David Head KC
3 Verulam Buildings ‘David is an excellent advocate. He has a manner that judges love and can distil the most complex issues into the most simple concepts that seem completely obvious.’
With ‘quality from top to bottom’, members of 3 Verulam Buildings handle a wide range of civil fraud matters, from banking fraud and breach of fiduciary duties to bribery and asset tracing. Adrian Beltrami KC is acting for the claimant in Jinxin v Aser Media, a claim of deceit and conspiracy arising from the purchase of a sports media company. In Harrington & Charles Trading Co v Mehta, Ewan McQuater KC heads a counsel team including Ian Wilson KC, Philip Hinks, James McWilliams, and James McWilliams, representing the claimant liquidators, who allege that the defendants fraudulently acquired gold bullion shipments from Indian banks. Various members of the set remain involved in significant cum-ex claims, where the Danish tax authority seeks to recover sums it alleges were lost through unlawfully claimed tax refunds; this includes David Head KC, Christopher Bond, Hannah Glover, and Sophia Dzwig representing the DWF defendant group in SKAT v Solo Capital Partners LLP, and Tom Montagu-Smith KC and Philip Hinks acting for the same claimant in SKAT v Elysium Global (Dubai) Ltd and Elysium Properties Ltd.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Stephen Penson and Stuart Pullum are strong clerks.'
- 'The clerks are great - very commercial and sensible. Head clerk Stuart Pullum is a lovely man.'
- 'James Kelly and Andrew Monks are extremely fair clerks.'
- 'Stuart Pullum is absolutely first rate.'
- 'A top set for banking and finance disputes, civil fraud and international arbitration.'
- 'Excellent chambers. Quality from top to bottom.'
- '3VB are a quality set, through and through.'
- '3VB is an excellent set, mainly in the banking, finance, and financial services fraud world.'
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.
Ali Malek KC
3 Verulam Buildings ‘The doyen of civil fraud. He has seen it all, and has a unique ability to present complex cases in a compelling way to judges, who listen to his every word.’
Ewan McQuater KC
3 Verulam Buildings 'Ewan is a real heavyweight, with immense gravitas. He combines impeccable instincts with an enormous amount of experience.'
Andrew Onslow KC
3 Verulam Buildings ‘He knows which points to press and which to leave alone. Judges listen to him.'
Adrian Beltrami KC
3 Verulam Buildings 'He is always absolutely charming in his advocacy. He speaks with intelligence and knows his best points.'
Hodge Malek KC
3 Verulam Buildings 'He has tremendous focus combined with in-depth knowledge, and great assurance in his presentation.'
David Quest KC
3 Verulam Buildings 'David is an outstanding technician, who is brilliant at explaining himself in plain words and translating an analysis into commercial advice.'
Andrew Sutcliffe KC
3 Verulam Buildings 'He is incisive, and swift to identify and focus upon the key aspects of a case.'
Peter De Verneuil Smith KC
3 Verulam Buildings 'He knows the law inside out, is clearly very bright, and brings a real rigour to assessing the merits and case strategy.'
Adam Kramer KC
3 Verulam Buildings 'He is a fantastic cross-examiner, and has a forensic style which is extremely effective in fraud cases.'
Jonathan Davies-Jones KC
3 Verulam Buildings 'He demonstrates poise, style and determination in court.'
Tom Montagu-Smith KC
3 Verulam Buildings 'His advocacy style is first class and he has a fantastic grasp of detail.'
Rajesh Pillai KC
3 Verulam Buildings 'Rajesh is an extremely fluent and accomplished advocate. He is extremely clear, highly persuasive and quick on his feet.'
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.
James McWilliams
3 Verulam Buildings 'James is an exceptional barrister. He's ferociously intelligent, enormously hard working and very dedicated.'
William Day
3 Verulam Buildings 'William is absolutely superb - a star of the Bar. A very articulate advocate with a first-rate legal mind.'
Georges Chalfoun
3 Verulam Buildings 'He inspires absolute confidence in clients - the man you want in your corner.'
Charlotte Eborall
3 Verulam Buildings 'Charlotte is extremely impressive and instils huge confidence in her solicitors. She strikes the perfect balance of being incredibly sharp, pragmatic and client friendly.'
Hannah Glover
3 Verulam Buildings 'Hannah is very intelligent, hard working and unflappable. She is very commercial and capable, with a great eye for detail. She always gives considered, practical and helpful advice.'
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.
Ryan Ferro
3 Verulam Buildings 'Ryan is fantastic. He thinks creatively and finds solutions. His intellect is incredible. No one works harder than he does or is more committed. A real star.'
Ravi Jackson
3 Verulam Buildings 'Ravi is extremely technically adept and hugely hard working. He has a razor-sharp intellect and excellent judgement.'
