4 Pump Court is a leading professional negligence set with a strong line-up of silks and juniors who handle professional negligence cases in areas such as energy, construction, engineering, infrastructure, and information technology. Michael Douglas KC has strong experience concerning technology and construction-related professional negligence, while Nigel Tozzi KC acts primarily for defendants, with strong experience in acting for professional indemnity insurers. Tozzi KC represented the company that manages the former Olympic Stadium in Stratford in a claim against a Magic Circle law firm concerning the allegedly negligent drafting of an agreement concerning the use of the venue by West Ham United. Rachel Ansell KC specialises in high value and technically complex construction and engineering professional negligence cases – she currently acts on cases arising out of the Beetham Tower in Manchester concerning allegedly failed glazing units.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Sam Penny is an outstanding clerk who is extremely approachable and passionate in his work. Nothing is too much of an ask for Sam and his responses and follow ups on matters are quick.'
- 'The clerks are courteous and efficient. We deal mainly with James Tanner.'
- 'The clerks' room is professional and responsive: they go out of their way to get information to you in a timely manner, and are good at being proactive in managing diaries and any issues that may arise.'
- 'Very happy with the clerks.'
- 'Clerks are good.'
- 'Very strong on construction professional negligence and on insurance too.'
- 'Top Chambers for construction/professional negligence.'
- 'Chambers hosts a number of valuable seminars and its information newsletters are very useful. There is a good mix of experience across the sectors for which 4 Pump Court has built its reputation.'
- '4 Pump Court are an impressive set from top to bottom: they are always able to assist, even on small queries where there is not an actual instruction likely to eventuate.'
- 'Chambers offer consistently high quality barristers of all experience. You can be confident that the advice received will be reliable.'
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.
4 Pump Court
- 'Nigel has been a pleasure to work with - providing constructive and highly pertinent guidance, cutting to the key issues and conveying them in appropriate terms for his audience - be it senior or junior team members or directly client-facing.'
4 Pump Court
‘Michael is a go-to KC for insurance professional negligence work. His advice is full of clarity and common sense.’
4 Pump Court
'Strategically and tactically savvy. A strong litigator. Good under pressure and an impressive advocate.'
4 Pump Court
‘Rachel is definitely a team player. She does not sit on the fence with her advice and is very supportive of her instructing solicitors. She is an effective and measured advocate and analytical skills are second-to-none.’
4 Pump Court
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His understanding of the interaction between the construction and insurance markets is unrivalled. Charming and ruthless in equal measure.
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4 Pump Court
'Very thorough. Provides sensible and coherent advice that is applicable to the commercial realities of the matter.'
4 Pump Court
- 'Aidan has an encyclopaedic knowledge of insurance law and cases. He is authoritative whilst being collaborative, creative with arguments, and hugely patient.'
4 Pump Court
‘Lynne is an excellent barrister, her cross examination skills are second to none and certainly not to be underestimated. She is especially gifted at very complex and detailed cases with an ability to quickly absorb a lot detail and hone in on the critical issues.'
4 Pump Court
‘A superb all-rounder. A fantastic advocate, calm under pressure and with the ear of the court, because he has the ability to pick out the key points and present them in simple terms to the judge. Lovely drafting too.’
4 Pump Court
‘Jeremy is a top class construction silk. He retains fantastic attention to detail and precision in his drafting, whilst getting the big strategic decisions right.’
Claire Packman
4 Pump Court 'Claire is responsive, a team player and a pleasure to work with. Great with clients and complete mastery of the technical detail of a case.'
4 Pump Court
'Andrew is very knowledgeable in this field - he is highly intelligent and very experienced. He gets right to the point and identifies what matters early on. He is very good on his feet and is a very strong cross examiner. He is also very good with clients.'
4 Pump Court
‘Decisive, robust, commercial and a good motivator and team leader. He gets the bigger picture.’
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.
4 Pump Court
‘Simon is excellent to work with. He is extremely bright but very personable and great to put the clients at ease as well as being great on his feet.'
4 Pump Court
‘Kate has excellent judgement, is forensic and determined. She is also an excellent advocate – well-prepared, and with a real feel for the temperature of the court and the views of the judge.’
4 Pump Court
‘Deep IT expertise, with excellent client skills, impeccable judgement and pleasure to work with.’
4 Pump Court
‘A sensible, reliable barrister who responds very quickly. Luke can cut through the noise and get to the heart of the issues very quickly.'
4 Pump Court
‘Kate is technically proficient, user friendly and helpful throughout.’
4 Pump Court
‘James is very easy to work with. A great team player whose attention to detail and analytical skills really make him stand out from the pack.'
4 Pump Court
'James is extremely reliable for honest and thorough advice. He is easy to work with and is open to collaborative discussions relating to the matter.'
4 Pump Court
‘Martyn has fantastic attention to detail and the ability to produce high quality pleadings and written submissions against very tight deadlines. He has the ability to distil very complex or extensive facts down to a few pertinent points and is a highly effective and persuasive advocate.'
4 Pump Court
‘Tom is responsive and easy to use and get on with. He is pragmatic and exhumes confidence which the clients love. He is very good on his feet and judges listen to him.’
4 Pump Court
‘Simon has a forensic attention to detail, and prepares meticulously. As a leader, he is calm and authoritative, and never afraid to interrogate and adapt his own position where appropriate.'
4 Pump Court
‘Matthew is prompt at responding to communications and always keeps his clients updated on his progress.’
4 Pump Court
‘Peter is a go-to barrister for professional negligence work. He is always responsive and builds a good relationship with the team that he is working with, including the client.’
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.
4 Pump Court
‘Jennie is very sharp. She is always on top of the detail and produces clear, precise and user-friendly drafting. She is a pleasure to work with.’