Praised for its ‘extremely strong bench strength in the shipping space’, Twenty Essex’s members are routinely instructed in complex shipping cases at all levels of the English court system as well as internationally. In UK P&I Club v Venezuela, the Court of Appeal in London blocked a claim by the Venezuelan regime, owing to state immunity, in a case after a collision between a navy patrol vessel and a cruise liner; David Lewis KC led Alexander Thompson for the shipowners. A number of the set’s barristers were involved in Frangou v Frangos, which dealt with a contractual dispute between members of a Greek shipping family concerning costs and losses arising out of the operation of a commercial vessel; Oliver Caplin KC led Patrick Dunn-Walsh on the defendant side, while Timothy Hill KC led Andrew Feld for the claimant. Elsewhere, the MSC Flaminia has continued to occupy courts, with Julian Kenny KC leading Michal Hain on behalf of MSC in limitation proceedings in the Court of Appeal, which upheld that charterers cannot limit an owner’s claim for its own losses.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'The service rendered by the clerks and Arron Zitver in particular, at Twenty Essex is always of extremely high level. Arron always tries to a find proper slot for the barrister to work on instructions so that matter is dealt in the most time efficient manner.'
  • 'Rob Wheeler is an excellent clerk - he is very prompt, understands the needs of the client and is excellent in dealing with the Court and the other side.'
  • 'Excellent. Long-standing relationships with senior clerks Arron Zitver and Chris Theobald - they have all the bases covered - responsive, commercial and pragmatic.'
  • 'Arron Zitver is a stand-out clerk.'
  • 'Extremely strong bench strength in the shipping space, my 'go-to' Chambers.'

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.
2023 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.
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.

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.
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.