Charles Howard KC
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Charles is a brilliant strategist – he sees all the pitfalls before they happen and never shies away from calling them.’
1 King’s Bench Walk is highly regarded for its team of ‘high-quality counsel’, and offers ‘the full range of family law expertise’. Philip Marshall KC is a ‘persuasive and fearless advocate’, and Charles Howard KC brings ’forensic analysis, strategic thought and sound judgement’ to cases involving high-value financial disputes arising from divorce. Among the juniors, Richard Castle has ‘superb understanding of complex financial arrangements’, and is sought after for his strength in advising on matters involving tax and trusts issues. Richard Harrison KC, as was, is now a High Court judge.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Chris Gittins injects the clerking team with great energy.'
- 'Chris Gittins leads the clerking team with aplomb.'
- 'Chris Gittins and his team are attentive.'
- 'The clerks are outstanding. Chris Gittins is a breath of fresh air.'
- '1 King’s Bench Walk has good strength in depth.'
- '1 King’s Bench Walk has a first-rate selection of barristers for a wide range of work.'
- '1 King’s Bench Walk is an excellent set of barristers at all levels, reliably at the top of their game.'
- '1 King’s Bench Walk is a go-to set. It has strength and depth across the board.'
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.
Philip Marshall KC
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Philip has fantastic insight and judgement. He is a tenacious advocate, who will fight his clients’ corner passionately. He is adaptive in his style and compassionate when required.'
Christopher Pocock KC
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Christopher is a brilliant advocate with fantastic judgement.’
Deborah Eaton KC
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Deborah is phenomenal. She is tough, tenacious, insightful, thorough and devastatingly effective in her cross-examination. She gets straight to the heart of the issue, and can give legs to the weakest cases.'
Deepak Nagpal KC
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Deepak is a brilliant technical lawyer with an encyclopedic knowledge of jurisdictional issues and complex financial cases.'
Harry Oliver KC
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Harry has a remarkable presence. He is immensely knowledgeable and exudes confidence, and his preparation and advocacy are second to none.'
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.
Richard Castle
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Richard is knowledgeable, hard-working and always on top of the details. His judgement is spot on and he knows how to get the best out of a case.’
Katherine Kelsey
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Katherine is incredibly thorough. Her preparation is always immaculate, and she has fabulous judgement.'
Charlotte Hartley
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Charlotte is first-class. She is commercially astute and her advocacy is intelligent and focused, so judges listen carefully to what she says and invariably agree with her.’
Peter Newman
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Peter is at the top of his game. He gives sound, straightforward advice and is thorough in his preparation. His advocacy is precise and impressive, with an exceptional eye for detail.’
Jennifer Palmer
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Jennifer is incredibly bright and has exceptional knowledge of the law. Clients find her friendly, warm and approachable. A solid advocate.'
Juliet Chapman
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Juliet is a sophisticated and polished advocate who cleverly unpicks her opponent's case with her impressive delivery of powerful submissions.’
Nicola Fox
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Nicola is a calm, assured and polished advocate. She always has the judge's ear. She is very persuasive and forceful in her submissions. She is a class act.‘
Alex Tatton-Bennett
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Alex is the full package: all over the detail without losing sight of the big picture and a confident and compelling advocate.’
Max Turnell
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Max is incredibly pragmatic and knowledgeable beyond his years. He has the answer on the tip of his tongue and cuts through to the nub of the issue.’
Katy Chokowry
1 King’s Bench Walk
Perican Tahir
1 King’s Bench Walk
Mandy Tanner
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Mandy is incredibly knowledgeable. Her client handling is great, and she has excellent communication skills.’
Millie Benson
1 King’s Bench Walk
Anna Sutcliffe
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Anna is a confident advocate who combines excellent knowledge of the law with a compelling style. She knows when to fight and when to negotiate and is incredibly calm under pressure.’
Kate Elizabeth Ozwell
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Kate is fierce and tactical in equal measure. She knows when to pull and pack her punches. She connects with clients, who know they are in safe hands.’
Imogen Lloyd-Thomas
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Imogen is a pragmatic and robust barrister. She focuses on the real issues in the case and works hard to persuade the judge of a sensible solution to the dispute.’
Lucia Crimp
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Lucia builds excellent rapport with clients. She is engaging and approachable, and she is reliable and excellent on her feet in court.’
Laura Moys
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Laura is exceptionally bright, commercially astute and a persuasive and incisive advocate. She handles difficult clients and judges with ease and is well-respected.'
Nicholas Anderson
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Nicholas is a hard-working and well-prepared counsel.'
Thomas Dance
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Thomas is always meticulously prepared and has phenomenal attention to detail. Judges love his calm but forceful style of advocacy.’
Christopher McCourt
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Christopher is a force to be reckoned with and superb in cases with thorny issues. He is quickly grasps the nettle, and is great with clients.'
Stephen Jarmain
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Stephen is a star. He is responsive, combining calmness and charm with force when required, and his judgement is first-class.’
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.
Tadhgh Barwell O’Connor
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Tadhgh is a talented barrister who immediately develops a good rapport with clients. He has a strong eye for detail and makes clients feel at ease with his extensive technical knowledge. His advocacy is both persuasive and eloquent.’
Emma Wilson
1 King’s Bench Walk ‘Emma is a meticulous and brave advocate.'