The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance (including consumer credit), 20 Essex Street (Chambers of Iain Milligan QC) is a third tier firm,

20 Essex Street is ‘extremely impressive’, and according to one Magic Circle partner, ‘there is a greater depth of derivatives knowledge amongst the barristers in this set than any other’. ‘One of the absolute stars at the bar’, Iain Milligan QC, who has been advising the administrators of Lehman Brothers on several related matters, is ‘ferociously hardworking and committed, and is constantly coming up with new ideas and fresh ways to approach difficult problems’. Philip Edey QC has ‘oceans of intellectual fire power’. Thomas Raphael is ‘terrific, a star in the making’.

Within Commercial litigation, 20 Essex Street (Chambers of Iain Milligan QC) is a second tier firm,

20 Essex Street has ‘a very good selection of silks and juniors’ and ‘has punched its way out of being a niche shipping and insurance set, and is up there with the best’. Iain Milligan QC is ‘is extremely analytical, and he is prepared to engage in debate on legal and other issues and justify his conclusions’. Duncan Matthews QC, who has been involved in the multibillion-dollar litigation BTA v A, ‘will be a supersilk in a few years without any doubt’. Philip Edey QC is ‘a young and energetic QC with a great presence in the courtroom’. Malcolm Jarvis is ‘very quick and willing to master complex details, and his formulation of written arguments is excellent’.

Within Commodities, 20 Essex Street (Chambers of Iain Milligan QC) is a first tier firm,

20 Essex Street is widely regarded as ‘the leading commodities set’, earns ‘top marks all round’, and has ‘impressive and responsive’ clerking. Stephen Males QC, ‘one of the top three commodities barristers in the UK’, and the ‘intellectually powerful and persuasive’ David Owen QC rate particularly highly for GAFTA and FOSFA cases. Timothy Young QC is ‘very commercial and very good with trading clients’, and ‘a very smooth advocate’. Head of chambers Iain Milligan QC and new silk Michael Ashcroft QC are ‘outstanding’, and Philip Edey QC is ‘very good – he punches above his weight’. The ‘very engaging’ Charles Kimmins QC is ‘absolutely flying’ with successive instructions. Andrew Baker QC is ‘a brilliant advocate’. Michael Coburn QC is ‘very perceptive, very driven and a great advocate’. ‘A real star senior junior’, Julian Kenny has ‘a very good eye for how an argument is progressing and is a very good filter of instructions’. David Lewis is ‘excellent – extremely knowledgeable, well organised and capable of handling any case without a leader’. Clare Ambrose is ‘very able, gets into the detail of disputes and is very pleasant’.

Within EU and competition, 20 Essex Street (Chambers of Iain Milligan QC) is a third tier firm,

20 Essex Street is an ‘extremely commercially minded and responsive’ set. Stephen Morris QC has expertise in private damages claims; he is praised as ‘phenomenally hardworking and thorough’ and his ‘energy, commitment, and willingness to go the extra mile’ are popular. Iain Milligan QC appeared in Emerald v BA concerning price fixing by airlines of airfreight rates, and has ‘elevated courtroom gravitas and mastery of briefs’. Colleen Hanley and Sara Masters are leading juniors.

Within Energy, tier 4

The ‘truly gifted’ Iain Milligan QC at 20 Essex Street is very highly regarded for energy issues. Andrew Baker QC, Christopher Hancock QC, David Owen QC and Michael Tselentis QC are also well known practitioners.

Within Information technology,

Also recommended are Alan Gourgey QC of 11 Stone Buildings (‘very user-friendly’); Graham Read QC at Devereux (‘tenacious in driving a strategy forward’); Simon Croall QC of Quadrant Chambers; and Derek Sweeting QC of 7 Bedford Row. Brick Court Chambers attracted ‘top junior’ Nicholas Saunders from Hogarth Chambers in 2010, who has an excellent reputation in the field – his ‘technical knowledge is unsurpassed’. The ‘very strong’ Lawrence Akka at 20 Essex Street and the ‘bright and client-friendly’ Philip Roberts of One Essex Court are also well-respected juniors.

Within Insolvency,

Also recommended are: Clara Johnson and ‘outstanding’ advocate Simon Davenport QC at 3 Hare Court (praised for his ‘top-notch analysis and decisiveness in getting to the relevant points’); Wendy Parker at Hardwicke; the ‘unfailingly helpful’, ‘approachable’ and ‘knowledgeable’ Terence Mowschenson QC at Wilberforce Chambers; the ‘ferociously hardworking and committed’ Iain Milligan QC at 20 Essex Street; and Peter Shaw, and Elaine Palser at 9 Stone Buildings, the latter ‘technically excellent’ and ‘no shrinking violet when it comes to advocacy’.

Within Insurance and reinsurance, 20 Essex Street (Chambers of Iain Milligan QC) is a third tier firm,

Key individuals at Fountain Court Chambers (a set that ‘can be relied upon to provide very high-quality counsel’) include the ‘nimble and tenacious’ James Cutress. Led by Christopher Hancock QC of 20 Essex Street, Cutress acted for excess layer insurers in a $200m Bermuda Form insurance claim by a major pharmaceuticals manufacturer. The ‘experienced and bright’ Patrick Goodall is recommended for ‘any complex insurance case’ and is praised as ‘diligent, sensible and a pleasure to work with’; definitely ‘one to watch’. Head of chambers Timothy Dutton QC has ‘a brilliant analytical mind with immediate understanding of the issues’. Also highly rated are Stephen Moriarty QC and Michael Crane QC.

Within International arbitration, 20 Essex Street (Chambers of Iain Milligan QC) is a first tier firm,

20 Essex Street ‘is one of the sets at the top of its game. Its recent move into Singapore shows it is on the ball and responsive to clients’ needs’. Extremely well regarded for shipping and commodities disputes, the set is also top notch for broader commercial arbitrations. Iain Milligan QC is ‘the best barrister in London Bar none’. The ‘young and energetic’ Philip Edey QC is ‘a very accomplished advocate. Strong on tactics and the reading of a tribunal’. Among the juniors, Julian Kenny is ‘a real star at the senior junior end’. The ‘fiercely intelligent’ David Lewis, who has returned from Singapore, gets excellent feedback for his ‘superb turnaround with work’, and is ‘excellent with clients’.

Within Media, entertainment and sport,

Other highly respected silks include: Andrew Caldecott QC at 1 Brick Court; Guy Morpuss QC at 20 Essex Street; Ely Place Chambers’ Nicholas Stewart QC; and ‘extremely personable’ new silk Stephen Cogley QC at Quadrant Chambers. Of the juniors: Nicholas Randall at Devereux is ‘pre-eminent for sport work’; Jonathan Bellamy of Thirty Nine Essex Street is ‘a barrister you can put your faith in’; and Cloisters’ Caspar Glyn provides ‘strong technical analysis’. Also recommended are: John Critchley of Field Court Chambers; Madeleine Heal of Hardwicke; the ‘talented and tenacious’ Louis Weston at 3PB; and XXIV Old Buildings’ Ian Meakin. Simon Malynicz (formerly of Hogarth Chambers) joined Three New Square in 2011.

Within Public international law, 20 Essex Street (Chambers of Iain Milligan QC) is a second tier firm,

20 Essex Street is praised for its ‘helpful and efficient clerks’, who are good at ‘facilitating effective communications’ with the set’s highly rated PIL experts. ‘The very thorough, perceptive and supportive’ Sudhanshu Swaroop is praised for his ‘excellent written submissions’ and as being ‘responsive and efficient’ and ‘demonstrating a clear understanding of bilateral investment treaties’. The ‘very able, academically inclined’ Guglielmo Verdirame has ‘a deep knowledge of public international law’.

Within Shipping, 20 Essex Street (Chambers of Iain Milligan QC) is a first tier firm,

20 Essex Street ‘offers a large variety of very talented barristers at all levels’ who are ‘very effective, extremely knowledgeable and pleasant to work with’. ‘A big case might justify’ the expertise of Iain Milligan QC, who is acting on the Zodiac case concerning the rights of shipowners against charterers regarding the costs of mitigating risks of piracy off the Somali coast. ‘Outstanding advocate’ Andrew Baker QC is recommended for dry shipping matters, and Duncan Matthews QC for his ‘excellent closing statements’ and ‘ability to memorise the entire contract’. Stephen Males QC is a ‘great advocate’, and Timothy Young QC is ‘formidably quick’ and ‘drives a case to an acceptable result’. David Lewis is a ‘quite brilliant junior barrister with in-depth knowledge, tactical and commercial awareness, and brilliant oral and written advocacy skills’, and Henry Byam-Cook is ‘very thorough in his analysis and preparation, with a good eye for detail’. Julian Kenny is ‘a real star at the senior junior end’, and a ‘great details man who is well on top of the more intricate legal arguments’. Michael Collett is ‘very thorough and disciplined’ and ‘truly has cumulative experience in shipping and trade matters gained over his entire time at the Bar’. Lawrence Akka is ‘friendly, able and available to clarify even smaller issues’, and Philip Edey QC an ‘excellent younger silk’, who acted in a time charter arbitration that is the first shipping group litigation.

Within Treasury Panel Lists Junior Counsel to the Crown – B Panel