Shipping

Quadrant Chambers

Quadrant Chambers continues to be involved in market-leading cases in shipping, with the set fielding a large number of silks and juniors specialising in maritime matters. In FMG SYDNEY c/w MSC APOLLO, Nigel Jacobs KC acted for the owners of the FMG Sydney in a rare a decision by the Admiralty Court to contribute full liability to one vessel, the MSC Apollo, regarding a collision between the two ships in the approaches to Tianjin in 2020. James Shirley appeared on behalf of RTI in the Supreme Court in MUR Shipping BV v RTI Ltd, a case dealing with a force majeure clause in a contract of affreightment in light of Russian sanctions. Robert Thomas KC led Paul Henton in High Court limitation proceedings arising out of the high-profile grounding of the Ever Given which obstructed the Suez Canal in 2021, opposite a number of other Quadrant silks including Stewart Buckingham KC, John Russell, James Turner KC, and Michael Davey KC. Damaged undersea electricity cables running under the English Channel were the subject of claims in the Bremen Fighter, in which Caroline Pounds was instructed on behalf of the owners of a tug which had transported a dumb barge to the location where its anchor, dragging during a storm, resulted in the damage to the cables.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Profile: quadrantchambers.com

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Daniel Westerman is first class. Always approachable, available and prepared to go the extra mile.'
'The clerks are always responsive and helpful. Rob Frankish and Daniel Westerman stand out in particular.'
'Mike Wright in particular stands out. He is particularly commercial, switched on and practical.'
The clerking is really good. Simon Slattery is in particular efficient and a pleasure to deal with every time.'
'Their clerks are ace. Always happy to help and - for someone working overseas - ever ready to print/collate bundles, and to arrange UK deliveries etc.'
'Quadrant is the pre-eminent shipping set.'

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.

Simon Croall KC

Nigel Jacobs KC

Luke Parsons KC

‘Luke works extremely hard and during a hearing is always the best-prepared person in the room. He is a confident and persuasive advocate as well as being very commercial and pragmatic in his advice.'

Simon Rainey KC

'Excellent and swift grasp of facts, patterns and issues of any technicality, and amazing legal skills.'

Robert Thomas KC

‘ Very user friendly and knowledgeable in all aspects of maritime law. Great tenacity in person and great thinking on his feet.'

His perception from very early on in a case of what will be crucial in negotiations or ultimately at a hearing, sets him apart when it comes to complex disputes.'

Poonam Melwani KC

‘Poonam is exceptionally talented and has an ability to cut straight to the heart of a matter. She has a phenomenal ability to present a case and ensure that judges and tribunals trust her.'

James Turner KC

' An excellent and thoughtful advocate who carefully analyses the strengths and weaknesses of his case. Definitely top drawer and it is important to have KCs of James' calibre with admiralty experience.'

Stewart Buckingham KC

‘Stewart is a really solid pair of hands.’

John Passmore KC

'Quick, clever, good at drafting and excellent at explaining complicated legal issues directly to lay clients. Highly recommended for difficult cases.'

Guy Blackwood KC

‘Guy is great to work with, knowledgeable, pragmatic and solutions driven.'

Chirag Karia KC

‘Chirag has impeccable written advocacy - his grasp of the law is second to none. He also has an outstanding ability to apply that mastery of the law and facts in any given case when he is on his feet.'

John Kimbell KC

Yash Kulkarni KC

‘Easy to work with, insightful, clear thinking and persuasive.'

Thomas Macey-Dare KC

‘Strong legal knowledge and understanding of salvage matters, good on his feet.'

Michael Nolan KC

‘It is a pleasure to work with him. Deep knowledge, friendly approach, well-written advice, excellent advocacy.'

Christopher Smith KC

Nichola Warrender KC

‘ Nichola doesn't miss anything. She has a great capacity for being able to retain and recall large amounts of information and detail.'

2023 Silks

Matthew Reeve KC

2024 Silks

Paul Toms KC

‘Excellent and thoughtful advocate. His mild manner belies a tenacious approach.'

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.

Tom Bird

‘Excellent all rounder. A superstar.'

Benjamin Coffer

‘Ben is extremely smart, commercially minded and, importantly, gives pragmatic, realistic advice. He is a very strong advocate.'

Paul Henton

‘Paul is very user-friendly and happy to assist in all aspects of a case. He is very strong technically and in writing.’

Ruth Hosking

Nevil Phillips

‘Nevil is an excellent advocate and able to get on the right side of the court or tribunal with uncanny ability. He is very user-friendly and very good at explaining complicated issues to clients in an appropriate and sensible way.’

Caroline Pounds

‘Caroline is very thorough. She is a great strategist and very commercial in her advice.'

Mark Stiggelbout

Highly intelligent, logical and an excellent legal brain. He is a razor sharp cross-examiner.'

Koye Akoni

'Koye is unflappable. His advice is always clear and concise. He is extremely good on his feet and can hold his own against any KC.'

Ben Gardner

‘Ben is very sharp, which shows in how quickly he can get to the heart of matters, but remains approachable and is always open to discussion. His written advocacy is excellent, even when produced under significant time pressure.'

Andrew Leung

‘Andrew is an excellent advocate: he researches carefully, and his oral submissions are carefully considered and powerful.'

Gemma Morgan

‘Gemma is an extremely effective advocate, combining a real mastery of technical issues with superb strategic awareness. Her advocacy is a brilliant blend of steely authority and charm, which is extremely persuasive, especially in cross-examination of expert witnesses.’

James Shirley

'James is very thorough and gives all matters a great deal of thought so when he gives a view on something you know that all angles have been considered. His legal knowledge and analysis are second to none and he thinks of points and lines of argument that would not occur to others.'

Peter Stevenson

‘Peter is extremely sharp and gets to the nub of the issue very quickly. His experience as an arbitrator also stands him in good stead when considering strategy on large litigation matters.'

Andrew Carruth

'Andrew is an outstandingly able junior at the Shipping Bar.'

Henry Ellis

‘ Henry is extremely good. He is very clear in his written work and his oral advocacy is excellent.'

Natalie Moore

‘She is as sharp as they come, but what really makes her stand out is that she always goes the extra mile to ensure the matter runs as smoothly as possible. A Rolls Royce service.'

Saira Paruk

‘Great attention to detail, very bright, approachable and great to work with.'

Stephanie Barrett

Max Davidson

‘Max has shown excellent advocacy skills in various hearings, his approach and advice is always pragmatic with a commercial view.’

Christopher Jay

Chris is an exceptional and gifted barrister.'

Michael Proctor

Michael is an exceptionally bright and very motivated junior. He can hold his own effectively against more senior counsel.'

Craig Williams

‘Craig has a very sharp mind, and his drafting of pleadings and documents is top drawer.'

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.