James Findlay KC
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Approachable, articulate and in control in court and confidence-inspiring.’
Members of Cornerstone Barristers advises a variety of clients from property developers and public bodies down to small businesses and individuals. Thomas Cosgrove KC, leading Ben Du Feu in Frack Free Balcombe Residents Association v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, concerning macro-level climate change policy as a material consideration in specific planning decisions. Du Feu was also led by Richard Ground KC, who represented Barnet & Community Health Partnerships in the High Court, successfully obtaining planning permission for a cancer care unit. Nina Pindham also appeared in R (Parkes) v Secretary of State for the Home Department concerning the use of the Bibby Stockholm barge to house asylum seekers.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The set is expertly led by Elliot Langdorf, who really knows client service inside out. Daniel Gatt and Chelsea Thomas are also great and very responsive.'
- 'Elliot Langdorf is a fantastic clerk, as is his team.'
- 'The clerks are very helpful and work well as a team. George Regan has been particularly helpful.'
- 'Elliot Langdorf fills the role of senior clerk with all the right qualities and is a great example to more junior members of the team. Chelsea Thomas is one to watch - sharp and smart.'
- 'Daryl Hughes and his team are great to work with; always find the clerks responsive.'
- 'Daniel Gatt is very good.'
- 'Cornerstone Barristers has a very good planning and public law set with a breadth of experience and expertise.'
- 'The set as a whole is first class. I have instructed a number of barristers in chambers and they have all been excellent.'
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.
Richard Ground KC
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Richard is a master of appeals. He provides an incredibly well-thought through strategy and gets the whole team prepared and complimenting each others skills. His closing submissions are delivered in the right manner and tone and always draw together the arguments succinctly but with a killer point or two.’
Estelle Dehon KC
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Estelle is excellent, her ability to quickly grasp novel areas of law and untangle them in a way that can be understood by clients is very impressive. She shows great insight and her advice is pragmatic and easy to apply to our work in practice. She is incredibly bright, personable and able to distil complex legislation into simple terms.’
Thomas Cosgrove KC
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Tom is very pragmatic in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a case and will work with you and the team to put together the best case that he can.’
Michael Bedford KC
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Excellent at focussing on key points and distilling them from large amounts of information. Maintains very professional relationships with clients.’
Paul Shadarevian KC
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Paul is approachable and able to maintain a good rapport with judges and inspector. He has a practical approach in his work.’
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.
Josef Cannon KC
Cornerstone Barristers ‘The perfect package – he wears his fierce intellect lightly, is charming, personable, great with the clients.’
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.
Wayne Beglan
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Wayne is always impeccably prepared and has a very good way of cutting through lots of information to explain matters clearly to clients. Wayne is an excellent advocate, he is calm, clear and persuasive. Always a pleasure to work with.’
Robert Williams
Cornerstone Barristers ‘He is analytical, on top of the detail, genuinely interested in his subject and that comes across well with clients.'
Robin Green
Cornerstone Barristers ‘You know you are in capable hands when you instruct Robin. He is extremely conscientious, reliable and has excellent communication skills.’
Ruchi Parekh
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Ruchi is hardworking, diligent and capable. She is succinct in submissions and effective in the case she is presenting.’
Edward Grant
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Ed is a pleasure to work with and is always a first choice on a case. He grasps all the issues quickly and foresees any potential difficulties at an early stage. He has a superb style of advocacy – firm, thorough and leaves nothing to chance. He is very hardworking and cares about the cases he is working on.’
Harriet Townsend
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Harriet has the ability to reach the heart of a matter quickly whilst retaining a bird’s eye view of the wider picture. Her advocacy is sharp and detailed. Her communication is intuitive. She is able to read the room and act accordingly. She also establishes a good rapport with all others involved in a matter which assists with her advocacy.’
Nina Pindham
Cornerstone Barristers
Emmaline Lambert
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Emmaline is excellent to work with. She considers all aspects of a case and makes significant efforts to understand all the salient points. As an advocate she is fair, firm and well considered. It is a joy to work with Emmaline on all types of projects.’
Jack Parker
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Jack is a compelling advocate for his clients. He is personable, practical and highly articulate, and has excellent strategic judgement. His cross-examination is forensic and he has a great attention to detail. Jack easily builds rapport and is great at leading or being part of a wider team.’
Clare Parry
Cornerstone Barristers
Jonathan Clay
Cornerstone Barristers
Riccardo Calzavara
Cornerstone Barristers
Asitha Ranatunga
Cornerstone Barristers
Emma Dring
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Emma is very hardworking, very prepared and able to get heart of a case swiftly. Her handling of experts and cross-examination is excellent and her reporting was superb, balancing complex arguments and presenting her position with clarity.’
Alex Williams
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Very clear and concise with his advice, and importantly able to quickly pickup on the issues and potential arguments.’
Ben Du Feu
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Ben is razor sharp, very calm, a good listener and always knows the case well, so is able to advise the client on which path to steer through to resolution.‘
Ryan Kohli
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Ryan has a commanding presence in court. He is always impeccably well-prepared with superlative advocacy skills. Much liked by judges, Ryan is a team player whose confidence is a complete reassurance to clients who appreciate his bedside manner. He also has a vast legal knowledge of planning and public law.’
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.
Rowan Clapp
Cornerstone Barristers ‘Rowan is extremely bright and grasps facts very quickly. His advice is concise and well-considered. Rowan is also very polite and respectful as an advocate and excellent at cross-examination.’