England - London Bar
2

Crime

Chambers of Sarah Forshaw KC & Mark Heywood KC

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5KBW is ‘a high-calibre set of chambers which is well established in its reputation for excellence’. Sarah Forshaw KC is widely praised as ‘a giant of the criminal Bar’ with considerable ’tactical and strategic genius’ which she puts to use in complex cases – she regularly appears at the Old Bailey in homicide trials and has recently represented several high-profile clients on a private basis in relation to serious sexual offences allegations. Anthony Orchard KC has notable experience prosecuting in gang-related murder trials, with a reputation as ‘one of the most respected prosecuting silks at the Old Bailey’. Jonathan Higgs KC focuses on organised crime and serious violence cases. Jonathan Polnay KC, who took silk in April 2024, ’has a strong tactical sense and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law.’ David Osborne joined chambers from 5 Paper Buildings in March 2024, bringing considerable expertise in sexual offences cases, among others.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • '5KBW has very good clerks, especially Lee Hughes-Gage and Matt Harper, who are very honest and never let you down.'
  • 'Lee Hughes-Gage has been the Senior Clerk now for nearly 20 years. He is approachable, principled, industrious, charming, hugely efficient, and there is very little he does not know about the business. He is himself a leader and he leads a first-class clerking team, who bend over backwards to ensure the service they provide is tip-top. Chambers Administrator, Nicki Crew, deserves a special mention. If something needs doing, it gets done. She is a tour de force.'
  • 'Lee Hughes-Gage is pleasure to work with. He is one of the most loyal and honest clerks in the industry.'
  • 'Matt Harper is an effective clerk.'
  • '5KBW is a high-calibre set of chambers which is well established in its reputation for excellence and criminal defence work. There is strength and depth throughout its members.'
  • '5KBW continues to go from strength to strength. The quality of its advocates and the work generated is very impressive.'
  • '5 King's Bench Walk is an excellent set.'
  • '5KBW is a chambers currently at the very top of its game. They have strength in depth at a different level to most but they are also a thoroughly decent group.'

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.
1
Sarah Forshaw KC
5KBW
 ‘Sarah is an absolute dream to work with. She is a tactical and strategic genius - every question relayed under cross-examination is skilfully crafted and deployed with pin-point precision and effectiveness. Every client that instructs Sarah trusts her with their life - they are 100% right to do so. She is by far the best silk in the business.'
1
Mark Heywood KC
5KBW
‘Mark is a devastatingly persuasive advocate who is charming and erudite in equal measure. He is so compelling it is often difficult to work out how he could possibly be wrong. Mark has effortless charm and intellectual gravity at the same time. He carries with him a weight of experience and knowledge which is almost impossible to challenge.’
3
Jonathan Higgs KC
5KBW
'Jonathan's advocacy and preparation is excellent. He is a very good barrister all round.'
3
Anthony Orchard KC
5KBW
‘Anthony is one of the most respected prosecuting silks at the Old Bailey. His manner is incomparable – the essence of fairness, good judgement and reasonableness. That said, he is a formidable opponent as juries love his manner in court. He is a top practitioner at the highest level.’
4
Natasha Wong KC
5KBW
 ‘Natasha is best described as cool, calm, collected, thoughtful and measured. She is a delightful opponent, with a light touch. Natasha is a first class silk and a safe pair of hands.'
4
Charlotte Newell KC
5KBW
 ‘Charlotte is tactically astute, her drafting skills are great and her level of preparation for every hearing is unusually impressive. She cuts to the chase when giving tough advice to vulnerable defendants, but demonstrates compassion at the same time. She fights passionately and gets astonishingly good results.'
4
Paul Taylor KC
5KBW
 ‘Paul is a pleasure to discuss a case with – he is always calm and precise and his encyclopaedic knowledge combines powerfully with his smart thinking. His advice and advocacy always meshes important principles with technicalities and details.’
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.
Jonathan Polnay KC
5KBW
‘Jonathan is very well prepared with strong tactical sense and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law. These qualities made him a formidable junior and will make him a great silk.'
Catherine Farrelly KC
5KBW
‘Catherine is excellent in every respect. She is very hard-working and puts a lot of time and effort into preparing her cases thoroughly and making sure, as far as is possible, that any gaps in the evidence are closed off. She is very good at putting witnesses at ease before they give their evidence. Her closing speeches are some of the best to be seen. She is very persuasive both when addressing juries and during legal argument.’

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.
1
Louise Oakley
5KBW
 ‘Louise works as hard as anyone and gets on so well with all her opponents.’
3
William Davis
5KBW
 ‘William is a star in the making. He is approachable, balanced, unflappable and extremely helpful. Nothing is ever too much trouble. That said he is determined, steely and focussed. William is a great lawyer and first-class advocate. An excellent all-rounder.’
4
Catherine Pattison
5KBW
‘Catherine’s advocacy is direct and effective. She cross-examines in a way that is both intelligent and effective.’
4
Frederick Hookway
5KBW
‘Frederick is an extremely accomplished prosecutor with an impressive command of the details of complex cases and a wonderfully light touch style of advocacy which is extremely effective with juries. Above all he is scrupulously fair throughout and a pleasure to appear against both in and outside of court.’
4
Alejandra Tascon
5KBW
‘Alejandra is poised, thorough, and insightful, with steely determination. She is an emerging talent who is not afraid of any task and always ready for more. No opponent should underestimate her - they will pay a price if they do.’

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