Giles Maynard-Connor KC
Exchange Chambers ‘Giles is at the top of his game. He is rightly viewed in the market as the KC of the moment, as he is a formidable advocate and passionate about every case he advocates.’
Exchange Chambers is praised by one client as ‘the first port of call for work in the north of England’ due to the ’breadth of expertise across all levels of call in commercial litigation.’ Giles Maynard-Connor KC is a notable name here with a focus on corporate fraud, and he was instructed by the defendant in a £2.5m claim surrounding allegations of breaches of sale and purchase agreements following the defendant’s partial acquirement of the claimant’s former business (Delkia Limited v Nuvia Limited). The set also houses Carly Sandbach, who has acted for clients in all levels of court up to the Court of Appeal, and her client base includes banks, multinational and small businesses, and professional services firms. She represented the defendant in the case of 199 Solar Limited v Equity Housing Group Limited, a dispute centred around a JCT construction contract and alleged misrepresentation. Andrew Vinson acts for foreign and domestic companies in high-value contractual disputes.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Nick Buckley is superb. Always available and very sensible.'
- 'Joe Mawson provides a very personal service to solicitors and always makes himself available.'
- 'Excellent. Joe Mawson and Nick Buckley are particularly impressive. They are very responsive; and always make sure they help find the most suitable barrister for a particular job.'
- 'Joe Mawson is great. He and the rest of the team are efficient and effective. They pay attention, respond quickly, and make things easy.'
- 'Nick Buckley is the consummate professional. He writes the book on excellent clerking.'
- 'Their clerking team is personable and always willing to meet requirements, including finding short notice alternative counsel. Ian Spencer is particularly helpful.'
- 'The clerk's room has always been helpful. In particular, Prya Anisa and Abigail Hewitt have been exceedingly helpful.'
- 'Special mention needs to be made of Nick Buckley, as he is a real asset and backbone of the whole operation. He is professional, resourceful, entrepreneurial, and commercial.'
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.
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.
1
Carly Sandbach
Exchange Chambers ‘Carly is incredibly bright, provides clear legal advice, is commercially astute, and user friendly with clients. She is also a tenacious and highly skilled advocate.'
1
David Went
Exchange Chambers2
Stephen Connolly
Exchange Chambers ‘Stephen is the ultimate all rounder. He knows what solicitors want from counsel, he is clever, very well respected by the judiciary, and fantastic on both paper and at advocacy.'
2
Andrew Vinson
Exchange Chambers ‘Andrew is strong in both written and oral submissions. He has the enviable ability to distil complex points of law into digestible and client friendly advice.'
2
James Malam
Exchange Chambers ‘James is clever and considered with a great understanding of civil litigation. He is very good to work with, as well as co-operative and constructive, pragmatic and efficient.’
3
Christopher Cook
Exchange Chambers 'Christopher is incredibly thorough but also able to analyse and discuss complex factual and legal issues quickly. On his feet, he is a skilled cross-examiner and again able to condense complex legal and factual issues into concise, digestible, and persuasive submissions.'
3
Harriet Hartshorn
Exchange Chambers 'Harriet is thoughtful in her advice and recognises the importance to clients of balancing fair customer outcomes with good practical outcomes. She is pragmatic and sensible in her approach and her advocacy is excellent, with an ability to get judges on side.'
3
Lawrence McDonald
Exchange Chambers ‘Lawrence is an outstanding, technical, and robust litigator. He is knowledgeable, polite, and strong with effective communication skills.'
3
Guy Vickers
Exchange Chambers3
Richard Tetlow
Exchange Chambers ‘Richard is strong in commercial litigation, particularly corporate and shareholder litigation. He is a go-to for depth of knowledge, client management, and skill.'
3
Eleanor d’Arcy
Exchange Chambers ‘Eleanor is a very straight-talking and focussed barrister who is not fazed by anything. She is very approachable and good with clients, and her advocacy skills and ability to think fast are second-to-none.’