Furnival Chambers is increasingly recognised as an ‘excellent set with a large number of highly-rated barristers from pupils to silks’. Oliver Blunt KC acted for the defendant in a high-profile murder trial concerning the killing by a young man of an off-duty PCSO whilst she walked her dog in the woods. In one of her first murder trials after having taken silk, Rhiannon Crimmins KC acted for one defendant who was acquitted of murder charges in a case concerning joint enterprise shooting, this defendant claimed to have acted as ‘spotter’ without knowledge of the imminent shooting and in a subordinate role within the offending OCG. Nicola Shannon KC took silk in March 2023. Alexia Power was appointed a Circuit Judge in November 2023.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Steve Ball is a top clerk.'
'Steve Ball is an absolute star.'
'Chris Baptiste is excellent.'
'The clerks are always extremely helpful and Steve is brilliant. He always manages to move things around to ensure consistency for clients.'
'Furnival Chambers is known for quality advocates up and down the board.'
'Furnival has enjoyed a period of growth as a set - attracting counsel of superb quality. Recent silk appointments attest to this, but also bright and astute juniors able to operate above their call. A thorough and testing advocacy training scheme sets pupils up well to jump in and make an impression from the outset. Advocates are well-liked and well-respected.'
'Furnival has a number of exceptional advocates.'

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.

Philippa McAtasney

‘Pippa is a top quality silk at the top of her game. She is a great jury advocate, robust and able to stand her ground when necessary. She is also an excellent speech-maker and juries absolutely love her. One of the best silks at the Bar.’

Caroline Haughey

‘Caroline is effervescent, enthusiastic and utterly charming – juries and judges take to her immediately. She is also a very effective advocate and a tough negotiator.’

Caroline Carberry

'Caroline has a calm and authoritative advocacy style which works well before judges and juries alike.'

Stephen Moses

‘Stephen has an undeniable presence in the court room. He is appealing and immensely personable with juries while simultaneously authoritative when making submissions. He is meticulous in his preparation and always one step ahead tactically.'

Julia Smart

‘Julia has an unswerving commitment to her cases and to her clients. She has a remarkable memory which means she can retain and recall salient facts in the course of litigation.'

Charles Sherrard

‘Charlie is a diligent silk who is easily contactable, meticulous in his case preparation, never leaves a stone unturned and a pleasure to work with. His advocacy style is measured and clever.'

Giles Cockings

'Giles is a class act who works very hard. He takes on the stress and is a real team player. He is one of the best silks of his call and juries take to his wit and intelligence. He is fierce when he needs to be and invested in cases from the minute he is instructed. Giles is truly stunning counsel.'

Oliver Blunt

‘Oliver does not have any weaknesses. He is fantastic at sifting through evidence and finding the relevant issues. He is also superb with clients. He is at the top of his game.’

Sally O'Neill

‘Sally’s cut-glass accent and impeccable court room manners conceal a shrewd and tactically astute advocate with supreme cross-examination skills. She presents her cases with charm and finesse, makes powerful and persuasive legal submissions and her authoritative manner easily gains her the confidence of the court.

2022 Silks

Rhiannon Crimmins

'Rhiannon is breathtakingly intelligent and beautifully eloquent. She is completely fearless in court, a great cross-examiner and a class act. She is also a calming influence who instils confidence and controls every situation she finds herself in.'

2023 Silks

Nicola Shannon KC

2024 Silks

Joel Smith KC

‘Joel is a silk in waiting - he deals with evidence with an assured mastery of every nuance and inspires complete confidence in the jury with his every question. He has a firm grounding in the law and his advocacy sparkles.'

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.

Ben Gordon

'Ben is an absolute star. He always goes the extra mile and is wonderful to work with. He is hard-working and determined and his advocacy is intelligent and well-thought-through.'

Lucy Tapper

‘Lucy is a deeply committed advocate. Clients are attracted to her ability to communicate complex ideas easily and succinctly in a manner that is easily digestible. She is always fully prepared for any conference or hearing and always has a comprehensive grasp of the case. Her advocacy is fluent and accomplished.'

Adam Morgan

‘Adam is a tenacious advocate who commands the confidence of the court. His judgement is excellent and clients are confident in his capabilities. Within the realms of the court room, he is a formidable force.’

Craig Harris

Shannon Revel

‘Shannon is a fine advocate - she is persuasive, tenacious, hard-working and unflappable.'

Jon Swain

‘Jon is undoubtedly top of his class both as a courtroom advocate and a lawyer. He is exceptionally gifted in his ability to cut through the chaos and confusion often found in paper-heavy cases and explain the key issues in a simple-to-understand formula. Jon is excellent with clients and is a well liked advocate with a pleasant but robust courtroom manner.'

Soraya Bauwens

‘Soraya is an exceptional lawyer. She is strategic, diligent and is able to highlight the technical challenges in investigations.’

Leading Juniors

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.