4 New Square Chambers is ‘unwaveringly consistent in providing a top service’, and handles a wide range of domestic and international construction related disputes, often crossing over with the set’s reputed expertise in professional negligence work. Internationally, Hugh Saunders is appearing in a termination contract case for a high-value infrastructure project in Trinidad before that jurisdiction’s courts. On the domestic side, Roger Stewart KC acted for Arconic in civil litigation relating to the Grenfell Tower fire, and led George McDonald in a dispute before the TCC relating to a large construction project in Manchester. In addition, the set also has experience in residential developments, with Ben Patten KC representing Willmott Dixon Construction Limited in a major cladding defects claim.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The clerks are very helpful. Andrew Call in particular is excellent.'
- 'The clerks are extremely responsive and always willing to go above and beyond to assist.'
- 'Excellent clerking. Really first class.'
- '4 New Square is a top end set.'
- '4 New Square is an excellent set, with a number of highly impressive counsel.'
- 'Unwaveringly consistent in delivering a top service. Responsive, friendly and understanding.'
- 'First port of call for professional negligence and construction related disputes.'
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.
Neil Hext KC
4 New Square ‘Neil is a bright and very articulate advocate. He is a good cross-examiner, hard-working, and very fair.’
Richard Liddell KC
4 New Square ‘Richard is forensic in his attention to detail. His intellect and quick grasp of the key issues in any claim is matched by his flexibility, commerciality and user-friendliness both for instructing solicitors and clients - a quality not always seen in KCs of his experience.'
Siân Mirchandani KC
4 New Square ‘Sian is excellent at getting into the detail and working as part of the team to achieve the best outcome for the clients. Sian’s advocacy is excellent and her ability to think on her feet and convey complicated issues in a simple manner to the tribunal is impressive.’
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.
Cyril Chern
4 New Square ‘Cyril is pre-eminent in cross-examination of witnesses and especially expert witnesses and does so on a multitude of construction specialisms and he does so in a calm and surgically precise manner and is a pleasure to watch. Simply put he is an extremely effective advocate who can read the court well, is liked by the judges and arbitrators he appears before and puts his points across superbly.’
Timothy Chelmick
4 New Square ‘Tim's strengths are considerable. He is a great black letter lawyer who is also fluent on the technicalities of the industry and user-friendly and pragmatic.'
Benjamin Fowler
4 New Square ‘Benjamin is a very reliable, very capable lawyer who is a genuine pleasure to work alongside. He quickly understands the detail and can see the issues. His written advises are clear and succinct, his advocacy is well-received by the bench and he is genuinely an all round delight to instruct.’
Hugh Saunders
4 New Square ‘Hugh is extremely hardworking – he definitely goes the extra mile for clients. He is also very user-friendly, and quickly builds a rapport with clients. His legal analysis and written work are first-rate.’
George McDonald
4 New Square ‘It probably goes without saying that George is very bright. He gets to grips with matters very quickly. His stand-out quality is his user-friendliness. He is always an absolute pleasure to work with.’
Paul Fisher
4 New Square ‘Paul is very bright and identifies the key issues quickly. He is a pleasure to work with. Calm and reassuring with clients. Able to read the room effectively.'
Thomas Ogden
4 New Square 'Tom is able to clearly articulate strategic and tactical points and was quick to get across the detail quickly.'
Tom Asquith
4 New Square ‘Tom is an excellent and persuasive advocate, extremely easy to work with. One of Tom's most significant strengths is client management, something unique to most great barristers. Tom has an impressive emotional intelligence, balanced with an ability to clearly and constructively explain complex legal issues to clients in a way that puts them at ease.’