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Index of tables

  1. Costs – Leading Sets
  2. Costs – Leading Silks
  3. Costs – New Silks
  4. Costs – Leading Juniors

The ‘pleasant, helpful and efficient’ clerks at Thirty Nine Essex Street help facilitate the set’s market-leading costs practice. The ‘impressive’ Jeremy Morgan QC is ‘very approachable and easy to work with’ and is ‘the leading authority’ in costs; he ‘knows the area of law inside out’. The ‘hardworking’ and ‘technically very competent’ Robert Marven has ‘excellent attention to detail with an eye for the wider context’, and the ‘excellent’ Benjamin Williams ‘is simply number one on costs. He is sharp, clear and a good advocate. A pleasure to work with’. The ‘extremely knowledgeable, hardworking and thorough’ Simon Edwards is praised for his ‘excellent technical knowledge’ and ‘courteous, professional and highly practical manner’. The ‘extremely technically competent, vibrant and enthusiastic’ Vikram Sachdeva is a ‘tenacious advocate’.

Considered by many to be ‘the first port of call for all legal costs issues’, Hailsham Chambers is ‘unparalleled in terms of response time and the level of detail that it undertakes’. Among the silks, Michael Pooles QC has established a very good name for himself. The set also has some of the leading juniors in the market, among them Alexander Hutton, who is ‘among the best in the country’, and Andrew Post, who is ‘an excellent advocate and advisor on costs issues’. Joshua Munro is singled out as being ‘excellent in every aspect of his profession, on paper, in conference, and before the court. He is a finder of solutions, not excuses’.

While Four New Square might not have the same number of costs specialists as other sets, in terms of quality, its barristers are ‘clearly premier division ’. Among them, Nicholas Bacon QC is considered ‘a guru on costs matters’. Roger Mallalieu’s ‘particular strengths lie in bringing clarity and depth to the case and integrating that into a team approach to get the best result’. Timothy Chelmick has ‘an extremely bright mind’ and is an ‘excellent advocate’, with ‘the potential to rise to the top of the profession’.

Temple Garden Chambers is praised as having a group of ‘excellent costs juniors’, and also has ‘an excellent clerking team for whom nothing is too much trouble’. Simon Browne QC, who has recently taken silk, is ‘an excellent leading costs counsel, and is always fully prepared or fully briefed, be it for advising in conference or presenting in court’. The ‘impressive’ James Laughland is ‘technically very strong in relation to costs law practice, and is a first-class advocate with good judgement and very good on the detail’. James Arney is considered ‘a very good up-and-coming barrister in this field’. The ‘completely unflappable’ Richard Wilkinson is ‘always sensible and pragmatic, and gives extremely sound advice on costs matters.’

Crown Office Chambers has several leading names, including Andrew Bartlett QC, who is praised for ‘his excellent courtroom style’, particularly in insurance-related cases, and the ‘very personable and user-friendly’ Simon J Brown whose ‘knowledge of costs law is second to none and whose advice, both tactical and technical, is excellent’.

At One Crown Office Row, Guy Mansfield QC is considered ‘extremely responsive and technically at the top of his game’, as well as being ‘an excellent advocate’. Sarah Lambert is also ‘extremely good. She knows her stuff when it comes to costs and has achieved some good results. She is also very easy to work with’.

The ‘extremely able and effective’ barristers at Landmark Chambers include Richard Drabble QC and the ‘very sharp and original’ David Holland QC, who both ‘have incredible capacity to identify the key issues with clarity and are articulate advocates’. Overall, the set is considered ‘one of the best not only in terms of quality of barristers at all levels, but particularly in relation to its clerks. Nothing is ever too much trouble’.

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