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England - London Bar
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Energy

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One Essex Court

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The 'high-quality set' One Essex Court garners praise as 'a go-to set for complex commercial disputes, in particular in the energy industry, with real experience that translates into practical and consistently strong advice'. Members are well known for appearing in a wide range of prominent energy matters spanning the oil and gas, electricity and renewable energy sectors. Generation and distribution agreements, pricing and planning issues relating to nuclear power installations, and regulatory mandates are also prominent in the team's workload. John McCaughran KC is a prominent practitioner in the energy law space, with an excellent track record in handling high-value disputes, and Alexander Gunning KC is well versed in advising on complex offshore infrastructure disputes. Among the juniors, Nehali Shah has extensive experience in handling oil and gas litigation and arbitration cases for multiple majors in the industry. Nicholas Sloboda KC was elevated to silk level in March 2024.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Excellent clerking – Jackie Ginty is excellent and very responsive.'
  • 'I've had a very positive experience with the clerks, in particular Rob Smith and David Amdor.'
  • 'Darren Burrows is one of the most experienced clerks in the business and undoubtedly the best. His knowledge of the business is second to none.'
  • 'A pleasure to deal with - efficient, effective and timely communication, with clerks clearly understanding the strengths of the individual members of their set and always happy to have a practical discussion regarding suitability for a potential instruction.'
  • 'The clerks are responsive and consistently reliable. Clearly understand the strengths of each member of their set and always willing to make helpful recommendations.'
  • 'Clerks are best in class. None better.'
  • 'Brilliant clerking room. All round talent from top to bottom.'
  • 'I have had a consistently positive experience with the set as a whole - i.e. the quality and availability of counsel, and the service level from the clerks.'

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.

1
Lord Grabiner KC
‘A go-to advocate for big-ticket cases.’  
1
Alexander Gunning KC
1
John McCaughran KC
1
Laurence Rabinowitz KC
‘A superstar of the Bar, he is an excellent strategic thinker, ideal for heavyweight energy disputes.’
1
Daniel Toledano KC
2
Alain Choo Choy KC
2
Sa’ad Hossain KC
2
Jeffery Onions KC
3
Charles Graham KC
3
Thomas Sharpe KC
3
Lord Wolfson KC
‘A simply brilliant advocate, whose insight and quick mind never ceases to amaze.’
4
Laurence Emmett KC
4
Orlando Gledhill KC
4
Conall Patton KC

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.

1
Nicholas Sloboda KC
‘Clever, hardworking and reliable, Nicholas is a terrific team player who makes any team better.’

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.

1
Niranjan Venkatesan KC

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.

2
Nehali Shah
‘Nehali has an unerring ability to grasp the key issues amidst the complexity of the dispute. A first-rate advocate.'
2
Michael Watkins
‘Very commercial and user-friendly, Michael is technically excellent and gets to grips with the details very quickly.’
3
Owain Draper
‘Owain has a superb brain and an ability to distil complex legal arguments into compelling submissions.’
3
Emma Jones
4
Michael Clark
‘Michael knows what he is doing and can handle anything. His written work is focused and clear, and he speaks confidently and persuasively.’
4
Daniel Hubbard
‘A very hardworking and technically able barrister, who is very engaged and on top of the details.’
4
Douglas Paine
‘Douglas is technically sound and commercially astute.’