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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
Brick Court Chambers
Henderson Chambers

Leading Silks

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Michael Bowsher QC - Monckton Chambers ‘ Michael provides sound, balanced and constructive advice in relation to complex and difficult issues. ’
Jason Coppel QC –11KBW ‘Fantastically knowledgeable, Jason also has good judgement. He has a calm, measured advocacy style and is great with clients.’
Nigel Giffin QC –11KBW
Sarah Hannaford QC - Keating Chambers ‘ A top-drawer procurement adviser and advocate. Robust and determined, she presents the case clearly, concisely and with a focus on the key issues. ’
Fionnuala McCredie QC –Keating Chambers ‘Fionnuala is a renowned leader at the procurement Bar and so carries gravitas with clients, opponents and the court. She has seen and done everything in procurement law, and so always has an answer or an explanation for an issue arising. ’
Philip Moser QC - Monckton Chambers ‘ Philip is outstanding and very easy to work with. Probably the number one procurement disputes barrister at the moment. ’
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Charles Banner QC –Keating Chambers ‘Very, very bright and astute. Charles gets to the point and focuses on the key points. Hugely energetic, enthusiastic and a real pleasure to work with. ’
James Goudie QC - 11KBW ‘ Very client-focused and with impressive turnaround times. ’
Andrew Kinnier QC –Henderson Chambers ‘Andrew is very knowledgeable. He is calm, sensible, and a good team player.'
Peter Oldham QC - 11KBW ‘ Very accessible, Peter provides prompt, efficient advice. ’
Valentina Sloane QC - Monckton Chambers ‘ A fine advocate with a fine analytic legal mind. She has the judge’s ear. ’
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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Margaret Gray QC - Brick Court Chambers ‘ Fantastic advocate, very quick to get to the heart of the issue and deliver completely on-point advice. ’

2020 Silks

James Segan QC - Blackstone Chambers ‘ One of the best in public procurement. ’
Rob Williams QC –Monckton Chambers ‘Rob is able to explain technical legal concepts to clients in a user-friendly way. His advice is clear, concise and directive. ’

Leading Juniors

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Joseph Barrett –11KBW
Patrick Halliday - 11KBW ‘ Patrick is a star. Smart, insightful, diligent and thorough. A brilliant barrister with whom instructing solicitors enjoy working very much. ’
Brendan McGurk –Monckton Chambers
Ewan West –Monckton Chambers
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Fiona Banks –Monckton Chambers
Anneliese Blackwood - Monckton Chambers ‘ Anneliese is brilliant. Hard working and dependable. A first port of call when non-silk barrister support is needed for a contentious procurement matter. ’
Hanif Mussa –Blackstone Chambers ‘Hanif is extremely erudite in this area of law, and is able to explain and apply it in the real world.'
Simon Taylor –Keating Chambers
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Alan Bates - Monckton Chambers ‘ Alan is very measured, and gives very practical advice. He gains the trust of clients quickly. He is not afraid to be frank with clients. He is a calm and considered advocate, unswayed by the other side or judicial intervention. His submissions are concise and focussed. ’
Tim Johnston –Brick Court Chambers ‘Tim's advice and delivery are always commercial. ’
Stephen Kosmin - 11KBW ‘ Stephen is very client-friendly, works incredibly hard and is all over the detail of matters, even where the factual matrix is complicated and technical. ’
Emily Neill –Blackstone Chambers ‘She combines a razor-sharp intellect with a relentless focus on helping the client achieve their objectives.'
James Neill –Landmark Chambers ‘James is a hard working and dedicated barrister, who goes beyond the call of duty in assisting his clients. He quickly and comprehensively masters the documents and provides detailed advice which is easily understood by his lay clients. ’
Ligia Osepciu - Monckton Chambers ‘ Very user-friendly. Ligia knows her area well and is both very commercial and tactical and good with clients. ’
Rupert Paines - 11KBW ‘ Very responsive, client friendly and hands-on. ’

Rising Stars

James Frampton - Keating Chambers ‘ James is rightly seen as a rising star. He masters the detail incredibly quickly and provided proactive and commercial advice at a level you would expect from someone well beyond his year of call. ’
Daisy Mackersie - Monckton Chambers ‘ Very tenacious and bright. ’
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's team is very experienced in acting in leading High Court claims brought under the Public Contracts, Utilities and Defence Regulations, and has appeared in judicial reviews concerning contract awards and CJEU litigation. In Ontix Ltd v London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Jason Coppel QC defended the borough as the contracting authority in a challenge to its decision to procure a wireless concession project across Tower Hamlets, in which the claimant contended that the successful bidder's tender was not compliant with the invitation, and that the borough had erred in its interpretation and application of the award criteria.

Testimonials

Set

‘Strong set when it comes to public procurement and public law issues, and good bench strength.’

‘Excellent strength in depth for procurement law – my go-to set.’

‘Exceptional for public procurement/public law work, and my preferred choice. Good strength in depth and very good responsiveness and investment in the relationship with my firm.’

’11KBW are excellent on public procurement and state aid/subsidy issues.’

Clerking

‘Good experience, Tom Street is very helpful and responsive.’

‘Excellent, among the best. Lucy Barbet is particularly impressive.’

Monckton Chambers

Monckton Chambers assists suppliers, contracting authorities and utilities with the full range of public procurement services, from non-contentious advice during the tender process to representation in complex litigation and mediation. Michael Bowsher QC is representing the UK Government in Good Law Project v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in defending a judicial review concerning its £15bn procurement scheme for personal protective equipment. Philip Moser QC is a respected figure for transport and infrastructure cases, and at the junior end, Brendan McGurk stands out for his expertise in advising on IT and health-related challenges. In another significant case, Valentina Sloane QC represented First Trenitalia West Coast Rail, as intervening party in the highly-publicised Stagecoach East Midlands Trains v Secretary of State for Transport case, which concerned several rail franchise procurements that occurred while bidders were being investigated by The Pensions Regulator.

Testimonials

Set

‘Monckton Chambers has expertise at all levels and I am generally able to find that they are able to offer alternatives if one particular barrister is unavailable.’

‘A very reliable set, particularly for EU and procurement law and a good set of helpful clerks.’

‘Monckton Chambers are pre-eminent in the field of procurement and competition law. They have real in-depth expertise.’

Clerking

‘Excellent – Steven Duffett is to be commended in particular.’

Keating Chambers

Keating Chambers' members regularly appear in a wide range of public procurement work, spanning its key sector strengths in engineering and construction, as well as handling instructions from other sectors. Noteworthy instructions include Sarah Hannaford QC and Rachael O’Hagan acting in a high-profile challenge concerning the urgent procurement of automated diagnostic software for the purpose of mass testing of COVID-19, and Fionnuala McCredie QC successfully representing the Secretary of State for the Department of Transport in a long-running procurement challenge brought by Stagecoach, Virgin and Arriva, following their disqualification from competitions for new rail franchise agreements.

Testimonials

Set

‘Excellent and hugely respected procurement set who we use regularly for high stakes procurement matters. Counsel are all very user-friendly, responsive and down to earth and go down well with clients.’

‘Keating is excellent on public procurement work, with increasingly strong strength-in-depth from senior to junior.’

‘There’s no doubt the chambers is perceived as one of the leading chambers for public procurement.’

‘Keating Chambers is at the very top of the market in public procurement.’

Clerking

‘Very good all round service – would single out Will Shrubsall who has been excellent to work with on our recent MOD case.’

‘Approachable and commercial, in particular Will Shrubsall.’

Blackstone Chambers

Blackstone Chambers maintains an active administrative and public law set, with members active in a range of cases in England and Wales and beyond. Emily Neill is called to both the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland Bars – south of the border, she represents McAllister Bros Limited, the successful bidder, in Boyne Waste Services v Irish Water, in a challenge by a losing bidder to a significant procurement exercise for pipe cleaning services. James Segan QC and Hanif Mussa are also noted.

Testimonials

Set

‘Blackstone’s breadth of talent from juniors to seniors is quite remarkable.’

Brick Court Chambers

At Brick Court Chambers, ‘out-of-the-box thinker‘ Tim Johnston is representing AEG Presents in the High Court case Live Nation v The Royal Parks and AEG Presents, a substantial procurement challenge brought by Live Nation against a decision of The Royal Parks to award the contract for the Hyde Park Music Festival to AEG. Margaret Gray QC‘s dual silk status in England and Ireland puts her at the forefront for advice on procurement procedures and court proceedings in the EU, UK and Ireland. She is particularly active in infrastructure, construction and pharmaceutical sector public contract matters. Sarah Love is a name to note at the junior end of chambers for competition, regulatory and administrative law.

Testimonials

Set

‘Brick Court is my go-to set for competition and public law work.’

‘Brick Court offer numerous public law, EU law and commercial law seminars, all of which I have found really helpful for developing and updating my knowledge in these areas.’

Clerking

‘The clerks at Brick Court are in my experience the best at the bar. Responsive, helpful and easy to deal with. Individuals I would single out in this regard are Tony Burgess and Sam Jones.’

‘Luke Carvalho and Tony Burgess are the clerks / practice managers with whom I communicate most at Brick Court. The clerking team is super responsive and a pleasure to deal with. This level of client service is difficult to come by!’

Henderson Chambers

At Henderson Chambers, EU public regime expert Rhodri Williams QC often represents the NHS Commissioning Board, as well as other local and regional government bodies. Andrew Kinnier QC has expertise in handling matters relating to European structural funds, large-scale services agreements, and infrastructure and regeneration projects.