Head of chambers Richard Chapman KC is a key member of the business and property team at 18 St John Street Chambers, and he successfully acted for the defendants in Arieli v Shalom and others, which concerned a claim for breach of trust in relation to share dividends. The set is also home to Jennifer Newstead-Taylor, who handles a broad range of insolvency law mandates, and Oliver Caplan, who is often called upon to handle director and partnership disputes, as well as banking and insolvency matters. Elisabeth Tythcott was instructed by the claimant in Clements v Frisby, a £100m claim for breach of confidence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract arising from allegations that the defendant used the claimant’s business plan, corporate identity, and seed capital in order to launch their own fashion label.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'The clerks are at 18 St John Street Chambers are incredibly helpful. Matthew Smith and Eden Cobb provide an easy point of contact between firms and counsel, and deal with enquiries in a quick and effective manner.'
  • 'The clerks are always attentive and helpful. Katie Brown is the stand-out individual.'
  • 'The clerks are one of the reasons for the success of 18 St John Street Chambers. James Parks is at the top of his game. He is always goes above and beyond to make the instruction of counsel a smooth process. If there is not something James does not know then it is not worth knowing.'
  • 'Ryan Pugh is an excellent and helpful member of the clerking team.'
  • 'Clerks are responsive and polite.'

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.
Richard Chapman KC
18 St John Street Chambers
 'Very thorough and measured, and very sensible, which feeds through into his advocacy. He engages well with opponents and the tribunal.'

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
Elisabeth Tythcott
18 St John Street Chambers
 'Elisabeth is highly experienced and well regarded by the judges. Her style is firm and persuasive, without fanfare, and she is a client favourite and always finds the time to be available.'
2
John Vickery
18 St John Street Chambers
 'John is well suited for company and insolvency work. He is very astute, experienced, and intelligent.'
2
Oliver Caplan
18 St John Street Chambers
 'Oliver is a fantastic barrister. He analyses matters meticulously, does not leave any stones unturned, and he is very user friendly with clients too, reassuring and empathising with them.'