Simon Hughes KC
‘Simon is a master strategist who is able to see ahead of all the moving parts, advise on realistic outcomes, and lead the team on a clear path to achieve them.’
Possessing a ‘strong depth of excellent barristers’, Keating Chambers continue to cover high-value and complex construction disputes across the UK and the world, handling fire safety claims at all levels of the English and Welsh courts and significant international arbitrations concerning infrastructure projects. Alexander Nissen KC and Tom Owen KC appeared in the Supreme Court in Augusta 2008 LLP v Abbey Healthcare, while Simon Hargreaves KC and David Sheard also appeared in the Supreme Court representing the contractors in BDW Trading Limited v URS Corporation Ltd. The set remain active on cases arising out of the Grenfell Tower fire with Simon Hughes KC and James Frampton acting for the contractor and Jonathan Selby KC and Tom Coulson representing the housebuilder in Martlet Homes v Mulalley & Co which examines liability over fire safety defects in the external walls of high-rise towers. Richard Coplin KC took silk in March 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Lawyers
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.
Alexander Nissen KC
‘Alexander steps into the case with ease to provide advice and drafting on issues of high importance. His input is always erudite and insightful, but also clear and pragmatic.’
David Thomas KC
‘David’s strength includes his ability to easily marshal the facts of the appeal and the governing principles of law. His competence and his expertise as a lawyer are demonstrated in his drafting.’
Lucy Garrett KC
‘Whether it is strategic advice, drafting submissions or pleadings or advocacy in court Lucy’s output is always first class. She is incredibly cerebral, but does not lose sight of the commercial aspects of a case.’
Vincent Moran KC
Jonathan Selby KC
‘Jonathan is a formidable and tenacious advocate. His written advice is clear and considered. His preparations for hearings and trials is diligent, methodical and laser-focussed on what really matters.’
Adrian Williamson KC
Simon Hargreaves KC
‘Busy, friendly, double checks instructions, provides written advice notes very swiftly, sees the bigger picture, confident, and experienced.’
Piers Stansfield KC
'Piers’ analytical and legal skills are first class. His written work is excellent - he presents issues in a way that makes it easy for the decision maker to find in your favour.’
Sean Wilken KC
‘Sean holds a deep understanding of the sector, and very impactful drafting.’
Samuel Townend KC
‘A fierce intellect, a gritty fighter and a fantastic advocate. Sam is user-friendly and combines a UK and international practice with ease.’
William Webb KC
‘William is a brilliant advocate, with excellent cross-examination skills and great control of the courtroom. His grasp of technical details is impressive and he is approachable and easy to work with.’
Paul Buckingham KC
‘Paul is among the best at the Bar when it comes to the most complex engineering disputes. He’s so easy to work with and has a unique style.’
Veronique Buehrlen KC
Calum Lamont KC
Krista Lee KC
‘Krista provides robust and detailed advice on the legal elements of any case often identifying novel arguments following a thorough review of the facts of a case and any relevant case law.’
Justin Mort KC
‘Devastatingly effective in cross examination. Cuts through the other side's case in very calm and disarming way.’
Sarah Hannaford KC
‘Sarah is an extremely bright and skilled construction silk who expresses herself in a straightforward and unambiguous manner. She has an excellent eye for detail, great analytical skills, and is able to quickly and methodically cut through the detail to reach the relevant facts and issues.’
2025 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.
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.
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.
Abdul Jinadu
‘Abdul remains a doyen of construction law. He is not only highly experienced and extremely knowledgeable, but commercially astute – his tactics are effective and decisive.’
James Thompson
‘James is very responsive, great on strategy and produces brilliant pleadings.’
Matthew Finn
‘Matthew has extensive knowledge about construction law and thinks creatively about how different solutions that would most benefit the client.’
Sarah Williams
‘Sarah shows great attention to detail in her written work, both in her advice and submissions. She has demonstrated a marked ability to digest significant quantities of technical and expert information, and to pull this together into persuasive written submissions.’
Rachael O’Hagan
‘Very common-sense, pragmatic lawyer who understands the issues. Rachael is personable, hard-working and comes ready to get into the weeds.’
Alexandra Bodnar
‘Alexandra is thorough, commercial, responsive and very approachable. She is a pleasure to work with. She has great attention to detail and covers all bases with her advice.’
Peter Brogden
‘Peter is very thorough, a meticulous preparer and a pleasure to work with.’
Paul Bury
‘Paul is exceptionally bright and commercially orientated, always considering overall strategy. Very polished and compelling written submissions.’
Tom Coulson
‘Tom is one of solicitors' favourite junior barristers at the construction Bar. His written work is brilliant and he is machine-like in the speed at which he can produce documents.’
Emma Healiss
‘Emma is especially strong in her written submissions, and demonstrates the ability to effectively marshal legal arguments to fit complex fact patterns.’
Thomas Lazur
‘Thomas is in the detail of the case whilst also understanding the broader, commercial picture. His preparation is meticulous and his advocacy effective.’
Ben Sareen
David Sheard
Jennie Wild
‘Jennie is able to break down complex legal arguments with a commercial minded focus so that they are easily understandable by clients. Jennie has a real critical analytical eye for detail which is essential in complex construction disputes.’
Brenna Conroy
‘Brenna is an exceptional all-rounder with strong drafting abilities mixed with a deft advocacy style. Lay and professional clients appreciate her ability to get quickly to the crux of an issue and give commercial advice.’
James Frampton
‘James’ advocacy is particularly impressive, clear, persuasive, and always meticulously prepared. He has a calm but authoritative presence that commands attention and respect, and he is adept at tailoring his arguments to resonate with both judges and clients.’
Gideon Scott Holland
‘Gideon very much understands the commercial nature required for the advice - he is able to go into a lot of detail on the complicated technical areas on which the real money turns.’
John McMillan
‘John acts as the eye of the storm, staying calm and composed in even the most chaotic of matters. This is reflected in his advocacy style which settles and manages the judge in such circumstances.’
Alice Sims
‘Alice's advocacy skills are excellent. She is extremely well articulated, concise and clear. She is a formidable advocate who easily deals with aggressive opponents.’
Harry Smith
‘Harry's written work is always of the highest quality and provided in a comprehensive and easy to understand matter. Harry is one of the key, and go-to, juniors for construction advice.’
Charlie Thompson
‘Charlie is a very mature draftsman, quickly getting to grips with technically complex concepts and producing clear, concise and persuasive statements of case.’
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.
Isobel Kamber
‘Isobel is impressive during remote hearings; persuasive and yet polite, securing complete victory with very little fuss.’
Ben Graff
Callum Monro Morrison
Harriet Di Francesco
‘Harriet is particularly clear and effective at identifying the fundamental issue and ensuring client's understand what they need to do in order to substantiate their claim.’
Wen Jin Teh
‘Wen Jin has a very strong legal intellect. He is excellent in his analysis of complex legal issues.’