1Brick Court Chambers
Brick Court Chambers continues to handle the leading cases in the field of competition law, advising both claimants and defendants across the spectrum of competition areas, from state aid and cartels to abuse of dominant positions and contested mergers. Mark Hoskins KC leads, among others, Sarah Abram KC, who took silk in 2022, in acting for leading mobile operators, including O2 and Telefonica, in a damages claim brought by Phones4U for around £800m; the retailer collapsed into administration in 2014 alleging that the networks conspired to drive it out of business. Marie Demetriou KC continues to lead Victoria Wakefield KC among others in Merricks v Mastercard, the first collection action certified by the CAT, with more proceedings in 2023 following the success in the Court of Appeal in late 2022 – the case seeks damages for virtually every adult in the UK, who allegedly paid inflated prices owing to the payment network’s interchange fees. In Allergen & Ors v CMA, Robert O’Donoghue KC led Emma Mockford when acting Cinven – previous owner of a business now forming part of Advanz Pharmaceuticals – in its appeal against the regulator’s 2021 decision that drug companies overcharged the NHS for hydrocortisone tablets.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Jo Francis and Tony Burgess are always very helpful and a pleasure to deal with.’
- ‘Hannah Rayner is helpful and responsive.’
- ‘The service provided by Brick court chambers is excellent. The clerks are very responsible and take care of all the administrative tasks very swiftly.’
- ‘The Clerks Room is efficient and businesslike.’
- ‘Brick Court are the go-to Chambers for competition law with strength in depth.’
- ‘Brick Court is of course one of the strongest sets, and the competition counsel are in great demand, a situation shared with the few other sets specialising in this area.’
- ‘A top set of chambers. They have real strength in depth and are the 'go to' set for competition matters.’
- ‘For competition matters, Brick Court Chambers is one of the strongest sets offering enormously talented advocates at every level.’
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.
1
1Hall of fameBrick Court Chambers
‘One of the absolute stars of the competition Bar and seen as one of the best of the best for very good reason. Brilliant legal and tactic analysis, only takes good points, cuts through the noise and nonsense and so everyone listens when Marie makes a point in court.’
1Hall of fameBrick Court Chambers
‘James is an analytical and focussed silk who leads cases with poise. He is exceptionally easy to work with and a pleasure to hear discuss complex matters of law.’
1Hall of fameBrick Court Chambers
‘Sarah is extremely bright, hard working and absolutely across this area. She is extremely measured in her advice and able to guide clients through the complexities in some of the most technical areas of competition law.’
1Hall of fameBrick Court Chambers
‘Mark remains one of the very best, if not the best, in his field of expertise. He cuts through complexity and is concise and precise in has written and oral advocacy.’
1Hall of fameBrick Court Chambers
‘Leading competition silk – very user friendly and super easy to deal with.’
2
2Hall of fameBrick Court Chambers
‘A clear, persuasive and powerful advocate with a mastery of competition law. He is a particularly effective cross-examiner, who had the other side’s witnesses reeling from their experience in the box during trial last year.’
2Hall of fameBrick Court Chambers
'Aidan has a great way with clients and his depth of knowledge is extraordinary.'
3Hall of fameBrick Court Chambers
‘The barrister is very knowledgeable in antitrust/competition law matters and matters regarding procedural law. He is responsive and can draw from his wide experience when providing advice.’
3
3Hall of fameBrick Court Chambers
‘David is a delight to work with. His grasp of the law is formidable and his ability to boil down complex points of law to simple propositions is very impressive.’
3
3Hall of fameBrick Court Chambers
‘Jemima is a very experienced competition silk, with an excellent and well deserved reputation. She is commercially minded and quickly gets to the nub of the matter, with a constantly commercial perspective.’
32022 Silks
Brick Court Chambers
'A brilliant barrister with superb judgement, and a smiling assassin in cross-examination.'
2023 Silks
Brick Court Chambers
‘Daniel is one of the very cleverest people at the bar and in a league of his own when it comes to complex economic issues. A great team player and we were delighted to see him take silk this year; he will go on to great things.’
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.
1Brick Court Chambers
'A very cerebral junior with unparalleled knowledge of competition law.'
1Brick Court Chambers
‘Sarah is extremely bright, responsive and good at delivering clear advice. She gets into the details of cases and ensures that she is able to provide really effective support.’
2Brick Court Chambers
‘Hugo is a superstar junior. He combines intellectual brilliance, crisp advocacy, strategic and technical awareness beyond his years of call, and ferocious work ethic.’
2Brick Court Chambers
‘Gerard is a truly outstanding draftsman and a superb black letter lawyer. His written work is hard to improve upon: succinct, logical and beautifully written. An excellent competition lawyer, with particular expertise in the energy sector and in collective actions.’
2Brick Court Chambers
‘Charlotte is smart and has a broad knowledge far beyond the remit of competition law cases.’
3List A Barristers
‘David has an extraordinary capacity for hard work and ability to manage huge amounts of detail.’
3Brick Court Chambers
‘Excellent, clear, crisp drafting combined with a broad and deep knowledge of competition and public law. Very user-friendly, always willing to pick up the phone to talk through issues.’
3Brick Court Chambers
‘Matthew is incredibly hard working and responsive. He is a team player who is happy to roll up his sleeves. His advocacy style is excellent — confident and very easy to follow. Definitely one to watch.’
3Brick Court Chambers
‘Emily is an all round excellent lawyer, a superb person to have on any team. She produces written work that is of the very highest standard and always on time, even under pressure.’
3Brick Court Chambers
'Jennifer has deep knowledge of competition law. She is a skilled communicator who provides insightful and well-reasoned advice to clients and persuasive arguments in court.'
3Brick Court Chambers
‘Emma is a fantastic junior. Extremely hard-working, practical and responsive, she worked seamlessly with the solicitors throughout.’
3Brick Court Chambers
‘Tom is very effective in drafting pleadings that are water-tight on the most complex issues of substance whilst remaining clear and easy to understand by readers unfamiliar with the law or the case.’
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.
1Brick Court Chambers
'A very cerebral junior with unparalleled knowledge of competition law.'
1Brick Court Chambers
‘Sarah is extremely bright, responsive and good at delivering clear advice. She gets into the details of cases and ensures that she is able to provide really effective support.’
2Brick Court Chambers
‘Hugo is a superstar junior. He combines intellectual brilliance, crisp advocacy, strategic and technical awareness beyond his years of call, and ferocious work ethic.’
2Brick Court Chambers
‘Gerard is a truly outstanding draftsman and a superb black letter lawyer. His written work is hard to improve upon: succinct, logical and beautifully written. An excellent competition lawyer, with particular expertise in the energy sector and in collective actions.’
2Brick Court Chambers
‘Charlotte is smart and has a broad knowledge far beyond the remit of competition law cases.’
3List A Barristers
‘David has an extraordinary capacity for hard work and ability to manage huge amounts of detail.’
3Brick Court Chambers
‘Excellent, clear, crisp drafting combined with a broad and deep knowledge of competition and public law. Very user-friendly, always willing to pick up the phone to talk through issues.’
3Brick Court Chambers
‘Matthew is incredibly hard working and responsive. He is a team player who is happy to roll up his sleeves. His advocacy style is excellent — confident and very easy to follow. Definitely one to watch.’
3Brick Court Chambers
‘Emily is an all round excellent lawyer, a superb person to have on any team. She produces written work that is of the very highest standard and always on time, even under pressure.’
3Brick Court Chambers
'Jennifer has deep knowledge of competition law. She is a skilled communicator who provides insightful and well-reasoned advice to clients and persuasive arguments in court.'
3Brick Court Chambers
‘Emma is a fantastic junior. Extremely hard-working, practical and responsive, she worked seamlessly with the solicitors throughout.’
3Brick Court Chambers
‘Tom is very effective in drafting pleadings that are water-tight on the most complex issues of substance whilst remaining clear and easy to understand by readers unfamiliar with the law or the case.’