Francis Taylor Building

Francis Taylor Building is ‘an exceptional planning set’ with ‘excellent strength in depth, especially on infrastructure cases’. The team brings extensive experience in representing local authorities and developers in high-profile, complex matters. Morag Ellis KC represented the London Borough of Camden in an application for a judicial review concerning planning permission for the redevelopment of a site within the Bloomsbury Conservation Area, where several listed buildings are located. Elsewhere in chambers, Hereward Phillpot KC and Isabella Tafur appeared before the Supreme Court in R (Spitalfields Historic Building Trust) v Tower Hamlets LBC, concerning the limits of local planning authorities’ powers to restrict voting by councillors on planning applications via standing orders. Alex Williams joined the group in August 2025.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Paul Coveney is lovely to work with and James Kemp and Harry Killick provide a good service.'
'All of the clerking team are really helpful. James Kemp and Paul Coveney have excellent organisational and interpersonal skills.'
'James Kemp is knowledgeable and approachable.'
'Paul Coveney is the stand out clerk for planning.'
'Francis Taylor Building is impressive across the board with real strength in depth.'
'Excellent quality at all levels.'

Lawyers

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.

Morag Ellis KC

Morag is an extremely effective but calm advocate, who ensures points are made in a clear and precise manner. She is superb with clients.'

Michael Humphries KC

‘He combines a powerful intellect with exceptional technical expertise and strategic thinking. Clients place considerable value on his wise counsel and appreciate his commercial awareness.'

Hereward Phillpot KC

‘He has a complete mastery of planning law.’

Alexander Booth KC

‘Alexander is an exceptional barrister. His advocacy stands out for its clarity, precision, and authority. He possesses a remarkable ability to distil complex legal issues into compelling arguments, making them accessible and persuasive to both clients and planning inspectors alike.’

Richard Honey KC

‘Richard's advocacy is sharp and to-the-point.'

Craig Howell Williams KC

‘His eye for detail, preparation and recall is phenomenal. He is an absolute joy to instruct and to work with.’

Douglas Edwards KC

Andrew Fraser-Urquhart KC

‘Andrew gets into the nitty gritty to ensure he can present the most robust case for the client.’

Richard Glover KC

‘Richard is calm and authoritative. He can help clients navigate complex issues with ease and instils great confidence.’

Gregory Jones KC

James Pereira KC

‘James is a great team player who puts everyone at ease and navigates the unpredictable.’

Saira Kabir Sheikh KC

Andrew Tait KC

'Andrew is a very calm and confident advocate.'

Simon Bird KC

Meyric Lewis KC

'He is lovely to work with, and always provides sensible and pragmatic advice, which clients understand and appreciate.'

Suzanne Ornsby KC

2024 Silks

Mark Westmoreland Smith KC

‘Mark is excellent with clients, and is able to explain often complex legal points and concepts in a clear and succinct way. His advocacy style is measured but confident and he ensures that no points go left unaddressed, which engenders confidence in his clients.’

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.

Hugh Flanagan

‘Hugh is a very experienced junior. He is commercial and pragmatic in his advice, and picks up tricky issues quickly.’

Charles Streeten

'Charles' grasp of detail is exceptional, and he is devastating on his feet.'

Isabella Tafur

'She has a first rate intellect and problem solving skills - her advocacy commands immediate respect from everyone present.'

Rebecca Clutten

‘Rebecca's advocacy commands immediate respect with decision makers and in planning appeals.'

Merrow Golden

'She is incredibly hard-working and detail-focused.'

Caroline Daly

‘Caroline’s ability to swiftly grasp intricate issues and her approachable, collaborative manner instils confidence in clients.'

Michael Fry

‘He is personable and well liked by both instructing solicitors and clients. A technically strong junior.’

Daisy Noble

‘Daisy is very responsive, firm when needed, and able to dissect difficult information for clients in an easy to understand way.’

Kate Olley

Ned Westaway

Alex Williams

‘Alex is a highly skilled advocate. He is always quick to understand the issues and clients appreciate his succinct advice.’

Brendan Brett

Esther Drabkin-Reiter

‘Esther is a confident advocate, with a great command of the details and facts.’

Alexander Greaves

‘Alex is a clear, persuasive and measured advocate.’

George Mackenzie

‘George has an excellent knowledge of planning and highway law. He is a brilliant problem solver and takes a pragmatic approach to his work.'

Charles Merrett

‘Charles is an extremely clever and confident barrister.’

Cain Ormondroyd

Annabel Graham Paul

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.