Daniel Beard KC
Monckton Chambers‘A leading competition law set with superior skills through all levels of seniority’, Monckton Chambers operates at the forefront of high profile competition cases, including antitrust, class actions and public undertakings. Anneli Howard KC is ’considered one of the top silks at the competition Bar’ and has successfully represented Foundem against tech giant Google in multiple CMCs. George Peretz KC successfully acted on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority concerning appeals regarding Heathrow Airport’s charges to airlines, while Josh Holmes KC defends Google in a £7bn collective action alleging anti-competitive practices in relation to mobile searches. In January 2024, Daniel Beard KC led Daisy Mackersie before the CAT in Le Patourel v BT, the first opt-out class action to reach trial and having potentially significant implications for the UK collective proceedings regime. Ronit Kreisberger KC acts for the claimant in Cabo v MGA, a complex abuse of dominance and collusion claim which raises difficult questions at the intersection of competition and IP law.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The clerks at Monckton Chambers are excellent. They are always helpful and go the extra mile to assist you.'
- 'The clerks are second to none.'
- 'Chris O'Brien is commercial, diligent, responsive and ever helpful; you feel like a priority.'
- 'Clerks are approachable, helpful and commercial.'
- 'Monckton has consistently been a top flight set in competition law matters.'
- 'Monckton remains the go-to chambers for leading competition barristers across the call. They remain highly in demand in this space.'
- 'Monckton is excellent, with every barrister being at the cutting edge of their field, with in depth technical knowledge and tactical thought.'
- 'Mockton Chambers is one of the leading competition law sets. It has strength in depth and is an outstanding set.'
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.
Ronit Kreisberger KC
Monckton Chambers 'Ronit is a fantastic advocate, meticulously well prepared and knows everything there is to know about European and competition law. She holds her own at any level.'
Meredith Pickford KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Meredith is clear, persistent and a persuasive advocate. He is masterful on his feet, highly strategic, quick thinking and responsive.’
Paul Harris KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Paul is rightfully considered one of the premier silks at the competition damages Bar. He is a tremendous advocate who forcefully yet intelligently fights hard for his clients. His experience leading cases in the area is second to none, and as a result he consistently provides advice which takes account of the nuances that are often essential in these claims.’
Jon Turner KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Jon is second-to-none on his feet and works incredibly hard as hearings approach.’
Mark Brealey KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Mark is undoubtedly at the top of the competition litigation Bar. His knowledge of the law is impressive, his written advocacy is straight forward and persuasive. Mark’s oral advocacy is understated but he has an uncanny ability to alight upon the most persuasive and important points.’
Josh Holmes KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Josh is a class act, engaged, all over the detail, super bright and a pleasure to deal with. He is great on his feet – he reads the tribunal very well, calibrating his submissions with expertise, knowing when to push a point and when a position needs to adapt or be reframed.’
Tim Ward KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Tim is a sleeves rolled-up lawyer who gets stuck in to the detail of a case. He is effective, pragmatic and never loses sight of the overall commercial objectives. As an advocate he is persuasive and very effective.’
Gerry Facenna KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Gerry is very user friendly, fearsomely clever and calm and confident even when under the most extraordinary pressure.’
George Peretz KC
Monckton Chambers ‘He's great as a strategist, has a superb understanding of the law and fully reliable as an adviser on complex instructions. George is a go-to KC on complex subsidy control matters.'
Kassie Smith KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Kassie is an understated but brutally effective advocate. She has a knack for finding the killer point.’
Michael Bowsher KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Michael is a pleasure to work with and a confident leader in a difficult and challenging case. His advocacy is fluent and engaging and he provides strategic guidance and critical judgement at important points in protracted litigation.’
Robert Palmer KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Robert is a truly outstanding advocate who is able to quickly distil complex information into comprehensible points.’
Anneli Howard KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Anneli is rightfully considered one of the top silks at the competition Bar. She is a phenomenal advocate who understands competition law better than anyone, and is one of the hardest working and most charming silks to work with.’
Rob Williams KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Rob has extremely strong strategic instincts, and a very subtle mind. He sees to the heart of issues and anticipates the court’s response very well. He is also an excellent advocate who presents very calmly and makes arguments which are difficult sound like simple common sense.’
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 Lask KC
Monckton Chambers 'Ben has moved seamlessly into silk. His advocacy is a real iron fist in a velvet glove and he is also very collegiate. One to watch in this area for sure.'
2024 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.
Brendan McGurk KC
Monckton Chambers ‘Brendan is very thorough knowledgeable of competition law; very strategic; extremely pragmatic and excellent with clients.’
Philip Woolfe KC
Monckton Chambers ‘An outstanding lead case lawyer, Philip combines a mastery of detail with a responsive, team-focused approach. He is responsive and does not get easily ruffled. As an advocate he can be devastating - on top of the brief, tactically very smart and knows when to go for the jugular.’
Brendan McGurk KC
Monckton Chambers 'Very thorough knowledge of competition law; very strategic; extremely pragmatic and excellent with clients.'
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.
Alan Bates
Monckton Chambers 'Alan is concise, thorough, drafts well and is able to convey complex point in a clear and unassuming way. He is extremely knowledgeable and has a very practical and effective way of advising. He also has a great way with judges.'
James Bourke
Monckton Chambers
Ben Rayment
Monckton Chambers ‘Ben is thoughtful, hard working, not afraid to get stuck in to real technical detail and is an effective and persuasive advocate who drafts clearly and well. He is a real team player.’
Daisy Mackersie
Monckton Chambers ‘Daisy is incredibly bright, hard working and responsive. She is a real team player and a joy to work with. An absolute star and one to watch for the future.’
Julian Gregory
Monckton Chambers ‘Julian is one of the leading competition law juniors - he is extremely able, knowledgeable and also very efficient and easy to work with.’
Laura Elizabeth John
Monckton Chambers
Julianne Kerr Morrison
Monckton Chambers
Anneliese Blackwood
Monckton Chambers 'Excellent drafting, clearly cuts through complex issues, responsive and turns drafts quickly. Anneliese offers good strategic insights and is a pleasure to work with.'
Nikolaus Grubeck
Monckton Chambers ‘Nik combines the top-line technical expertise in competition which you would expect from Monckton, with deep experience and feel for public law issues. He is a future star, particularly in merger control cases, and great to work with.’
Michael Armitage
Monckton Chambers ‘Mike is very bright and all over the case law. He also readily understands the client's strategic objectives and factors those into his advice. He is excellent to work with, collaborative and proactive.’
Fiona Banks
Monckton Chambers ‘Fiona works really hard, drafts very well, is highly strategic and not afraid to express her view.’
Alison Berridge
Monckton Chambers ‘Alison is an absolute go-to for anything competition-related. She is incredibly bright, and her strategic nous is second to none.'
Ciar McAndrew
Monckton Chambers ‘Ciar's drafting is excellent, be it pleadings, first drafts, letters, submissions or research notes.’
Conor McCarthy
Monckton Chambers ‘Conor is forensic, extremely intelligent and very well read. His analyzation skills are exemplary and his overall knowledge of competition law and public law make for an excellent combination when it comes to producing legal advice.’
Ligia Osepciu
Monckton Chambers ‘Ligia is a great team player - she works really well and collaboratively with the solicitor team; rolls her sleeves up and can work expertly through technical and dense information at speed, making judgment calls which demonstrate clarity of thought about the case strategy.’
Jack Williams
Monckton Chambers ‘A first class junior - really takes ownership of the case and gives it his all. Powerful strategic judgement.’
Alexandra Littlewood
Monckton Chambers ‘Alexandra is delightful to work with – extremely conscientious and thorough, and drafts beautifully.’
David Gregory
Monckton Chambers ‘David is an exceptionally talented competition lawyer. He is an innovative thinker, a superb drafter of pleadings and submissions and a concise and persuasive advocate.’
Stefan Kuppen
Monckton Chambers ‘Stefan is an excellent barrister to work with. He is thoughtful in everything he does and his judgement on how things will end up is very strong. He is able break down complex issues so that they can be understood and dealt with. Absolutely someone who you want on your side.’
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.
Will Perry
Monckton Chambers 'Will is a very strong advocate, who understands the technical and economic detail of complex competition matters, but is able to make it simple for the client and court.'
Antonia Fitzpatrick
Monckton Chambers 'Antonia is brilliant. She works exceptionally hard and drafts clear and compelling written submissions. She conducts a simply brilliant cross-examination of difficult witnesses with a skill that belies her recent call. She is a real star of the future.'