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Leading Silks

Alexander Antelme KCCrown Office Chambers 'Super responsive, utterly charming to work with, a sentiment shared by the clients '
Oliver Campbell KCHenderson Chambers ‘He has a meticulous attention to detail, a thorough grasp of the law and procedural issues and compelling and persuasive advocacy which commands the respect of the court.’
Charles Dougherty KC2 Temple Gardens ‘There is nothing Charles does not know about product liability and his skill at explaining, often complex, matters in a clear and persuasive manner make him a formidable opponent.‘
Simeon Maskrey KC7BR 'Simeon is the creme de la creme - a master of detail and devilishly persuasive.'
Prashant Popat KCHenderson Chambers 'Extremely capable, very good with clients, quickly masters voluminous and complex documentation-all in all first rate.'
Hugh Preston KC7BR ‘He thinks out of the box but with a practical bent. He is a very smooth advocate popular with the tribunal. Good grasp of complicated matters such as science and clinical issues.'
Malcolm Sheehan KCHenderson Chambers ‘Very good with clients; fantastically calm under pressure; excellent advocate and strategic thinker'
Geraint Webb KCHenderson Chambers 'One of the best at the products bar. Incredibly bright and a very strategic thinker. Deeply experienced in product cases, group actions and business and human rights.'
Neil Moody KC2 Temple Gardens 'Neil is a stand-out silk in this area. He often deals with complex fire and property damage cases arising out of products, together with cross-overs into his sports law practice. In terms of advocacy, he is extremely calm, persuasive and authoritative, cutting through complex areas with ease. He is delightful to work with - and solicitors and juniors really enjoy being led by him. '
Robin Oppenheim KCDoughty Street Chambers ‘Robin is a very intellectual barrister with an encyclopaedic knowledge of product liability.’
Marcus Pilgerstorfer KC11KBW ‘Marcus brings academic excellence, deep knowledge of the law and a drive to do the right thing for the claimant in each case. He is diligent, considered and meticulous.’
Toby Riley-Smith KCHenderson Chambers ‘Great tactical acumen and sound commercial advice coupled with a strong and persuasive advocacy style.’
Christopher Johnston KCSerjeants’ Inn Chambers ‘Very bright, a great strategic mind.  Has a strong ability to plot a route to success even in the most complex matters.'
Andrew Kinnier KCHenderson Chambers ‘Andrew is a clear, forceful and utterly charming advocate. He reads the court very well and quickly builds an effective rapport with the bench.'
Akhil Shah KCFountain Court Chambers ‘Akhil is well-prepared, well-learned, and effective advocate.  He possesses a breadth of knowledge across a wide scope of law.’
Nathan Tavares KCOuter Temple Chambers ‘Nathan is thorough in his preparation with excellent attention to detail and an impressive grasp of technical information. His advocacy style is genial and persuasive.'

2021 Silks

Adam Heppinstall KCHenderson Chambers ‘Adam is a formidable opponent. He’s robust, hardworking and on top of the detail. You know you have to be on the top of your game when against him.’

2022 Silks

Matthew Bradley KC –4 New Square ‘He is quickly able to cut to the heart of the matter in terms of identifying the key issues and coming up with solutions.’

Leading Juniors

Heidi KnightSerjeants’ Inn Chambers ‘An excellent advocate – always well prepared and ready to fight for her clients. Has a brilliant approach to dealing with clients who have suffered some of the most catastrophic injuries.’
Adam Korn7BR ‘Adam has broad experience in this area, both in individual and group cases. He is a great negotiator and his skill in this area has helped solicitors to achieve superb settlements for lay clients time and again.’
David MyhillCrown Office Chambers 'Very organised and analytical; good on the law and working with experts. Well-prepared for conferences and provides a roadmap in advance to drive the discussion.'
Eloise PowerSerjeants’ Inn Chambers ‘Eloise is extremely bright and willing to take on cases with the most formidable and well resourced of defendants. She is excellent with clients and experts and an extremely effective advocate. She has an intuitive feel for case merits and overall, excellent judgement in the most complex of matters including group actions.  A pleasure to work with.’
Isabel Barter2 Temple Gardens ‘Isabel is undoubtedly a leading specialist product liability junior. She has an outstanding practice in this field. She is incredibly hardworking with a great attention to detail. She has a great capacity for explaining technical points in clear language and for getting directly to the heart of the issues.'
Jonathan Bertram7BR ‘Good grasp of science and technical issues. Easy to work with and accessible. Clients like him. Relaxed in front of the tribunal.'
Noel DilworthHenderson Chambers ‘A top tier senior junior. Very bright, easy to work with and fantastic with scientific experts. Strong advocate. A silk in waiting.’
Harry LambertCrown Office Chambers ‘He knows the area like the back of his hand. He understands funding and he understands both sides.'
James MeddCrown Office Chambers 'He is excellent. Very thorough, hands on, detailed, responsive, very strategic and first rate in his handling of clients.'
Erica PowerCrown Office Chambers ‘Erica has huge experience in the field of product liability. She is a formidable opponent.  She has a steely determination and resolve. She is an excellent and clear advocate.’
Richard SageCrown Office Chambers ‘Richard is great on detail, and on working with technical experts to ensure sometimes extremely complex technical issues are presented in the most effective and comprehensible way. He is very easy to get on with, user-friendly, and good with clients and experts.'
Chloe CampbellHenderson Chambers ‘Chloe Campbell stands out for her attention to detail. She is outstanding in her ability to marshal huge amounts of technical and scientific detail.  She is a real team player who goes above and beyond to ensure that deadlines are met and the client's objectives are achieved.'
Robert DickasonOuter Temple Chambers ‘Very clever, sees the wood for the trees, good analytical skills, excellent written advocacy.'
Shaun FerrisCrown Office Chambers 'Shaun is a skilled advocate, whose pragmatic and empathetic approach ensures favourable results.'
Jack Harris  – 2 Temple Gardens ‘Great technical knowledge over a comprehensive range of liability disciplines. Excellent with insurer and lay clients. Dedicated and approachable.’
Anna Hughes2 Temple Gardens ‘Both clients and judges love her. She is intellectually top notch, works very hard and possess immense commercial common sense.'
James PurnellHenderson Chambers ‘James is highly personable and easy to work with. He is very responsive and turns documents around quickly.'

Rising Stars

Caroline Lody7BR ‘She has excellent knowledge of product liability claims and she covers all potential claims in her advice to maximise prospects of success. Her advice shows great attention to detail and during conferences she is well prepared and thorough.'
Alistair Mackenzie2 Temple Gardens ‘Extremely bright, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of product liability law.'
Celia OldhamHenderson Chambers ‘Celia is excellent in getting on top of the detail. She is knowledgeable, personable and a real pleasure to work with.'
Juliet StevensCrown Office Chambers 'Attention to detail, excellent understanding of technical legal issues and all round great advocate.'

Product liability in London Bar

Henderson Chambers

Henderson Chambers is very highly regarded in the field of product liability, with a strong team of specialists encompassing both silks and juniors. Members of the set have been involved in the most high profile and complex group litigations in the sector, including the Seroxat litigation, which was led on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline by Charles Gibson KC, leading variously Malcolm Sheehan KC, Adam Heppinstall KCJames Williams and Andrew Kinnier KC. Other names in the chambers have also played major roles in the litigation arising from the ‘Dieselgate’ emissions scandal, including Prashant Popat KC, Geraint Webb KC and Oliver Campbell KC, who are all acting for Volkswagen AG and other companies.

Testimonials

Set

‘Unparalleled strength in depth in product liability defence work’

‘The best products chambers by a distance. A production line of top silks, year after year.’

‘Hendersons is an excellent set and our “go to” Chambers for Product Liability. I always enjoy working with Henderson Chambers. Not only do they have excellent barristers, but the clerks are also great to work with.’

‘The depth of experience at this set is exceptional’

‘Henderson remains a go to set of chambers for us as product liability specialists. The number and quality of their case summaries is also excellent and appreciated.’

Clerking

‘Impressive and make a conscious effort to build relationships with their instructing solicitors.’

‘The best clerks room in the City.’

2 Temple Gardens

2 Temple Gardens has broad roster capable of representing both claimant and defendant. Members of the chambers have experience across all aspects of product with a particular expertise in handling mass tort claims, generally in relation to medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. Charles Dougherty KC and Isabel Barter successfully acted for Beko in Beko v Wilson, a case stemming from a major residential fire said to be caused by a defective fridge-freezer. Neil Moody KC and Jack Harris successfully defended One Shot Products in Ayannuga v One Shot Products Ltd, a matter relating to an allegedly defective drain cleaner in an incident which left one man dead and another in a permanent vegetative state.

Testimonials

Set

‘Great set with specialist expertise in this area. They offer great webinars.’

‘First class service, excellent intelligent and approachable counsel. Absolute go-to for complex cases.’

Clerking

‘The clerks team is dedicated and very responsive.’

‘Highly professional and responsive at all times. Particularly Matt Moylan and Lee Tyler.’

7BR

7BR contains a considerable number of barristers who are highly experienced in the field of product liability, especially in regards to defective medical devices and household consumer products. Hugh Preston KC, Adam Korn  and Jonathan Bertram are all heavily involved in the high profile vaginal mesh litigation, representing claimants in the group action. Meanwhile, Simeon Maskrey KC has been working with Caroline Lody on multi-jurisdictional litigation concerning defective breast implants produced by French manufacturer Poly Implant Prothèse.

Testimonials

Set

‘7 Bedford Row is one go-to for complex product liability & clinical negligence work. They have a very efficient clerking team and an excellent choice of counsel. They are able to provide last-minute cover for urgent hearings and have never let my firm down.’

‘Good counsel availability at short notice. Range of experience in terms of year of call. ‘

Clerking

‘The civil clerks are extremely organised, efficient and reliable. We have established a good professional relationship with Mark Waterson, who is brilliant.’

‘All of the clerks are very efficient.’

Crown Office Chambers

The highly experienced practitioners at Crown Office Chambers possess an expertise in representing defendants in high profile pharmaceutical and medical device cases, as well as disputes arising from fire, floods and explosions. Alexander Antelme KC, Richard Sage and David Myhill have been instructed on a cross-border case involving metal-on-metal hip replacements. Harry Lambert is involved in the Seroxat litigation and James Medd handles a number of claims emerging from fires and faulty mechanical products.

Testimonials

Set

‘Very professional. Very well managed’

‘A strong set  able to pull together a team of barristers that works well together ‘

Clerking

‘Very helpful service, proactive and accurate’

‘The clerks are always prompt, attentive and helpful.  Matthew Solari is particularly good.’

4 New Square

4 New Square‘s members work on either side of both individual cases and group actions in this space. The set offers a depth of expertise in consumer, commercial and regulatory product liability work. Graham Eklund KC and David Turner KC are both involved with a number of products alleged to cause fires and newly-appointed silk Matthew Bradley KC has taken on a number of group actions relating to allegedly defective medical devices. Expertise in this area crosses over with the set’s strong costs team.

Testimonials

Set

‘The set has strength in depth. I have worked with a number of their costs counsel, all of whom are excellent. Litigation funding and costs feature heavily in the group litigation work that we do ‘

Clerking

‘The service is good in that we always receive timely responses to our emails regarding counsel availability’

Fountain Court Chambers

Fountain Court Chambers has a wide range of expertise across different levels of seniority. In particular, the set has experience with large pharmaceuticals, consumer product group actions and complex claims in the insurance and aviation sectors; the latter is an area of focus for Akhil Shah KC. Leigh-Ann Mulcahy KC is regularly instructed by the government and has a wide range of advocacy and appeal experience.

Serjeants' Inn Chambers

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers is highly active in cases where someone is injured by allegedly defective medical devices or pharmaceutical products. Heidi Knight has extensive experience in class actions involving medical devices, being the lead junior in a number of high profile cases. Eloise Power is an experienced medical barrister, representing the claimants in the Oculentis litigation.

Testimonials

Set

‘Very strong set.  Quality counsel on every level.’

‘Excellent for clinical negligence and product liability. Several leading silks and excellent juniors.’

‘A strong set with expertise in a number of areas – nearly always able to provide suitable counsel even at short notice.’

Clerking

‘Well organised and responsive clerk’s room.’

‘The clerks are really helpful and patient. they will always help.’

‘Consistently good service, with prompt and helpful responses from the clerks.’