23ES has several strong silks that regularly defend and prosecute in big fraud and money laundering cases. Cairns Nelson KC stands out as an experienced financial crime specialist whose ‘light touch with witnesses makes for effective cross-examination'. Tom Godfrey is active in high-profile cases of alleged VAT fraud, with other members of chambers having experience in matters prosecuted by trading standards authorities and alleged Ponzi schemes.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Wayne King is enthusiastic, hard working and popular both within chambers and with clients and other clerks.'
- 'Adam Chapman is excellent; efficient, courteous and he leads the rest of the room by example.'
- 'Liam Kitcher goes out of his way to assist and is friendly and easy going.'
- 'Jo Wheeler is supremely calm, confident and good humoured.'
- 'The Clerks’ Room is a happy and industrious place. The clerks work brilliantly as a team, led by the example of Wayne and Adam.'
- 'Adam Chapman is at the very top of his game.'
- 'The clerks room works hard to provide an excellent service to solicitors and clients. They are excellent at gauging the needs of clients and finding the right practitioner for the case.'
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.
23ES
‘Cairns is an exceptional jury advocate, whose ability to cross-examine on complex financial issues is second-to-none. He applies a wealth of experience to engage the jury and his straightforward, stylish approach means that he is a compelling and impressive advocate.’
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.
23ES
'Tom is an excellent barrister. He is hard-working, his judgement is excellent and his advocacy is pitched perfectly to persuade the audience that he has. He is confident, friendly and reassuring and inspires confidence with judges, juries, opponents, solicitors and lay clients.'
23ES
‘Richard is astute, a real details brief, with very fine judgement. He is a trial strategist, and plans meticulously.’
Leading Juniors
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.
23ES
'Tom is an excellent barrister. He is hard-working, his judgement is excellent and his advocacy is pitched perfectly to persuade the audience that he has. He is confident, friendly and reassuring and inspires confidence with judges, juries, opponents, solicitors and lay clients.'
23ES
‘Richard is astute, a real details brief, with very fine judgement. He is a trial strategist, and plans meticulously.’