As an ‘excellent specialist set’ in construction law, Keating Chambers continues to impress with its representation in an array of high-profile cases, both in the UK and abroad. In addition to the set’s global presence in arbitrations, domestic instructions include Martlet Homes v Mulalley, the first post-Grenfell cladding fire safety case to go to trial, where Jonathan Selby KC and Tom Coulson represented the claimants, while Simon Hughes KC and James Frampton acted for the defendants. Other key cases include Cambridgeshire County Council v BAM Nuttall Limited, a long-running case concerning a guided busway in Cambridgeshire, involving Piers Stansfield KC, Sarah Williams, and Harry Smith acting for the claimant. Paul Bury, acting for Resource Recovery Solutions (Derbyshire) Limited, and Lucy Garrett KC, who is representing Derbyshire CC & Derby CC, are instructed to appear on opposite sides of a dispute revolving around the termination of a PFI contract for the Derby waste-to-energy plant. The set has seen the addition of Alexandra Bodnar from 39 Essex Chambers. Paul Buckingham KC and William Webb KC both took silk in March 2023, while Adam Constable KC (as was) is now on the High Court bench.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
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‘Simon is authoritative, diligent, and hugely commercially savvy. His instincts are second to none, and he is guaranteed to be a safe pair of hands on any complex construction and engineering dispute. A smart advocate, he responds well to changing circumstances, with an uncanny ability to read the room and fine-tune his advocacy as required. Simply put, instructing Simon is a no-brainer for anyone wanting the best in the business.’
1‘Alexander is a genius in everything he does. He has an amazing breadth of experience, and there is nothing he hasn’t seen or done in the past or is able to advise upon in an authoritative but user-friendly manner.’
1‘David is excellent at determining a strategy, getting the team to deliver and persuading the decision makers. All round, he is very successful at winning.'
3‘Veronique's ability to untangle convoluted technical, delay and quantum issues and present them in a clear and unambiguous style is genuinely impressive.'
‘Lucy is very bright, responsive, has an excellent bedside manner and is an absolute pleasure to work with.'
3‘Simon is immensely knowledgeable, enthusiastic and hands-on. Great at getting stuck in and brings a calm authority. He is also terrific fun to work with.'
3‘Vincent is a very good KC. He demonstrates an ability to manage very difficult and complex high-value litigation. He has a good tactical insight.’
3‘Jonathan is a brilliant advocate - in a trial, there cannot be many better. He has fantastic attention to detail, a probing and inquiring mind and is therefore devastating on technical and factual cross examination. His written and advisory work is excellent - commercial and authoritative.'
3‘Piers has a razor-sharp intellect and is able to distil the complex into the easy and understandable. Advice is always presented with the client reader in mind. Clients trust him and will ask for him again. Piers very much works as part of the team which makes working with him easy and enjoyable. Basically, he’s first-class.’
3‘Sean is very bright, has a detailed understanding of the law, can get to grips with technical issues and is a very able advocate who can compete with the best in the business.’
4‘Sarah is a superb advocate and a great adviser. She is authoritative, very clear with solicitors and clients, and rightly has a great reputation as one of the best in the public procurement world. Her preparation for advocacy is absolutely meticulous, delving right into the detail, and coming up with additional points to support her advocacy. Her cross-examination skills are first-class. She is also very responsive, working extremely hard to get everything done to the best of her ability.’
4‘Very sharp-minded and always calm in high-pressure situations. Incisive and direct in advocacy and great at reading people and assessing the best approach. A go-to for construction.’
4‘Justin as an absolute warrior on his feet. Attention to detail. Always available and goes the extra mile for his clients.'
4‘Marc is clever, astute and understands the client and business implications of what he is advising on. Advice is clear and to the point, getting to the heart of the questions posed. He is client-friendly and quickly gains confidence from clients, and he is an in-demand rail counsel.’
5‘Thoughtful approach, tactical, and very personable.'
2022 Silks
‘Calum is a phenomenal cross-examiner, a master of technical detail. The best for expert witness details, a master of delay and damages.'
2023 Silks
‘Paul stands out as a relatively new KC who significantly adds to Keating's bench strength.'
‘Will is an extremely confident barrister who has great communication skills with both instructing solicitors and clients alike. Will’s advocacy shines through in cross-examinations. His preparation is meticulous and this shines through when he is on his feet.’
2024 Silks
‘Tom is friendly, clear, meticulous and has a fantastic mind for untangling thorny issues.'
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.
‘Richard's service levels are exceptional and always gives pragmatic, commercial advice. His ability to read a situation and deliver exactly what is needed is second to none.'
‘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.'
‘Rachael is collaborative but also clear and directive; a flexible advocate who adapts her style as required for the circumstances. As an advocate, she builds rapport with the tribunal, the witnesses and even the other side.'
3‘Alex is a brilliant barrister who provides intelligent comments and sensible solutions throughout her involvement in any matter. She is extremely efficient and reliable. In addition, in court, Alex calmly and methodically sets out the position so it is clear to all and she does this in a manner which is engaging and lively.'
‘Tom is one of Keating’s best juniors who punches well above his weight. He is unbelievably bright, a great strategist and can turn his hand to anything.'
‘Emma is easy to work with, provides strong commercial and practical advice and is extremely proactive and gets the job done.’
3‘Tom's advocacy is excellent - he makes very difficult issues and submissions easy to understand for the judge to follow.'
‘Ben has the ability to cut through issues and get the heart of the matter quickly; an extremely able barrister, responsive, commercial and strategic in his thought process.'
‘James is a skilled and technically sound barrister who offers invaluable legal and commercial advice to clients in difficult situations. He is very easy to work with and is reliable, insightful and pragmatic in the way he approaches the litigation process.'
3'Jennie is brilliant: clever, astute, driven, practical and leaves no stone unturned.'
‘Sarah is extremely organised, into the detail and sees arguments and angles to a claim that no-one else seems to.'
‘Paul is outstanding. He is calm, measured, intellectual and personable. Everyone who works with him is impressed. He is destined for Silk.'
‘Gaynor has an excellent grasp of construction technicalities. She is precise, diligent and extremely professional but has a knack for putting clients at ease.'
4‘Brenna is a top-notch senior junior construction barrister. She doesn’t have any weaknesses.’
‘Incredibly hard-working and user-friendly. A go-to senior junior for high-value, complex cases.’
‘John is very detailed and thorough, has fantastic attention to detail and has been great with explaining in detail to the client. Incredibly good team player.'
4
4'David is a star. He is extremely intelligent, a superb draftsman, and he has a natural familiarity with procedural matters. His knowledge of the law is very strong. His advocacy is natural, calm and clear.'
‘Alice is incredibly user-friendly, pragmatic, and a pleasure to work with. She immediately grasped the client’s commercial objectives and put forward strategies to achieve them.’
4‘Extremely knowledgeable and very responsive from a solicitors perspective. Excellent on paper and on his feet. His calm and methodical advocacy is a great strength.'
4‘Charlie is a brilliant barrister - user-friendly, very clever, strategic and a real team player. He is also very good on his feet.'
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.
‘Richard's service levels are exceptional and always gives pragmatic, commercial advice. His ability to read a situation and deliver exactly what is needed is second to none.'
‘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.'
‘Rachael is collaborative but also clear and directive; a flexible advocate who adapts her style as required for the circumstances. As an advocate, she builds rapport with the tribunal, the witnesses and even the other side.'
3‘Alex is a brilliant barrister who provides intelligent comments and sensible solutions throughout her involvement in any matter. She is extremely efficient and reliable. In addition, in court, Alex calmly and methodically sets out the position so it is clear to all and she does this in a manner which is engaging and lively.'
‘Tom is one of Keating’s best juniors who punches well above his weight. He is unbelievably bright, a great strategist and can turn his hand to anything.'
‘Emma is easy to work with, provides strong commercial and practical advice and is extremely proactive and gets the job done.’
3‘Tom's advocacy is excellent - he makes very difficult issues and submissions easy to understand for the judge to follow.'
‘Ben has the ability to cut through issues and get the heart of the matter quickly; an extremely able barrister, responsive, commercial and strategic in his thought process.'
‘James is a skilled and technically sound barrister who offers invaluable legal and commercial advice to clients in difficult situations. He is very easy to work with and is reliable, insightful and pragmatic in the way he approaches the litigation process.'
3'Jennie is brilliant: clever, astute, driven, practical and leaves no stone unturned.'
‘Sarah is extremely organised, into the detail and sees arguments and angles to a claim that no-one else seems to.'
‘Paul is outstanding. He is calm, measured, intellectual and personable. Everyone who works with him is impressed. He is destined for Silk.'
‘Gaynor has an excellent grasp of construction technicalities. She is precise, diligent and extremely professional but has a knack for putting clients at ease.'
4‘Brenna is a top-notch senior junior construction barrister. She doesn’t have any weaknesses.’
‘Incredibly hard-working and user-friendly. A go-to senior junior for high-value, complex cases.’
‘John is very detailed and thorough, has fantastic attention to detail and has been great with explaining in detail to the client. Incredibly good team player.'
44'David is a star. He is extremely intelligent, a superb draftsman, and he has a natural familiarity with procedural matters. His knowledge of the law is very strong. His advocacy is natural, calm and clear.'
‘Alice is incredibly user-friendly, pragmatic, and a pleasure to work with. She immediately grasped the client’s commercial objectives and put forward strategies to achieve them.’
4‘Extremely knowledgeable and very responsive from a solicitors perspective. Excellent on paper and on his feet. His calm and methodical advocacy is a great strength.'
4‘Charlie is a brilliant barrister - user-friendly, very clever, strategic and a real team player. He is also very good on his feet.'
