The Legal 500

London Bar

Set overviews: England and Wales

‘The Rolls-Royce of pensions sets’ and sitting ‘right at the top of the tree when it comes to big-ticket trust matters’, Wilberforce Chambers is in ‘the Premier League’ of Chancery sets with ‘the strength and depth you would expect of a chambers of its calibre’. Chambers is also developing its reputation as ‘a top-class’ property set and reinforcing its leading positioning in the offshore market where its ‘top-notch’ and ‘collaborative’ members are considered ‘thought leaders’, particularly in the Cayman Islands where ‘a number of its QCs have begun to make their mark’. Further strengthening chambers at the top end, James Bailey took silk in 2019. Clients appreciated the set’s one-day commercial and trust litigation conferences which is ‘of an excellent quality’. ‘Always a pleasure to deal with’, practice director Nicholas Luckman ‘has no rival’ at the Bar. Together with head practice manager Mark Rushton, Luckman runs ‘a very slick operation’ that befits the calibre of the set’s members. The ‘fabulous’ clerking team ‘delivers a service with professionalism and integrity’. ‘Forever going above and beyond’, senior practice manager Fraser Geddes is recommended for his ‘helpful, can-do approach’. ‘He is incredibly client-focused and will always do everything he can to accommodate.’ Also worthy of a special mention is senior practice manager Danny Smillie, who is ‘excellent, and goes the extra mile’. Practice manager Stewart Cameron is ‘a delight to work alongside. Extremely polite, impressively organised, and responsive to boot. You get the sense nothing is too much trouble for him, and he will do all he can to deliver the highest quality service’. Solicitors have also been ‘particularly impressed’ by practice manager Ben Rippengale. The ‘exceptionally helpful’ Andrew Barnes has recently been promoted to senior practice manager and, judging from solicitor feedback, this was a shrewd move by chambers (‘His clerking is second to none and he has been an absolute asset to the team; he’s excellent – responsive, helpful, and has a genuine understanding of the teams he works with’). Antonia Matthew has also been promoted to practice assistant. In addition to the internal promotions, the team has recently expanded too with new practice managers Jess Edson and Conor Michaels arriving from Keating Chambers and 4 PUMP COURT respectively, junior clerk Georgia Pilbro arriving from Doughty Street Chambers alongside Francisco Iannuzzi and Jake Walker in their first clerking roles. Hayley Eustace is the set’s marketing and business development manager. Offices in: London

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London Bar

Agriculture

Leading Juniors

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Charities

Charities - Leading sets - ranked: tier 2

Wilberforce Chambers

Wilberforce Chambers continues to be involved in some complex and high-value matters across the charity sector. As an example of his expertise, Jonathan Davey QC is leading in the significant case of Life Services Ltd v Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs, which is an important test case about the taxation of charities and similar entities. Michael Furness QC has a 'good reputation' among instructing solicitors for charities-related work, aided by his 'quick response time and detailed knowledge' of the sector.

Leading Silks

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Commercial litigation

Commercial litigation - Leading sets - ranked: tier 3

Wilberforce Chambers

Wilberforce Chambers has 'excellent strength in depth' and is often the 'first port of call on all Chancery, trust matters'. The barristers are 'first-class specialists and masters of their brief' who 'never disappoint'. Clients note that the set's 'expansion in recent years has turned them into a full-service set to deal with any area of law'. A major highlight has been the significant role several members have had on the AHAB v SAAD dispute, including Tom Lowe QC and John Wardell QC who are on opposing sides. Joanna Smith QC was also instructed to represent the apellants before the Supreme Court in Frederick v Positive Solutions Financial Services Limited.

Top ten under eight years’ call

Leading Silks

2018 Silks

2019 Silks

Leading Juniors

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Company and partnership

Company - Leading sets - ranked: tier 2

Wilberforce Chambers

An 'excellent set with all necessary levels of expertise in commercial areas', Wilberforce Chambers' members are instructed in all areas of company law, including financial assistance, shareholder disputes, and directors' duties matters. Lexa Hilliard QC, Bobby Friedman, and 2019 silk James Bailey QC are advising a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll on the acquisition of the business and assets of the Force India racing team, in Re Force India (Formula 1). In another matter, Terence Mowschenson QC successfully acted for the claimant in Sky Stream Corp v Alexander Pleshekov; a dispute over the ownership of a 20% stake in Transaero Airlines.

Company - Leading Silks

Company - 2018 Silks

Company - 2019 Silks

Company - Leading juniors

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Financial services regulation

Leading Silks

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Fraud: civil

Fraud: civil - Leading sets - ranked: tier 2

Wilberforce Chambers

Clients praise Wilberforce Chambers for providing 'excellent support' and 'communication which is honest and proactive so that any capacity issues can be properly managed'. The set is becoming 'one of the leading sets in the civil fraud arena' and is also noted for its expertise in overlapping areas, such as offshore disputes. Recently, Tom Lowe QC and John Wardell QC were on opposing sides of AHAB v SAAD, while Alan Gourgey QC and Anna Littler are representing Walid Ghiami, one of the defendants in Libyan Investment Authority v JP Morgan & Ors.

Leading Silks

Leading Juniors

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Insolvency

Insolvency - Leading sets - ranked: tier 3

Wilberforce Chambers

Wilberforce Chambers houses specialists in corporate and personal insolvency litigation and advice, who are often instructed on matters in the UK and offshore. Lexa Hilliard QC, James Bailey QC and Bobby Friedman acted in Re Force India (Formula 1), while Bailey and Marcia Shekerdemian QC were instructed on Re Paul Baxendale Walker. Shekerdemian   QC   is particularly noted for her expertise in restructuring and insolvency litigation, successfully representing the security trustees in the contested application for the removal of the administrators in Re: Zinc Hotels (Investments) Ltd.

Leading Silks

2019 Silks

Leading Juniors

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Media and entertainment (including art and cultural property)

Art and cultural property - Leading Silks

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Offshore

Offshore - Leading sets - ranked: tier 1

Wilberforce Chambers

Wilberforce Chambers continues to be 'a go-to set for trust disputes', with members instructed in all manner of Chancery matters across the Caribbean and in other common law-based jurisdictions. Numerous members of chambers were involved in the  high-profile AHAB v SAAD case in the Cayman Islands: Tom Lowe QC and Jack Watson represented SIFCO 4, one of the defendant companies; John Wardell QC is instructed to represent AHAB in appeals. In another Cayman highlight, Graeme Halkerston secured the jurisdiction's first statutory ex-parte global freezing order for investors in a collapsed commodity company; the investors alleged fraud by the company's manager, Eike Batista, a Brazilian ex-billionaire who was sentenced to prison in 2018 for a separate bribery matter. Moving to the Channel Islands, Gilead Cooper QC is advising the defendants in the long-running CMC Holdings v Forster case in the Jersey Royal Courts, a case in which the claimants allege the local directors (who include high-profile Kenyan political figures) of a business importing cars to eastern Africa operated a Jersey trust as a slush fund.

Leading Silks

2018 Silks

Leading Juniors

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Pensions

Pensions - Leading sets - ranked: tier 1

Wilberforce Chambers

Considered the 'pre-eminent set for pensions' by its clients, Wilberforce Chambers ‘is unrivalled in the area of pensions', has 'unparalleled strength-in-depth' and is 'full of iron brains'. In one standout instruction, Brian Green QC acted for the trustees of the BT Pension Scheme  on several issues affecting the pensions of 24,000 members and £2bn liabilities. Meanwhile, in the Court of Appeal, Michael Tennet QC was successful for British Airways in a claim that is considered important in clarifying the roles and responsibilities of trustees. Also of note, Michael Furness QC represents ITV In a case regarding the Box Clever Pension Scheme, which consider's the television network's liabilities for the scheme's deficit.

Leading Silks

Leading Juniors

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Private client: personal tax

Private client: personal tax - Leading sets - ranked: tier 2

Wilberforce Chambers

Wilberforce Chambers is 'highly regarded' for personal tax issues. Jonathan Davey QC successfully acted in the high-profile case of Viscount Hood as Executor of Estate of Lady Hood v HM Revenue and Customs, which dealt with the key inheritance tax provisions relating to ‘gifts with reservation’ in relation to family homes.

Leading Silks

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Private client: trusts and probate

Private client: trusts and probate - Leading sets - ranked: tier 1

Wilberforce Chambers

The 'impressive' Wilberforce Chambers is a ‘strong set for Chancery advice’ with its ‘top-notch lawyers' who have 'a lot of offshore experience'. Members are instructed by many of the UK's major private wealth firms, as well as those internationally, to act in some of the leading trust cases. In one example, Brian Green QC led in Safeway v Newton on a successful reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The fundamental issue at stake was the interaction between domestic law and EU law on trustees powers. In another significant instruction heard before the Court of Appeal, Robert Ham QC  successfully acted for the second defendant in a case whereby a registered charity sought approval to make a grant of $360m to a new charity that had been established by one of its trustees.

Leading Silks

2018 Silks

Leading Juniors

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Professional negligence

Professional negligence - Leading sets - ranked: tier 2

Wilberforce Chambers

Wilberforce Chambers is commended for its 'enormous strength-in-depth' and although it is the 'market leader in the pensions field', it is 'starting to become the pre-eminent set for property disputes' and is therefore well placed to deal with professional negligence claims in the pensions and property space. The set handles claims against solicitors, barristers, accountants, auditors, actuaries, construction professionals, pensions professionals, finance practitioners, company directors, and insurance brokers. John Wardell QC is acting for the defendant bank in N v RBS, which examines duties owed by bankers when money laundering is suspected. Elsewhere, Jonathan Seitler QC acted for the defendant solicitors in Barker v Baxendale Walker, a claim relating to a £40m trust.

Leading Silks

2018 Silks

Leading Juniors

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Property litigation

Property litigation - Leading sets - ranked: tier 2

Wilberforce Chambers

Wilberforce Chambers provides ‘strength at all levels’ with a ‘strong stable of leading names’. The set is adept on all land law fronts though it boasts specific expertise on commercial and residential landlord and tenant, development, mortgage, and title matters. Joanne Wicks QC and Jonathan Chew recently acted against Jonathan Seitler QC and Emer Murphy in the leading case of Canary Wharf Group v European Medicines Agency which considered whether Brexit constituted a frustration of a long-term lease. A further inter-chambers battle saw Seitler QC face Martin Hutchings QC in No 1 West India Quay Residential Ltd v East Tower Apartments Ltd, the first long lease case under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 to reach the Court of Appeal.

Leading Silks

2018 Silks

Leading Juniors

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Set overviews: England and Wales

‘The Rolls-Royce of pensions sets’ and sitting ‘right at the top of the tree when it comes to big-ticket trust matters’, Wilberforce Chambers is in ‘the Premier League’ of Chancery sets with ‘the strength and depth you would expect of a chambers of its calibre’. Chambers is also developing its reputation as ‘a top-class’ property set and reinforcing its leading positioning in the offshore market where its ‘top-notch’ and ‘collaborative’ members are considered ‘thought leaders’, particularly in the Cayman Islands where ‘a number of its QCs have begun to make their mark’. Further strengthening chambers at the top end, James Bailey took silk in 2019. Clients appreciated the set’s one-day commercial and trust litigation conferences which is ‘of an excellent quality’. ‘Always a pleasure to deal with’, practice director Nicholas Luckman ‘has no rival’ at the Bar. Together with head practice manager Mark Rushton, Luckman runs ‘a very slick operation’ that befits the calibre of the set’s members. The ‘fabulous’ clerking team ‘delivers a service with professionalism and integrity’. ‘Forever going above and beyond’, senior practice manager Fraser Geddes is recommended for his ‘helpful, can-do approach’. ‘He is incredibly client-focused and will always do everything he can to accommodate.’ Also worthy of a special mention is senior practice manager Danny Smillie, who is ‘excellent, and goes the extra mile’. Practice manager Stewart Cameron is ‘a delight to work alongside. Extremely polite, impressively organised, and responsive to boot. You get the sense nothing is too much trouble for him, and he will do all he can to deliver the highest quality service’. Solicitors have also been ‘particularly impressed’ by practice manager Ben Rippengale. The ‘exceptionally helpful’ Andrew Barnes has recently been promoted to senior practice manager and, judging from solicitor feedback, this was a shrewd move by chambers (‘His clerking is second to none and he has been an absolute asset to the team; he’s excellent – responsive, helpful, and has a genuine understanding of the teams he works with’). Antonia Matthew has also been promoted to practice assistant. In addition to the internal promotions, the team has recently expanded too with new practice managers Jess Edson and Conor Michaels arriving from Keating Chambers and 4 PUMP COURT respectively, junior clerk Georgia Pilbro arriving from Doughty Street Chambers alongside Francisco Iannuzzi and Jake Walker in their first clerking roles. Hayley Eustace is the set’s marketing and business development manager. Offices in: London

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