Hall of fameErskine Chambers
‘One of the best company law barristers in the UK, but one who also has a strong social conscience, he works creatively to find strong legal arguments.’
Erskine Chambers
Erskine Chambers is ‘renowned, deservedly, as the go-to set for complicated corporate law questions’ and ’a top set for company law disputes with a good selection of barristers at various levels’. Among the set’s many prominent silks is David Chivers KC, who recently handled an appeal to the Privy Council from Antigua to consider the power of directors to enter into poison pill arrangements at common law in IGlobe v Sinovac. Opposing counsel in that case were the set’s own James Potts KC and Andrew Blake. Martin Moore KC, who is widely recognised as a leading voice on transactional matters, advised GSK on contentious issues arising from the demerger of its consumer healthcare division to Haleon plc, and handled a high-value appraisal action in Bermuda on behalf of Jardine Matheson Group. Turning to the set’s juniors, Nigel Dougherty recently acted for directors of the owner of London’s Wolseley restaurant in successfully resisting an injunction sought by MI Squared that would have prevented a proposed £38m rescue package. Mary Stokes has retired from practice.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'All of the clerks I have dealt with are helpful and friendly, especially Seamus Nixon.'
- 'They are all excellent, they know their barristers and the court and are easy to deal with.'
- 'The clerks are a delight to work with - the set is smaller than some of the other bigger sets and well served by the clerks who know their team well.'
- 'Responsive, helpful and easy to work with. Special mention to Alex Calder.'
- 'The clerks are responsive, efficient, and easy to deal with.'
- 'Renowned, deservedly, as the go to set for complicated corporate law questions.'
- 'Erskine are the go-to set for company work. They have a relatively small team but a good range of juniors. They offer a useful programme of webinars.'
- 'Small but perfectly formed. It's no wonder they are top of the tree and on speed dial when it comes to corporate law. Litigators love the enthusiasm of the barristers to go into court; corporate transaction lawyers love the forensic analysis of the law that enables them to make 'bet the company' decisions.'
- 'Erskine Chambers is well known for their company law expertise and is at the top of the market in this area.'
- 'Erskine Chambers is the pre-eminent set for company law. They would always be my first port of call for support on an unfair prejudice petition.'
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.
1Hall of fameErskine Chambers
‘Martin combines an enormous brain with availability, pragmatism and a sense of humour, and he is very effective when presenting in court.’
Hall of fameErskine Chambers
‘Peter is an absolute guru in the field of insolvency and analyses proposed plans and arrangements from the ground up, starting from base principles.’
2Hall of fameErskine Chambers
‘James is extremely personable and there is almost nobody in the market with more knowledge of shareholder disputes than he has.’
Hall of fameErskine Chambers
‘Frankly masterful, Andrew has deep, deep knowledge of the law and issues surrounding shareholders' and directors' disputes, coupled with calm and persuasive advocacy.’
Hall of fameErskine Chambers
‘An excellent barrister with great commercial experience in arbitration, particularly when there is a company law issue.’
Hall of fameErskine Chambers
‘Andrew is a very effective advocate and a leader on transactional work who is a favourite among the leading corporate law firms.’
3Hall of fameErskine Chambers
‘Ed is very user-friendly and responsive, and excellent at identifying creative and practical solutions to problems because he is on top of the detail.’
2023 Silks
Erskine Chambers
‘Ben is very approachable and works very well as part of a team. He explains complex matters very clearly.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Ben has a brain the size of a planet and has been around the block enough to know and anticipate both the legal fight and the strategy, and he is calm, trustworthy and seemingly unflappable.’
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.
Erskine Chambers
‘Nigel has a calm and measured manner, in-depth knowledge and experience of company law, and is sufficiently responsive and hardworking to ensure tight deadlines are met.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Ben is thorough, methodical, calm under pressure and thinks around every corner to give clear advice.’
Erskine Chambers
‘A specialist in both company law and sanctions law, Stephen is the gold standard when it comes to technical issues concerning the ownership and control of companies.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Matthew has forensic skills and is very bright, calm and reassuring for clients.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Jack is an absolute superstar who can provide insightful, commercial and above all correct advice time and again.’
5Erskine Chambers
‘Andrew is great to work with, considered and commercial in his approach.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Anna is a skilled and highly competent junior who can assimilate a huge amount of information in a short space of time and cut through straight to the core issues.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Charismatic and smart, Chantelle grasps the brief quickly and argues cases with grace, good humour and steely determination.’
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.
Erskine Chambers
‘Nigel has a calm and measured manner, in-depth knowledge and experience of company law, and is sufficiently responsive and hardworking to ensure tight deadlines are met.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Ben is thorough, methodical, calm under pressure and thinks around every corner to give clear advice.’
Erskine Chambers
‘A specialist in both company law and sanctions law, Stephen is the gold standard when it comes to technical issues concerning the ownership and control of companies.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Matthew has forensic skills and is very bright, calm and reassuring for clients.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Jack is an absolute superstar who can provide insightful, commercial and above all correct advice time and again.’
5Erskine Chambers
‘Andrew is great to work with, considered and commercial in his approach.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Anna is a skilled and highly competent junior who can assimilate a huge amount of information in a short space of time and cut through straight to the core issues.’
Erskine Chambers
‘Charismatic and smart, Chantelle grasps the brief quickly and argues cases with grace, good humour and steely determination.’