European Union law in London Bar

Back to United Kingdom - The Bar

European Union Law

Blackstone Chambers

Leading Silks

Kieron Beal QC - Blackstone Chambers ‘A colossus: a superb thinker brilliant at distilling his advice for the lay client and a top advocate.’

Jason Coppel QC - 11KBW ‘He is very much a specialist in EU law as it applies in commercial disputes, particularly in the area of public procurement and Francovich damages claims. Jason is very well-placed to take advantage of this continuing post-Brexit need among commercial solicitors and firms for EU law informed advice.’

Marie Demetriou QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘Absolutely one of the top EU law silks around - excellent in court and always has a real grasp of the issues. Astute in her analysis, clear and compelling in her advocacy, we knew our case could not be in better hands.’

Thomas de la Mare QC - Blackstone Chambers ‘He has a phenomenal ability to unpick the most technical issues and cut through them to simplify the arguments.’

Aidan O'Neill QC - Matrix Chambers ‘Instructed in high-profile cases.’

Lord David Pannick QC - Blackstone Chambers ‘He has expertise over a broad range of issues and jurisdictions.’

Ian Rogers QC - Monckton Chambers ‘Professional, thorough and involved.’

Tim Ward QC - Monckton Chambers ‘Technically outstanding, very user friendly with clients. Tim is also a fantastic advocate - very clear and assertive when necessary.’

Lord Anderson of Ipswich KBE QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘An excellent silk.’

Sir Alan Dashwood QC - Henderson Chambers ‘The extraordinary Professor Dashwood is one of the bar's leading experts on EU law, and EU competition law issues in particular. His years of experience give clients comfort that they are receiving the very best advice.’

Gerry Facenna QC - Monckton Chambers ‘Gerry is a fearless and extremely competent barrister. His is forensic in his approach to preparation, he is on top of his subject, his delivery inspires confidence and he has consistently delivered outcomes which have exceeded my expectations. Importantly, he is approachable and takes the time to build up a mutualy supportive relationship with his clients.’

Brian Kennelly QC - Blackstone Chambers ‘Fantastic advocate; calm, reasonable and measured in delivery but can put the point across more forcefully where necessary. Great team player - a pleasure to work with for solicitors and quickly grasps the main issues for the client. Will advise always with a client's overall aims in mind, and has a very practical outlook.’

Maya Lester QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘A top-drawer drafter and forensic advocate with great wisdom. Everyone on the team was struck by her ability brilliantly to synthesise the points and express them clearly and effectively. Maya provides advice in the field not only of EU law but also public international law.’

Philip Moser QC - Monckton Chambers ‘He grasps technical legal concepts easily and translates them for client and judge.’

George Peretz QC - Monckton Chambers ‘Strengths: attention to detail, hard-working, excellent on his feet.’

Kassie Smith QC - Monckton Chambers ‘Kassie is clever, calm and collected. Responsiveness and excellent team working are two real strengths.’

Jemima Stratford QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘Jemima knows the area in which we work well and can offer a relevant and concise opinion on difficult areas. She keeps the team updated on progress and appreciates the importance of other aspects of the case or needs of the client. She is very easy to work with and we have great confidence in her advice.’

Rhodri Thompson QC - Matrix Chambers ‘His depth of understanding is invaluable.’

Daniel Beard QC - Monckton Chambers ‘Great presence, in-depth experience before the CAT and General Court, very strategic.’

Monica Carss-Frisk QC - Blackstone Chambers ‘A compelling advocate both at first instance and appeal level.’

Richard Drabble QC - Landmark Chambers ‘Precise and insightful on his feet.’

James Eadie QC - Blackstone Chambers ‘He is an excellent litigator.’

James Flynn QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘He has huge experience litigating in EU law both in England and Luxembourg. Always calm, approachable and client friendly. Has a wealth of Competition Law experience. Good on his feet.’

Josh Holmes QC - Monckton Chambers ‘A firm favourite for me. He was an excellent senior junior and is growing in stature as a silk. His strengths are his attention to detail, being hard-working, and excellent on his feet.’

Daniel Jowell QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘He is a strong advocate and able to address a senior court on difficult points of law. Very knowledgeable and client friendly. A pleasure to work with.’

Timothy Lyons QC - 39 Essex Chambers ‘Well connected in the EU. A recognised leading thinker in this area.’

Hugh Mercer QC - Essex Court Chambers ‘An excellent advocate able to distil complex legal arguments in a manner accessible to the court.’

Deok Joo Rhee QC - 39 Essex Chambers ‘Extremely professional, hard-working and clever: her written and oral advocacy ooze erudition. She is also very understated with a humility that I have not come across in any other silk.’

Aidan Robertson QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘Aidan has a deep reservoir of experience in this field and can apply highly academic and complex points into a practical case strategy. He keeps his head when the going gets tough and is a source of reassurance.’

Dinah Rose QC - Blackstone Chambers ‘A fantastic advocate and a formidable intellect.’

Jessica Simor QC - Matrix Chambers ‘Exceptionally knowledgeable, an outstanding advocate and a pleasure to work with.’

Jon Turner QC - Monckton Chambers ‘A well respected, excellent silk. One of the best advocates I have come across.’

David Wolfe QC - Matrix Chambers ‘He is an amazing advocate and strategic thinker. One of the best on his feet, and his presentation skills are second to none. He is the go-to silk for environmental claimants.’

2019 Silks

Charles Banner QC - Keating Chambers ‘Beautifully written submissions, identifies very early on the most salient issues. Knows how to get the judges interested, never takes a bad point, and very collaborative. Not afraid to make his points under the time allocated to him during a hearing.’

Tim Buley QC - Landmark Chambers ‘Simply the best. Particularly good at analysing how different aspects of the law fit together, (and unafraid to point out when they do not. Tremendously quick to assess and advise. Uncanny ability to locate the key issues in complex cases. The judges pay real attention to him.’

Margaret Gray QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘She grasps the most complex issues quickly and can pinpoint the risks and explain them succinctly and in easy terms to clients.’

Ronit Kreisberger QC - Monckton Chambers ‘She is brilliant. A very extraordinary legal mind. Very clear presentation and effective in getting her points across. I would not hesitate to instruct her.’

Robert Palmer QC - Monckton Chambers ‘Intellectually rigorous and a great communicator.’

Victoria Wakefield QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘The complete package: brilliantly bright and extremely hard-working.’

2020 Silks

David Blundell QC - Landmark Chambers ‘His advocacy is accurate, well-researched and insightful.’

David Scannell QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘A strong and considered advocate who gains the trust of the judge.’

James Segan QC - Blackstone Chambers ‘He has a considerable intellect with great clarity of thought.’

Leading Juniors

Anneli Howard - Monckton Chambers ‘As a junior, she is simply excellent.’

Christopher Knight - 11KBW ‘Excellent barrister who has appeared unled in a number of leading cases before the CJEU. Excellent written and oral submissions.’

Ben Lask - Monckton Chambers ‘Ben is a very able barrister and attracts high profile instructions. He has the ability to grapple with difficult technical cases.’

Takis Tridimas - Matrix Chambers ‘He is very knowledgeable and very responsive junior.’

Sarah Abram - Brick Court Chambers ‘I consider Sarah to be one of the pre-eminent senior juniors in this area. She has an unusual ability to both be on top of the detail but also provide excellent issues on strategic matters. She has excellent judgement and is unafraid to input and express her views on important decisions. She is a calm and measured, and very effective, oral advocate. Definitely a future star silk.’

Richard Blakeley - Brick Court Chambers ‘Excellent experience and one of my go-to barristers in this area. Great judgment and insight into the EU Courts thinking. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of EU case law.’

Nicholas Gibson - Matrix Chambers ‘His experience at the bar and as a solicitor means he understands the practicalities of managing a case. His advice is always clear, well developed and robustly based. He is very open to challenge and discussion on tricky points. He manages senior internal stakeholders extremely well.’

Paul Luckhurst - Blackstone Chambers ‘Paul is extremely bright and is excellent at developing strategic advice for clients. His drafting is also very good. He is calm, capable and incisive in court.’

Brendan McGurk - Monckton Chambers ‘Very bright and articulate and enjoyable to work with.’

Ravi Mehta - Blackstone Chambers ‘A razor-sharp legal mind always willing to go the extra mile. Precise, succinct and clear advice; extremely intelligent - sees the problem and suggests solutions; does not use legalease or fancy rhetoric; and is successful.’

Hanif Mussa - Blackstone Chambers ‘Extremely knowledgable and very quick to get to grips with knotty new areas.’

Emily Neill - Blackstone Chambers ‘Very talented, intelligent, commercial and good with clients.’

Jason Pobjoy - Blackstone Chambers ‘Jason is an absolute delight to instruct. He is extremely meticulous, client-friendly, and has an exceptional knowledge of EU and public law. He thoroughly deserves the outstanding reputation that he has gained over the years. He performs the senior junior role with aplomb.’

Zahra Al-Rikabi - Brick Court Chambers ‘She is fiercely intelligent and she works her socks off. A great team player, fine drafter, and displays sound judgement.’

Katherine Apps - 39 Essex Chambers ‘She is extremely intelligent, shrewd, thoughtful, responsive and very hard-working. She is able to address and think through cutting edge and novel issues of law in a very clear and impressive way, and fully understands her clients’ needs and requirements.’

Alan Bates - Monckton Chambers ‘Superlative knowledge of EU law. He wears his learning lightly and is able to explain highly intricate and complex legal complex areas of law in clear and accessible terms, to the benefit of clients, solicitors and judges alike!’

Anneliese Blackwood - Monckton Chambers ‘She is very analytical and provides very thorough, strategic advice.’

Emma Dixon - Blackstone Chambers ‘She is brilliant and has a broad-ranging EU law track record.’

Tim Johnston - Brick Court Chambers ‘Tim has a wealth of experience in EU law as it applies to public procurement and is able to explain difficult concepts in plain English. Tim is also an out-of-the-box thinker and dependable and presents superbly to both his instructors and our clients.’

Andrew Legg - Essex Court Chambers ‘A very structured and organised mind, he articulates his arguments well and is patient with demanding clients. He has a great command of tax law.’

Hugo Leith - Brick Court Chambers ‘A brilliant, versatile lawyer who can turn his hand to almost everything. He has a huge range of practice in commercial law, EU law, competition law and even public law, and can bring these broad litigation skills to bear in EU law. He has a very bright future.’

Emily MacKenzie - Brick Court Chambers ‘Emily is very good indeed: she is completely on top of the law, can get to the heart of a case immediately, and can draft extremely well. Clients are impressed her.’

Eric Metcalfe - Monckton Chambers ‘Eric is an excellent barrister. We regularly instruct him in human rights and data protection cases. He is an incredibly trustworthy pair of hands. He has unrivalled expertise in data protection and EU law. He is a rigorous in his preparation for cases and his drafting is clear and persuasive. Eric never loses sight of the important role that evidence plays in bringing complex litigation and is a real team player.’

Helen Mountfield QC - Matrix Chambers ‘She is firm, highly skilled in the law, and capable of bringing together a range of opinions from practitioners who themselves have had years of experience.’

Ligia Osepciu - Monckton Chambers ‘She gets to grip quickly with complex technical issues.’

Gerard Rothschild - Brick Court Chambers ‘ Dedicated and with great attention to detail, Gerard is particularly strong on jurisdiction and governing law issues and expert work. His mind is precision engineered, he leaves no stone unturned in his research and his submissions are precise, meticulous and to the point.’

Christopher Staker - 39 Essex Chambers ‘I cannot speak highly enough of the quality of his research and reasoning, and the impressive speed at which he works. The texts that he produces, under huge time pressure, are clear, persuasive and elegantly written.’

Jonathan Worboys - 4 New Square ‘Silks appreciate the way he sparks off ideas.’

Rising Stars

Charlotte Thomas - Brick Court Chambers ‘A very capable junior, her work is very useful, thorough and clear.’

Tier 1 firms

Blackstone Chambers

Blackstone Chambers is 'extremely strong in the area of European Union law', with members appearing for both business, non-profit bodies, and the UK government in a range of EU-infused cases in London. Members were instructed on both sides of R (Friends of Antique Cultural Treasures) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a challenge based on EU free movement of goods law to a near-total ban on the sale of antiques containing elephant ivory; Thomas de la Mare QC acted for the claimant organisation, while Treasury Devil James Eadie QC and Hanif Mussa representing DEFRA. In Luxembourg, Kieron Beal QC and Paul Luckhurst continue to defend the UK government in a case brought by the European Commission concerning an alleged non-collection customs duties applied to transshipments of aluminium through the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla by its authorities. James Segan QC is a 2020 silk appointment.

Brick Court Chambers

Brick Court Chambers is for many 'still the go-to set for EU law litigation, with a deep pool of talent'. In Luxembourg, Kelyn Bacon QC (elevated to the High Court as of 1 October 2020) represented bondholders of Banco Espirito Santo in a challenge to the European court's decision to approve the bank's bifurcation into a "good bank" and a "bad bank", while in the UK Supreme Court she was instructed for HMRC in Routier, a case concerning the status of Jersey as an EU "third country". Prior to his appointment in the 2020 silk round, and among other chemicals cases, David Scannell QC represented GE Healthcare before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a challenge to a decision suspending the authorisation of a contrast agent used in MRI scans for over 25 years. Before the London courts, five members of chambers are involved in the Micula v Romania litigation caused by an instruction from the European Commission to the Romanian government to disregard an ICSID award it deemed to be state aid: Robert O'Donoghue QC, Gerard Rothschild and Emily MacKenzie for the Romanian government, and Marie Demetriou QC and Hugo Leith for one of the two claimants. Also of note, Charlotte Thomas is a rising star of EU law Bar.

Monckton Chambers

'Simply the best on EU law' with 'excellent strength across the board', members of Monckton Chambers are active in a range of EU law matters for both the UK government, businesses and individuals. Ian Rogers QC represents the UK in infraction proceedings brought by the European Commission, which seeks over €3bn for allegedly undervalued Chinese clothing imports. In the domestic courts, Tim Ward QC succeeded for the appellants in R (Chiltern Farm Chemicals) v HSE, a case concerning a ban on particular types of slug pellets. The set's juniors are busy in Luxembourg, where Anneli Howard represented the UK government in a number of cases concerning if unfair clauses in mortgage contracts should be excised or cause the loan to be voided; Ben Lask represents Catalan politician Carles Puigdemont in a dispute as to if he can take his seat as an MEP without taking his oath of office in Spain, where he is subject to an arrest warrant concerning the attempted independence referendum in 2017.

Tier 2 firms

39 Essex Chambers

Members of 39 Essex Chambers are active in a number of matters with EU law elements at play. Deok Joo Rhee QC represented the trustee in McNamara v Wilson and Maloney, a High Court case concerning potential inclusion of an Irish citizen's Irish pension in his UK bankruptcy estate. In Luxembourg, Katherine Apps represented the European Public Services Union in a case concerning the position of consultation rights of public sector employees.

Matrix Chambers

Members of Matrix Chambers handle a range of work before the European Courts, with many matters involving questions of individual rights. Aidan O’Neill QC represented the AIRE Centre in Bajratari v Secretary of State for the Home Department, in which the European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed that an EU citizen child had sufficient resources not to be an unreasonable burden on Northern Ireland's benefits system if his non-EU father was working, albeit illegally. Among the set's juniors, Takis Tridimas (also a professor of law at King's College London) represented a number of investors and depositors in cases stemming from the "bail-ins" of Cypriot banks. David Wolfe QC is considered a go-to silk for EU matters with an environmental angle.

The Legal 500 > United Kingdom - The Bar > London Bar > European Union law

Coverage By Practice AreaLondon Bar