerks at Erskine are excellent and more responsive and user friendly than most other sets that I work with. Michael Shillingford is my favourite clerk to work with.'
  • 'Seamus Nixon has been first-class in managing diaries and understanding the pressures of an instructing solicitor.'
  • 'Michael Shillingford is excellent and responsive. Jake Taylor is good.'
  • 'Clerks are consistently excellent: rapid, thorough, knowledgeable, professional, polished, easy to deal with.'
  • 'Erskine Chambers has unparalleled strength and depth of experience in this area.'
  • 'The confidence that they inspire in company law matters is huge. Their ability to draw on very wide and deep experience is impressive: if they haven't seen something, it almost certainly hasn't been done.'
  • 'A strong chambers when it comes to corporate, company law and restructuring matters, and I am very comfortable relying on all of their barristers and team.'

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.
David Chivers KC
1
Erskine Chambers
‘David is a master of his brief, and he quickly wins the trust of judges by virtue of his thoughtful and persuasive advocacy.’
Peter Arden KC
2
Erskine Chambers
‘Peter is very experienced and has a great manner. He knows the law inside and out and provides very clear and accurate advice.’
Edward Davies KC
2
Erskine Chambers
‘His advocacy is robust and effective, and his cross-examination is first-class, putting the client on the front foot throughout.’
2
Andrew Thornton KC
Erskine Chambers
‘A commercial and level-headed silk. Andrew is able to secure safe passage of the trickiest transactions through the courts.'
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 Shaw KC
Erskine Chambers
‘Ben is the barrister you want in the trenches with you – user-friendly, approachable, bright, responsive, pragmatic and a real team player.’

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.
Matthew Parfitt
4
Erskine Chambers
‘Matthew is fiercely intelligent, calm, decisive, and a commanding advocate who is unafraid to take difficult points.’
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.