Cloth Fair Chambers > London, England > Set Profile

Cloth Fair Chambers
39-40 CLOTH FAIR
LONDON
EC1A 7NT
England

Email firm Visit website 020 7710 6444

London Bar > Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations) Tier 1

Cloth Fair Chambers maintains a strong position in the market, with the set’s workload including fraud, corporate and financial crime, and members of the set being ‘consistently involved in the high profile and notable cases involving corporations, senior executives and high-profile individuals‘. For example, ‘brilliant, much-in-demand, silk‘ Alison Pople KC is instructed by a high net-worth individual charged with eight counts of cheating the public revenue to the tune of £22m, and in SFO v Balli Group, an SFO prosecution for fraud offences in connection with Balli Group’s steel trading platform, John Kelsey-Fry KC led Rachel Kapila in representing the chairman of the group. Tom Allen KC is instructed to represent the former managing director of an Airbus subsidiary accused of corruption relating to work for carried out for the Saudi national guard. In November 2022, Stuart Biggs joined from Three Raymond Buildings. Rhys Meggy joined from QEB Hollis Whiteman in May 2023. Ben Sundborg joined as head of practice management from 39 Essex Chambers in April 2023.

Leading Silks

Nicholas Purnell KC –Cloth Fair Chambers ‘The word doyen is overused. But is entirely deserved with Nick: He has an unparalleled understanding of the intricate dynamics of a corporate criminal trial, having been involved in most of the significant cases of the last 30 years.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Ian Winter KC –Cloth Fair Chambers ‘A powerful and commanding advocate. When he speaks, judges listen.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Tom Allen KC – Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Tom is a hugely intelligent and experienced lawyer. His advice on internal investigations is informed by a wealth of experience and is always commercial. He is one of the elite barristers any corporate or senior executive will want on their team.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Alison Pople KC – Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Alison is a brilliant, much-in-demand, silk for the most high-value and complex criminal matters. She is highly efficient, and her personable nature makes her loved by solicitors and lay clients alike.’

Ranked: Tier 1

John Kelsey-Fry KC – Cloth Fair Chambers ‘John is a master of the details, with a very strong strategic approach.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Jonathan Barnard KC –Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Nothing gets past him, but he wears his razor-sharp intellect lightly and deals with clients, colleagues and opponents with the same frank, disarming and straightforward manner no matter how high profile the instruction. His mastery of the law is second to none.’

Ranked: Tier 3

Leading Juniors

Stuart Biggs – Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Stuart is a top junior headed for the very top of the tree. He is clever, responsive and very bright. His judgement is always excellent, as are his drafting skills.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Rachel Kapila –Cloth Fair Chambers 'A highly intelligent and motivated junior.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Rhys Meggy – Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Rhys is a fearless and formidable advocate and has a real presence in court. He has an incredible work ethic and a client will never be in any doubt that all angles of their case have been covered.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Testimonials

‘Chambers Director, Annaleen Stephens, is a force of nature, innovative, smart and a pleasure to deal with.’

‘The clerks are also excellent and go to great lengths to secure the counsel team that a client needs for particular issues.’

‘Annaleen Stephens is tenacious, pragmatic and knows the value of her chambers and the quality of services that are provided.’

‘The clerks are also excellent and go to great lengths to secure the counsel team that a client needs for particular issues.’

‘Cloth Fair is the pre-eminent chambers for high-end criminal work, and has been actively recruiting the best juniors to complement their stellar silk line-up.’

‘Excellent set in terms of strength in depth for Business and Regulatory Crime.’

‘Cloth Fair is widely regarded as a chambers of elite Silks and leading juniors. Their members are consistently involved in the high profile and notable cases involving corporations, senior executives and high-profile individuals.’

‘Cloth Fair continues to maintain its reputation as the City’s premier white collar advisory practice, a cut above the competition.’

Work highlights

London Bar > Fraud: crime Tier 2

Cloth Fair Chambers is a ‘leading set for white-collar defence work’, hosting both silks and juniors ‘at the top of the game’. John Kelsey-Fry KC has recently been involved in several high-profile cases, including for a defendant in the SFO’s case against the Balli Group for alleged fraud offences committed by its steel trading platform. Alison Pople KC, ‘excellent at navigating tricky legal and ethical issues’, has recently represented an entrepreneur in relation to a charge of eight counts of cheating the public revenue by way of VAT fraud. Rhys Meggy brings his considerable experience in complex international fraud cases to chambers from QEB Hollis Whiteman.

Leading Silks

John Kelsey-Fry KC – Cloth Fair Chambers ‘John is all-round first-rate. He is a fantastic advocate – compelling, cogent and loved by juries. He is incredibly clever, but also practical and user-friendly. Additionally, he is first-rate on advisory work.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Ian Winter KC – Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Ian is, quite rightly, regarded as the best white-collar crime KC out there. He is a fearless, compelling and persuasive advocate as well as a great strategist.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Nicholas Purnell KC – Cloth Fair Chambers 'Sharp - an eye for every detail of a case and yet strategic - able to zoom out to the big picture and the case strategy.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Alison Pople KC – Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Alison is phenomenally bright and able to absorb huge quantities of complex financial information and translate it in a way which is easily understandable. She has a reassuring manner with clients and her judgment and tactics are impressive.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Leading Juniors

Rhys Meggy – Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Rhys has everything that you need from a fraud barrister. He is immensely intelligent. He is confident, having successfully defended highly complex matters. He is extremely supportive of his lay and professional clients and is also robust, clear and considered in court.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Stuart Biggs – Cloth Fair Chambers 'Outstanding knowledge of the law in all aspects of white-collar crime.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Rachel Kapila – Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Rachel is exceptionally bright, focused and diligent.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Testimonials

‘Olivia Filby-Barnett in particular is a sensible and practical clerk.’

‘Cloth Fair is full of barristers, both silks and juniors, who are at the top of the game. They represent the very best talent at the criminal and regulatory bar. There are no weaknesses – all members are first rate.’

‘Cloth Fair remains a go-to set for complex financial crime matters.’

‘A leading set for white collar defence work, particularly for individuals.’

‘The clerks’ room is, like the members of chambers, first rate. Given that Cloth Fair is, relatively speaking, a small set, the clerks are able to provide a rapid and bespoke service to instructing solicitors.’

‘The clerks are very good and efficient.’

Work highlights

London Bar > Elections

Leading Juniors

Rachel Kapila – Cloth Fair Chambers 'Rachel is hugely talented, with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of often byzantine electoral laws and a seemingly effortless ability to master the facts of a case in double-quick time. She combines this with a disarming manner with clients that puts them at their ease.'

Ranked: Tier 1

London Bar > International crime and extradition

Leading Juniors

Rachel Kapila –Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Rachel is the only sensible choice for any extradition silk in need of the best junior, with the most penetrating mind, for the most difficult case.’

Ranked: Tier 2

London Bar > Crime

Leading Juniors

Rhys Meggy – Cloth Fair Chambers

Ranked: Tier 3

Robert Dacre - Cloth Fair Chambers ‘Robert is polished and assured. His written and oral advocacy is top drawer and he has the capacity to cope with large quantities of case papers and drill down to what is actually relevant. He is a rising star of the criminal Bar.’

Ranked: Tier 4

Cloth Fair Chambers is the pre-eminent set advising on the most complex fraud, criminal and regulatory matters for individuals and corporates.

Bridging the criminal and civil jurisdictions, our purpose is to provide the very best advice and representation in the most complex matters, especially in matters of financial misconduct where the corporate world and criminal laws intersect.

Cloth Fair is a unique chambers, deliberately boutique in size, made up of distinctive King’s Counsel and junior barristers with renowned expertise in business crime, global investigations, high-profile crime, regulatory and disciplinary matters, and where our specialist advocacy and advisory skills are required.

Pioneering in the field, our members are market leaders and regularly break new ground. Often working together, members are routinely instructed as counsel of choice for corporates and senior executives dealing with allegations such as bribery and corruption, money laundering, whistle-blowing, corporate fraud and false accounting, market abuse and insider dealing and tax fraud. Typically instructed at an early stage for strategic pre-charge strategy advice, members apply their expertise to advise both boards and individuals.

Investigations are often multi-jurisdictional and involve different prosecutorial bodies spanning the SFO, FCA, CMA, HMRC and the DOJ.

Department	Name	Email	Telephone
Head Clerk	Ben Sundborg

Members of Chambers	KELSEY-FRY KC, John (1978)
Members of Chambers	PURNELL KC, Nicholas (1968)
Members of Chambers	WINTER KC, Ian (1988)
Members of Chambers	POPLE KC, Alison (1993)
Members of Chambers	ALLEN KC, Tom (1994)
Members of Chambers	BARNARD KC, Jonathan (1997)
Members of Chambers	BIGGS, Stuart (1999)
Members of Chambers	KAPILA, Rachel (2006)
Members of Chambers	MEGGY, Rhys (2009)
Member of Chambers	DACRE, Robert (2013)

Name	Position	Profile
Tom Allen	Tom Allen focuses on commercial and business crime alongside financial regulation. He…	View Profile
Jonathan Barnard	Jonathan is a highly respected leading advocate in the fields of crime and…	View Profile
Stuart Biggs	Stuart’s practice focuses on matters involving allegations of misconduct by companies, directors,…	View Profile
Rachel Kapila	Rachel is a highly sought-after junior in the fields of financial crime…	View Profile
John Kelsey-Fry	John Kelsey-Fry KC is Head of Cloth Fair Chambers. He is widely…	View Profile
Mr Rhys Meggy	Rhys Meggy’s practice centres on defending allegations of financial criminality or regulatory…	View Profile
Alison Pople	With over 25 years experience as an advocate, Alison Pople KC commands…	View Profile
Nicholas Purnell	Nicholas Purnell KC’s career at the Bar spans over four decades and…	View Profile
Ian Winter	Ian Winter is a leading white-collar crime silk with an impressive track…	View Profile