The Legal 500

Within Administrative and public law (including local government), tier 4

Specialising in rights of way and other property issues, New Square Chambers fields George Laurence QC, who is a ‘pre-eminent silk on town and village green law’. Ross Crail has ‘consummate knowledge of the law on village greens’. Edwin Simpson is an ‘effective communicator and advocate’.

Within Commercial litigation, New Square Chambers (Chambers of Robin Hollington QC) is a third tier firm,

New Square Chambers is ‘one of the market leaders in blending the traditional Chancery with heavy-duty commercial skills’. Stephen Smith QC is ‘a star performer’, particularly for fraud-related matters, where he is ‘the main go-to person’. Smith, alongside ‘the exceptionally bright and hardworking’ Simon Adamyk, both worked on the BTA Bank litigation, alongside four other members of chambers. Nigel Hood is valued for his ‘energy and tenacity’. James Bailey is ‘approachable, very thorough and conscientious and with an exceptional eye for detail’.

Within Company and partnership, New Square Chambers (Chambers of Robin Hollington QC) is a third tier firm,

New Square Chambers has ‘considerable experience in company work’, and is praised as being ‘cost competitive’ and having ‘very reliable administration’. The ‘outstanding’ Robin Hollington QC is ‘a leading scholar and advocate’ in company law who ‘always turns up trumps on heavy complex matters’ and is commended for his ‘mastery of shareholder disputes’. Stephen Smith QC is considered an ‘excellent strategist with a keen eye for the detail’. The ‘absolutely superb’ David Eaton Turner is ‘very thorough and extremely well prepared, particularly in larger cases’. Clive Jones is ‘a very senior junior who has all the skills of a leader but at a far lower cost’. The ‘very capable’ Sebastian Prentis is ‘very approachable, with good communication skills and excellent attention to detail’. The ‘exceptionally bright and very hardworking’ Simon Adamyk is ‘a mighty intellect and brings piercing analysis and meticulous attention to detail to his work’. Clients also praise ‘the technically excellent and very resourceful’ James Bailey, who is ‘a star performer with clients and inspires confidence’.

Within Fraud: civil, New Square Chambers (Chambers of Robin Hollington QC) is a third tier firm,

New Square Chambers’ Stephen Smith QC is particularly rated for his ‘excellent offshore experience’, as is Robert Levy QC. ‘Exceptionally bright and very hardworking’ junior Simon Adamyk is recommended, as is Tim Akkouh, who has ‘a rare maturity and clarity of thought for one so relatively junior’. Mark Hubbard has a particular focus on offshore trusts and property-related fraud, and has the ability to ‘quickly grasp the key issues and navigate voluminous amounts of evidence in a very short timeframe’.

Within Insolvency, New Square Chambers (Chambers of Robin Hollington QC) is a third tier firm,

New Square Chambers is an ‘excellent set with a very strong team of barristers across the board’; it has a wide range of capabilities and particular expertise in the area of insolvency arising from fraud. Leading silk Robin Hollington QC is ‘calm and solid’ and ‘always gives good advice’, and appeared in Re Pioneer Iron & Steel Group Company Ltd with the ‘absolutely superb’ David Eaton Turner. Stephen Smith QC is a ‘definite go-to’ advocate and an ‘absolute star’ in the field of civil fraud and tracing. Stephen Schaw Miller is ‘calm, thorough and meticulous’, and Clive Jones is ‘highly respected by the bench’. The ‘impressive’ James Bailey is ‘strategically strong and pragmatic’, and Sebastian Prentis is ‘hugely respected and a very fair advocate’.

Within Intellectual property,

Also recommended are highly respected silks Ian Mill QC at Blackstone Chambers (whose ‘grasp of soft IP – copyright in particular – is first class’); and Michael Edenborough QC of Serle Court (‘an excellent all-rounder who gives quick, practical advice’). Of the juniors, clients single out Mark Engelman at Hardwicke, who acted in The Estate of Adrian Jacobs v JK Rowling & Bloomsbury Publishing. Other noteworthy practitioners include Brick Court Chambers’ new recruit Nicholas Saunders (formerly of Hogarth Chambers); the ‘pragmatic and commercially minded’ Malcolm Chapple of New Square Chambers; and the ‘most helpful’ Robert Deacon at 11 Stone Buildings.

Within Private client: trusts and probate, New Square Chambers (Chambers of Robin Hollington QC) is a third tier firm,

New Square Chambers is ‘undoubtedly one of the best Chancery chambers when it comes to tactical approach and knowledge’. Nicholas Le Poidevin QC is ‘methodical and thoughtful’ with ‘superb knowledge of trusts law’. Lynton Tucker has ‘encyclopaedic knowledge’, and is ‘excellent on technical trust matters’. Other juniors include Mark Hubbard (‘his impressive powers of analysis are equalled by his people skills’), and James Brightwell (who ‘has a rare combination of intelligence and commerciality and is mature far beyond his years’).

Within Property litigation (including agriculture and housing), tier 4

New Square Chambers’ George Laurence QC is ‘very hardworking and focused’; and James Thom QC is ‘meticulously prepared and always seems to get the judge on his side’. Kenneth Munro is well known for his expertise in leasehold enfranchisement, and is ‘never anything other than totally committed and prepared’. Stephen Schaw Miller ‘offers tremendous advice, and is extremely pleasant to work with’.

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