The Legal 500

Within Aviation, XXIV Old Buildings (Chambers of Martin Mann QC and Alan Steinfeld QC) is a second tier firm,

‘Good strong set’ XXIV Old Buildings has excellent aviation credentials. Philip Shepherd QC and Bajul Shah continued to act in the Blue Sky litigation. Shepherd also acted in ACG Acquisition XX LLC v Olympic Airlines, and Shah is noted as a ‘very capable advocate’. Steven Thompson is ‘excellent in every respect; he has a lot of experience in aviation cases, understands the specialist issues, responds very quickly and is a most user-friendly barrister’. Arshad Ghaffar acted in the London 27 ltd case, which involves a claim worth $25m against the lead aircraft lessor.

Within Banking and finance (including consumer credit) Banking and finance – Leading Silks

Within Charities,

Individuals of note include Serle Court’s William Henderson (‘exceptionally bright’ and ‘amazingly conscientious’); Hubert Picarda QC at 9 Old Square (who has ‘a fantastic understanding of the history and scope of charity law’); Ten Old Square’s Simon Taube QC (‘nothing short of brilliant’); XXIV Old Buildings’ Michael King (a ‘great advocate and tenacious in cross-examination’); Elspeth Talbot Rice QC (‘a skilled strategist’); and 15 Old Square’s ‘ingenious’ James Kessler QC and Robert Venables QC, who are noted for their charities-related tax practices.

Within Commercial litigation, tier 4

XXIV Old Buildings is ‘undoubtedly one of the leading Chancery sets’ and comes highly recommended for its offshore work. Alan Steinfeld QC ‘commands a strong sense of calm to a case and is respected for taking good points’. Elspeth Talbot Rice QC ‘combines charm with a great fighting spirit and cannot fail to instil confidence in both solicitors and lay clients’. Nicole Langlois offers ‘a proactive mixture of high-level intelligence and knowledge of the law’.

Within Company and partnership, XXIV Old Buildings (Chambers of Martin Mann QC and Alan Steinfeld QC) is a third tier firm,

XXIV Old Buildings is recommended by clients, particularly for its offshore work. The ‘exceptionally good’ Alan Steinfeld QC is highly recommended for both company and partnership law, and is valued for ‘his ability to reduce the complexities into a few readily understandable issues’, and ‘on partnership issues, no one is better’. Stephen Moverley Smith QC who ‘does a lot in the BVI’, is ‘clever and easy to deal with’. Francis Tregear QC is also very well regarded, particularly for advising hedge funds on company and partnership issues, and Michael Black QC is a ‘fantastic strategist and a great person to have on, or lead, a team’. The ‘thorough, conscientious and thoughtful’ Stuart Adair receives positive feedback for company law, and Elizabeth Weaver is ‘a great lawyer and very easy to deal with’. Clients also rate the ‘very approachable, technically strong, responsive and pragmatic’ Richard Ritchie, both for company and partnership matters.

Within Construction,

Also recommended are: the ‘good-humoured and courteous’ Michael Black QC of XXIV Old Buildings; Michael Bowsher QC of Monckton Chambers (‘excellent with clients and very much at ease in the courtroom’); 3 Hare Court’s William Godwin, who has ‘good attention to detail’; Stuart Kennedy at 3PB, who is ‘extremely pleasant to work with and puts himself out for clients’; and, at Hardwicke, Nigel Jones QC, who ‘goes the extra mile’, and the ‘approachable’ David Pliener.

Within Fraud: civil, XXIV Old Buildings (Chambers of Martin Mann QC and Alan Steinfeld QC) is a third tier firm,

At XXIV Old Buildings, Martin Mann QC’s ‘considerable presence’ is highly regarded, and Stephen Moverley Smith QC is ‘hands-on and responsive, and knows the BVI like the back of his hand’. Elspeth Talbot Rice QC’s ‘quality of work is impeccable, every angle thought of and every base covered’. Alan Steinfeld QC, ‘one of the leading lights of the commercial Chancery scene’, and Philip Shepherd QC are also recommended. Among its juniors, Bajul Shah is ‘a pleasure to work with’. David Herbert continues to act for the liquidators of two Madoff feeder funds. The ‘gritty and pugnacious’ Edward Knight is also recommended, as is Steven Thompson for his ‘incisive advocacy style’.

Within Insolvency, XXIV Old Buildings (Chambers of Martin Mann QC and Alan Steinfeld QC) is a third tier firm,

XXIV Old Buildings displays ‘real strength in depth’ with ‘high-quality barristers at all levels’, and the clerks are praised as ‘always helpful, responsive and a pleasure to deal with’. ‘Accessible and a real team player’ Stephen Moverley Smith QC has appeared in several matters involving insolvent companies based in the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. The ‘outstanding’ Elspeth Talbot Rice QC is ‘impeccable’, with an ‘astonishingly fast’ turnaround time. Of the juniors, the ‘very bright, upbeat and positive’ Edward Cumming is popular, as is the ‘extremely knowledgeable’ Steven Thompson. ‘Fantastic’ barrister Sarah Bayliss is ‘approachable and highly professional’, and ‘top-quality counsel’ Richard Ritchie is highly rated. Further key names are David Herbert (‘remarkable advocate’, and ‘excellent tactician’); Stuart Adair (‘tenacious, commercial’); and Edward Knight (noted for his ‘excellent legal knowledge and analysis’).

Within International arbitration International arbitration – Leading Silks

Within Licensing, XXIV Old Buildings (Chambers of Martin Mann QC and Alan Steinfeld QC) is a third tier firm,

XXIV Old Buildings’ Alexander Pelling and Francis Tregear QC are experts at the intersection of financial services and spread betting.

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 Pensions, XXIV Old Buildings (Chambers of Martin Mann QC and Alan Steinfeld QC) is a third tier firm,

At XXIV Old Buildings, Alan Steinfeld QC heads the pensions team; highly regarded by clients, he is a ‘superb advocate’ who delivers ‘very incisive legal advice’. John Stephens is also ‘a joy to work with; he is bright, hardworking and proactive’.

Within Private client: trusts and probate, XXIV Old Buildings (Chambers of Martin Mann QC and Alan Steinfeld QC) is a second tier firm,

The ‘fantastic and technically excellent’ XXIV Old Buildings has a large number of very high-quality tenants covering diverse areas. The ‘formidably bright’ Alan Steinfeld QC is ‘unquestionably a star of the Chancery Bar’, and David Brownbill QC is ‘in a class of his own’ when dealing with offshore work. Elspeth Talbot Rice QC is ‘absolutely formidable’ and gives ‘fantastic advice’, and at junior level Michael King is a ‘great advocate and tenacious in cross-examination’. Bajul Shah is ‘extremely bright and fantastically responsive’, with John Stephens and Michael Gadd also recommended.

Within Professional negligence, tier 4

Praised for its ‘commercial awareness’, the team at XXIV Old Buildings is ‘great at providing efficient responses’. Among the silks are Alan Steinfeld QC, who is ‘a real expert’, and the ‘excellent’ Francis Tregear QC. Also recommended are Michael Gadd, who is ‘efficient and to the point’, the ‘very strong’ Elizabeth Weaver, and Edward Knight, who is ‘first class’.

Within Treasury Panel Lists Specialist Standing Counsel – Civil matters