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Public Procurement

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11KBW
Monckton Chambers
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Keating Chambers
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Blackstone Chambers
Henderson Chambers

Leading Silks

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Michael Bowsher QC - Monckton Chambers ‘Sound, balanced and constructive advice in relation to complex and difficult issues.’
Jason Coppel QC - 11KBW ‘One of the top two performing QCs.’
Nigel Giffin QC - 11KBW ‘One of the best barristers I've ever worked with. A first-class silk.’
Sarah Hannaford QC - Keating Chambers ‘She is everything you could wish for in an advocate: She retains the facts, she knows the law, and she makes her points with killer precision.’
Fionnuala McCredie QC - Keating Chambers ‘Great with clients. Quickly and efficiently grasped the issues and complex IT aspects of the case. Worked tirelessly on the case. A super advocate.’
Philip Moser QC - Monckton Chambers ‘Excellent advocate and really knows his stuff. Seen currently as the leading counsel in this area. His input helped us achieve an outstanding result.’
Rhodri Williams QC - Henderson Chambers ‘He is my go-to for public procurement work, has a wealth of experience in the procurement field, particularly when acting for a defendant. He is user-friendly and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the regulations.’
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James Goudie QC - 11KBW ‘A very practical and formidable advocate. Clearly knowledgeable on the area but also understands the clients objectives and the need for clear, positive, and confident advice.’
Andrew Kinnier QC - Henderson Chambers ‘A first-rate advocate who exudes a calm assurance when advising clients. He has excellent attention to detail and is quick to understand technical issues. Although he has a first-rate understanding of procurement cases, his breadth of experience helps him keep a clear eye on the overall risks and prospects of the case.’
Peter Oldham QC - 11KBW ‘Very accessible and provides prompt, efficient advice.’

2019 Silks

Charles Banner QC - Landmark Chambers ‘Insightful, strategic, very bright and extremely easy to work with.’
Margaret Gray QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘Fantastic advocate, very quick to get to the heart of the issue and deliver completely on-point advice.’
Valentina Sloane QC - Monckton Chambers ‘A fine advocate with a fine analytic legal mind. She had the judge’s ear.’

2020 Silks

Jame Segan - Blackstone Chambers ‘A well-deserved elevation to QC.’
Rob Williams - Monckton Chambers ‘A measured, sensible, lovely advocate. Excellent judgement and also a voice of reason in the room.’

Leading Juniors

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Joseph Barrett - 11KBW ‘Hugely bright, exceptionally user-friendly, good advocate, trusted by all of the leading lights and by the court – a current and future star, and a real pleasure to work with.’
Patrick Halliday - 11KBW ‘Very hard-working, great depth of knowledge of procurement law, very personable. His paper work, pleadings, skeleton arguments and opinions are readable and of the highest calibre.’
Brendan McGurk - Monckton Chambers ‘He is very intellectual and extremely thorough. He is very good on heavyweight, black letter law.’
Ewan West - Monckton Chambers ‘Forensic knowledge of procurement law and practice, brings a wealth of experience to the advice that he gives, a QC in waiting.’
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Fiona Banks - Monckton Chambers ‘Focused, committed and hardworking team player. Tenacious advocate in court. A first-class brain and her analysis of the law is also first-class.’
Anneliese Blackwood - Monckton Chambers ‘Excellent drafting, attention to detail and hugely responsive. Insightful and sees the issues and understands difficult concepts very quickly.’
Hanif Mussa - Blackstone Chambers ‘He showed impressive attention to detail. He was technically excellent, accompanied by a calm and measured manner.’
Simon Taylor - Keating Chambers ‘A truly excellent advocate and his writing is beautifully polished.’
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Alan Bates - Monckton Chambers ‘Tenacious on his feet. His advice is always very clear, user-friendly and timely. He is a pleasure to work with and has a good ability to deliver difficult advice and offer pragmatic solutions.’
Tim Johnston - Brick Court Chambers ‘An out-of-the-box thinker, dependable and experienced in public procurement disputes. He presents superbly.’
Emily Neill - Blackstone Chambers ‘Very thorough indeed and extremely knowledgeable. Advises on very complicated and intricate areas but does so in a very simple manner. Very good knowledge of the telco sector.’
Ligia Osepciu - Monckton Chambers ‘A top junior. We rate Ligia very highly as a junior. Clients love her.’
Rupert Paines - 11KBW ‘Very quick to respond, accessible/approachable and really understands how the different parts of an instruction fit together and that gives him an insight into the priority of what has to be done and when.’

Rising Stars

James Frampton - Keating Chambers ‘Incredibly cerebral, always proactive.’
Daisy Mackersie - Monckton Chambers ‘She was the brains of the operation.’
Jack Williams - Monckton Chambers ‘He is a very enthusiastic junior barrister with excellent drafting skills and real desire to do his very best for the client and the case. He is a pleasure to lead and he has a great career ahead of him.’

Public procurement in London Bar

11KBW

11KBW is 'top drawer when  it comes to public law - they are up with the  best'. Jason Coppel QC represents both claimants and contracting parties; he is acting for the claimant train operating companies in a challenge to disqualification from procurement for the right to operate West Coast mainline and HS2.  James Goudie QC is in demand for his breadth of expertise across local government vires, and state aid matters in addition to public procurement. Peter Oldham QC has vast experience of procurement disputes in areas as varied as medical devices, transport and IT, and Nigel Giffin QC is equally seasoned. The junior ranks include the 'procedurally and tactically savvy'  Rupert Paines and 'first class technical and tactical lawyer' Patrick Halliday.

Monckton Chambers

Monckton Chambers is hailed as the ‘leading procurement and competition set'. It is instructed on significant cases in areas including pharmaceuticals, transport and construction. Michael Bowsher QC represented Mitie Limited in a challenge against the Secretary of State for Justice regarding the procurement of a contract for facilities management services. 'Seen as the leading QC in this area', Philip Moser QC is instructed on critical transport cases, and Valentina Sloane QC ('a class act') is handling a range of high-profile cases, particularly in the transport sector. 'Judges take notice of' Rob Williams QC who has also acted on a number of high-profile transport cases including representing Govia in rail franchise challenges. The junior cohort includes the 'insightful' Anneliese Blackwood, who has been involved in a range of transport or construction matters, and rising stars Jack Williams and Daisy Mackersie.

Keating Chambers

Keating Chambers is highlighted for providing 'a great level of service' in addition to its 'strength and depth of expertise’. This growing set is instructed on both sides of disputes; regularly instructed by government bodies, local authorities, and industry clients. Its members handle large-scale transport matters in addition to cases involving healthcare or military equipment. 'A top choice for advocacy' Sarah Hannaford QC, who can make her points ‘with killer precision’, acted for the Ministry of Defence defending a claim by the unsuccessful bidder for a procurement valued at over £1bn. 'Super advocate' Fionnuala Mccredie QC co-led a large team acting for the Department of Transport in respect of the procurement challenges commenced by Stagecoach and others. Simon Taylor's expertise includes EU and competition law, while James Frampton is notable for both construction and procurement matters.

Blackstone Chambers

Blackstone Chambers combines a leading administrative and public law offering with public procurement on which it represents government agencies and ministers and major corporates. James Segan QC has acted for Fujitsu in a case against the Foreign & Commonwealth Office concerning the award of a contract for its 'global connectivity' services to another tenderer. Hanif Mussa’s broad practice includes public procurement matters where he is 'very quick to get to grips with knotty new areas'. Emily Neill is acting for McAllister Bros Limited, the successful bidder, in a challenge by a disappointed bidder to a significant procurement exercise by Irish Water for pipe cleaning services across Ireland.

Henderson Chambers

The ‘well-organised’ Henderson Chambers’ broad public and European law expertise includes advising a range of government departments and local authorities. Rhodri Williams QC has handled procurement challenges in areas such as health or commercial supplies as part of his broader practice. Andrew Kinnier QC, who ‘exudes a calm assurance when advising clients’, is recognised for his expertise in European structural funds, and his procurement challenge work includes acting for the Ministry of Defence in a challenge to a decision to re-wind a procurement competition.