Charles Hale KC
4PB ‘Charles is tenacious and dedicated. He has an assertive court presence and is always committed to getting the best possible result for his clients.’
4PB is 'a set with top-class counsel at all levels in matrimonial finance work'. Among the silks, Charles Hale KC garners praise for his ‘focused and effective advocacy'. Other key team members include Henry Clayton, 'an exceptional advocate with a phenomenal eye for detail', and the 'tour de force' junior Samantha Woodham.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The clerks are brilliant. Paul Hennessy, Jamie Byrne and Kenny Martin are fabulous and helpful.'
- 'Paul Hennessy is top-notch. He is friendly, approachable, and pragmatic.'
- 'All the clerks are super responsive and helpful, particularly Michael Reeves and Jamie Byrne.'
- 'Michael Reeves is extremely helpful. Paul Hennessy, Jamie Byrne and Glenn Bennett are also helpful and responsive.'
- '4PB is an excellent go-to set for family law.'
- '4PB is a pre-eminent set.'
- '4PB is a go-to set with excellent counsel at all levels.'
- '4PB is a brilliant set at all levels for financial work.'
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.
Christopher Hames KC
4PB ‘Christopher is unflappable and always thoroughly prepared. He has a wonderful style of advocacy, calm but very much to the point. He very much has the ear of the court.’
2023 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.
Judith Murray KC
4PB ‘Judith is a first-class financial silk and an exceptional advocate. Clients have full confidence in her approach.’
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.
Samantha Woodham
4PB ‘Samantha is a class act. She is a brilliant advocate, has a bedside manner which is unmatched in the profession and knows precisely how to pitch her case to get the best outcome for a client.’
Nicholas Fairbank
4PB ‘Nicholas has an incisive forensic ability to drill down into the details of the most complex financial cases. He is personable and inspires confidence. His advocacy is effective.’
Harry Gates
4PB ‘Harry is meticulous in his preparation. He delivers the client’s case with absolute clarity, expertise and great skill.’
Rhiannon Lloyd
4PB ‘Rhiannon has a clear and engaging advocacy style, and is excellent with clients. A thorough junior.'
Harry Nosworthy
4PB ‘Harry is a fantastic barrister with a calm manner, which immediately puts clients at ease. In court, he is a skilled and persuasive advocate who speaks with authority and gravitas.’
Kate Van Rol
4PB ‘Kate is a calming and steady hand in complex family law cases. She is faultless in her case preparation and on her feet in court. She is well-skilled in reading the courtroom and adapting her advocacy style to suit the needs of the case.’
Julia Townend
4PB ‘Julia is a formidable advocate who commands the attention of the courtroom. She has sound commercial and practical awareness.’
Sophie Connors
4PB ‘Sophie is an excellent barrister, always impeccably prepared, very generous with her time, very robust and able to think quickly on her feet.’
Rosanne Godfrey-Lockwood
4PB ‘Rosanne is always keen, and offers constructive opinions on complex matters.’