Travel Law (including Jurisdictional Issues)

Leading Silks

William Audland KC –12 King’s Bench Walk ‘William combines mastery of the detail with acute tactical and strategic thinking. As an advocate he is unfailingly calm and polite, but is very firm, clear and focused in his argument’.

Matthew Chapman KC – Deka Chambers ‘A fantastic knowledge of travel law, an exceptional advocate with the soft skills necessary to build a rapport with catastrophically injured clients.’

Sarah Crowther KC –Outer Temple Chambers

‘Sarah is the silk you want in your corner. She is a fearsome advocate.’

Katherine Deal KC –3 Hare Court ‘Katherine is a trustworthy barrister. She knows how to best deal with a matter from a strategic point of view, and her advocacy is simply outstanding.’

Charles Dougherty KC –2 Temple Gardens ‘Supremely intelligent. Very experienced in group litigation, with a particular focus on ‘parent company liability’ claims. Great advocate and easy to work with’.

Marie Louise Kinsler KC –2 Temple Gardens ‘You would be hard pushed to find a sharper mind at the Bar – she is able to see through the knottiest of problems and explain things simply’.

Gerard McDermott KC –Outer Temple Chambers

‘Very charming and has an attractive style of presentation. Experienced, easy to work with and against’.

John Ross KC – Deka Chambers ‘John is a senior silk with gravitas who strikes the right balance in dealing with opponents junior to himself’.

Howard Stevens KC –3 Hare Court

Robert Weir KC –Devereux ‘Rob is head and shoulders above the rest of the market. He is in control of his brief and has the ear of the court. A joy to watch.’

Grahame Aldous KC – Deka Chambers

Benjamin Browne KC –2 Temple Gardens ‘A superb advocate. He instinctively knows what points to take and his preparation is meticulous. He is truly a leader in the field.’

John Kimbell KC –Quadrant Chambers ‘An excellent advocate: clear, confident and persuasive, a team player and easy to get along with.’

Hugh Mercer KC –Essex Court Chambers

Howard Palmer KC –2 Temple Gardens ‘Howard has a charming manner and a razor-sharp brain. His advocacy is always very persuasive and focused.’

Rosalind Phelps KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Outstanding in all respects, Really responsive and gets to grips with the detail of a case from the outset. A very impressive operator whom clients really like.’

Akhil Shah KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Akhil is a great team player. He has an understated style but is a good strategic thinker.’

Harry Steinberg KC –12 King’s Bench Walk ‘Brilliantly knowledgeable in this niche area. Harry pushes boundaries and champions the claimants.’

Eliot Woolf KC –Outer Temple Chambers

‘Eliot has great attention to detail. He is very thorough and, when asked multiple questions on a document or an issue, makes sure to answer them all and in detail. He also thinks of innovative ways to approach an issue’.

Charles Bagot KC –Gatehouse Chambers ‘Charles has a strong niche practice dealing with complex cross border disputes and applying local quantum factors outside of jurisdiction to UK cases.’

Neil Block KC –39 Essex Chambers ‘A fantastic advocate – great team player and fun to work with. He is one of the most outstanding in the field.’

Giles Mooney KC – Deka Chambers ‘Giles is a personable advocate with an affable style. He is good with clients and does some excellent work.’

Tamara Oppenheimer KC –Fountain Court Chambers 'Knowledgeable, thoughtful, practical and persuasive in equal measure.’

Philip Shepherd KC – Chambers of Philip Shepherd KC

Bankim Thanki KC – Fountain Court Chambers ‘One of only a small number of the very top commercial silks with real expertise and experience in the aviation field. Intellectually, he stands out from the rest of the field; and his oral and written advocacy are equally outstanding.’

2022 Silks

Laura Johnson KC – Deka Chambers ‘Her all round skill set is among the best. Excellent at the law, drafting statements of case and with witnesses.’

Lucy Wyles KC –2 Temple Gardens ‘An exceptional barrister. She prepares thoroughly for each hearing – no matter how big or small the case is. She is very pragmatic and levelheaded’.

2023 Silks

Sarah Prager KC – Deka Chambers ‘Sarah has an easy open manner in court, showing 100% integrity, which judges love.’

Matthew Reeve KC –Quadrant Chambers ‘Matthew is excellent. A masterful tactician, excellent on paper, excellent on his feet - the complete barrister.’

Leading Juniors

Daniel Clarke –Outer Temple Chambers

‘Meticulous in his approach, hard working and incredibly sharp.’

Bernard Doherty – 39 Essex Chambers ‘Bernard is wonderful to work with. He gets to the crux of complex matters effortlessly and has a wonderful way of working. A fantastic advocate, always approaches in the right way and a go-to barrister.’

Jack Harding – Deka Chambers ‘Top of his game. Excellent response times, great bedside manner with clients and real depth and breadth of legal knowledge and practical experience’.

Katherine Howells – Old Square Chambers ‘Brilliant attention to detail and delivers a technically astute argument in court.’

Philip Mead –12 King’s Bench Walk ‘Philip has a razor sharp mind. He could quite easily be in silk. A real shining light with an equally bright brain.’

Dan Saxby –3 Hare Court ‘Tenacious, meticulous, highly skilled and unbelievably resilient. His skills in advocacy demonstrate strength, knowledge and reason; his ability to command the attention of the court with utmost respect and trust cannot be compared to any other counsel’.

Andrew Spencer – Deka Chambers ‘A very capable pair of hands. His advice is spot on, and he delivers it in an easy to understand way.’

Asela Wijeyaratne –3 Hare Court ‘Extremely knowledgeable and capable. He is a pleasure to work with’.

James Candlin –12 King’s Bench Walk ‘James has a wealth of experience in travel law, having been practising in the field for many years. He is a careful advocate and is thoroughly conversant with the law in the area.’

Thomas Collins – Deka Chambers ‘Well rounded knowledge of travel law. His attention to detail is second to none. He is able to narrow in on the ’winning point’ in any litigation regardless of complexity. He provides clear and practical advice and he is a confident and extremely capable advocate’.

Ian Denham –Outer Temple Chambers

‘Ian’s knowledge and experience of travel law cases is one his greatest strengths. He is well known and accomplished in cross border cases and consequently is a go-to for such cases.’

Alistair Mackenzie –2 Temple Gardens ‘Very sharp. Gets to grip quickly with the complex issues in hand. Reliable and instills confidence in the work he provides’.

Meghann McTague –2 Temple Gardens ‘Great intellect, amazing ability to see the wood for the trees, organisational skills, reliability. She is simply fantastic and is a silk in waiting.’

Bruce Silvester – Deka Chambers

James Sullivan –12 King’s Bench Walk ‘Quite frankly one of the nicest people you will meet in the professional world and technically brilliant’.

Andrew Young –3 Hare Court ‘Excellent advocate who is persuasive at court. Prepared to work with solicitors to advance cases, turns around papers quickly and goes the extra mile.’

Navjot Atwal – 12 King's Bench Walk

Henry Morton Jack – 2 Temple Gardens ‘Henry’s strengths are his intellect and his ability to grasp quickly and focus on the key points in the case. His advocacy style is attractive, clear and compelling. He has wide knowledge and experience of travel law issues, including thorny jurisdiction points.’

Max Archer –12 King’s Bench Walk ‘Max is receiving briefs that suggest many years on his year of call and seniority which is the true testament to his abilities as a barrister. He is very much in demand and making a name for himself in difficult and high profile aviation matters in particular.’

Richard Campbell –3 Hare Court ‘Provides clear arguments and gets very good results.‘

Alex Carington –12 King’s Bench Walk ‘A skilled and able junior. An affable, pleasant and well-prepared opponent.’

James Hawkins –3 Hare Court ‘James is a very thorough barrister with great attention to detail and patience with large matters. He is a great advocate in court.’

Anna Hughes –2 Temple Gardens ‘Anna is always very well-prepared, and instinctively knows the best points to take. She is a formidable advocate and astute tactician, with an excellent forensic eye for detail. She is also well respected by her peers and fosters good relationships with her opponents with her easy-going style.’

Robert Hunter –Devereux ‘Rob can very quickly understand the main issues and advise accordingly.’

Linda Nelson – Deka Chambers ‘In conference, she is very clear and decisive but also very approachable and open to questions and suggestions.’

Mark Stiggelbout –Quadrant Chambers ‘Mark punches above his weight and can hold his own against much more senior opponents. He has a calm and composed style of advocacy, which appeals to judges.’

John-Paul Swoboda –12 King’s Bench Walk ‘A brave advocate who likes nothing more than to make new law, which is why he features in reported cases. Meticulous preparation and written work. Class.’

Colin Thomann –39 Essex Chambers ‘Strong intellectually, with nice understated style. Colin is able to think widely with great knowledge of public and EU law.’

Will Young –Outer Temple Chambers

‘Will is probably the most polite, delightful individual at the travel law Bar. His preparation is absolutely phenomenal. He is across all the detail and able to assimilate huge volumes of evidence in a short timescale, an impressive skill. He has a traditional approach to advocacy which works very effectively’.

Rising Stars

Nicolas Damnjanovic – Fountain Court Chambers

Tom Fairclough – 2 Temple Gardens ‘Tom is very strong on each of the following: advocacy, commercial vision, level of expertise and sophistication of work and client service. Tom is an exceptional lawyer throughout.’

Carin Hunt – Outer Temple Chambers

‘Carin has great insight into issues that arise on a case and deals with them practically. She is an extremely good advocate’

Ruth Kennedy – 11KBW

Dominique Smith – Deka Chambers ‘She is punching well above her weight in terms of years of call. A pair of safe hands even on difficult cases.’

Henk Soede – Deka Chambers ‘Sharp technical knowledge and practical approach to tactical litigation.’

Travel law (including jurisdictional issues) in London Bar

Tier 1 sets

2 Temple Gardens

2 Temple Gardens is recognised for its expertise in jurisdiction in cross-border personal injury claims arising from accidents abroad, especially involving serious injuries or death. It also stands out for its expertise in international law. The team has been involved in leading cases recently. Charles Dougherty KC and Benjamin Phelps work includes appearing in the Supreme Court in Roberts v SSAFA, MoD and Viersen for a German hospital in a claim brought on behalf of a child of a British soldier stationed in Germany who born with cerebral palsy as an alleged result of clinical negligence, with issues including the difference between the British and German limitation periods. Roger Harris is acting for the German Hospital in relation to the clinical negligence side of the case. Marie Louise Kinsler KC, Howard Palmer KC, Alistair Mackenzie and Phelps’ work includes appearing in the Supreme Court in Brownlie v FS Cairo, a case concerning the mechanics of cross-border personal injury claims such as if evidence on foreign law is required.

Testimonials

Set

‘2 Temple Gardens has the best travel law team in the business.’

‘Leading set for travel work, particularly on issues of jurisdiction and choice of law.’

‘2 Temple Gardens is the go-to chambers for travel law cases, providing extremely strong counsel at all levels. It stands out from other chambers in the strength and range of barristers specialising and excelling in this area.’

‘2 Temple Gardens is rightly viewed as the leading chambers for travel law, given the star quality and number of barristers specialising in this area.’

‘The travel law team at 2 Temple Gardens is the best in the business, in my experience.’

Clerking

‘The clerking service is superb. Lee Tyler is heavily invested in ensuring chambers offer an excellent service, and is well supported by bright and dedicated clerks such as Oliver Gillen-Smith.’

3 Hare Court

3 Hare Court‘s leading team is highly sought after by both claimants and defendants. Recently, the set has been particularly busy providing counsel on implications for air travel in the time of COVID-19, claims against insolvent travel companies, as well as the ongoing developments relating to Brexit. The team has experience at all levels dealing with accidents that occur overseas and in claims involving extensive group actions. Katherine Deal KC has vast international experience, including a case of alleged clinical negligence in Spain. Andrew Young was junior counsel for the claimants in the gastric illness case of Wood v TUI Travel Plc, which confirmed the principle that tour operators are strictly liable to their clients if food supplied by the holiday hotel as part of a package holiday is unfit for human consumption.

Testimonials

Set

‘High quality barristers across the board.’

‘3 Hare Court are an exceptional set of Chambers. Friendly, approachable, reliable, assured extremely able and an extremely safe pair of hands for aviation and travel law.’

‘Very strong in the area of travel litigation.’

‘3 Hare Court have a number of very skilled barristers in the travel field. The Clerks are very helpful and prompt in their responses.’

Clerking

‘The clerks have delivered an excellent service over the years – nothing is too much trouble. Toby Eales and James Donovan are class acts and the whole team has benefitted from their leadership.’

‘James Donovan, Simon Hamilton and Toby Eales are very helpful with counsel bookings and availability of suitable counsel and they know their barristers well.’

Deka Chambers

Deka Chambers‘s travel team assists both claimants and defendants in overseas accident litigation and in recovery actions against overseas suppliers. The team counts on the expertise of John Ross KC, whose work includes leading cases on the subject of cross-border personal injury claims, and Sarah Prager KC, who is acting in a number of High Court trials and has three cases on jurisdictional matters going through the Court of Appeal. From the 9 Gough Square side of the chambers pre-merger, Grahame Aldous KC recently acted in Booth v Phillips, a High Court case which established the jurisdiction of the UK over deaths abroad leaving a dependent in the UK. Giles Mooney KC is acting for the defendant in a case where the claimant was injured whilst acting as a yacht’s engineer in the course of racing during an international regatta; it is alleged that the claimant has suffered serious brain injuries and the case is currently pleaded in excess of £3m.

Testimonials

Set

‘Deka Chambers is our “go to” set of chambers for travel matters. They have a first class knowledge of travel matters and are very approachable and helpful.’

‘The leading, go to set for Travel Law. Experienced senior counsel and a good range of juniors to suit every type of instruction.’

‘The leading set in cross-border and international personal injury work covering the full range of cases on both sides of the Court.’

Clerking

‘Clark Chessis is a class act and has been the bedrock of the 1CL side of chambers for a very long time now. Nothing is ever a problem and he is the perfect gentlemen.’

‘David Barrow and Clark Chessis are first rate. No problem is too difficult to solve.’

‘All clerks are great. David Barrow and Clark Chessis particularly so.’

Tier 2 sets

12 King's Bench Walk

12 King’s Bench Walk has expertise not only in the mainstream of travel and tour operator litigation, but in heavyweight cross-border personal injury cases. The set counts on the expertise of William Audland KC, who appeared in the Supreme Court in X v Kuoni Travel, the first time that the scope of liability under the package travel regulations had been considered at that level; the matter concerned the rape of a British woman by a hotel employee in Sri Lanka. Another key member of the team is Alex Carington – he recently acted for a tour operator in a case where the claimants, who was sleeping at the time, were attacked by a lion, leaving one claimant with his arm almost completely torn off and the other with psychiatric injuries.

Testimonials

Set

’12KBW are one of, if not the go-to set for travel law issues. They have a great deal of leading counsel who I and other members of the team would happily rely upon.’

‘In my view 12KBW has greater strength and depth across the several segments that cover the travel area: namely, package travel, Rome II claims, aviation and maritime, as well as multi party actions, and strength ranging from leaders to busy juniors.’

’12KBW has a large and growing team of ranked barristers and is fast becoming the go-to set for travel and jurisdictional disputes.’

Clerking

‘The clerks are always helpful and very quick to respond.’

‘The service provided by the clerks are exceptional, mainly George Boggis.’

‘Lexie Johnson is always extremely, helpful, friendly and approachable. She is quick to respond and will try to deal with queries in a clear and concise manner.‘

39 Essex Chambers

39 Essex Chambers works internationally and stands out for its expertise in personal injury claims. Its barristers mainly focus in group litigation actions as well as individual claims involving jurisdiction and choice of law issues including historic child sexual abuse, food poisoning, injuries suffered by private security personnel while working in politically unstable regions and skiing and other sport accidents. Neil Block KC recently took part in a case that raised complex legal and quantum issues, concerning a claim a tourist arising out of a snowmobile accident in Finland. Bernard Doherty , who has particular expertise in private international law issues, recently represented one of several defendants in a case arising from a neck fracture sustained by former Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle while attempting a ski jump during the filming of reality TV programme The Jump in Austria.

Testimonials

Set

‘One of the leading chambers for personal injury cases.’

‘They are a first rate set.’

‘This is a first rate set with a lot of very good barristers.’

Clerking

‘Clerks are fantastic, particularly Hannah Milne and Harry Airth.’

‘Hannah Milne is excellent.’

Fountain Court Chambers

Fountain Court Chambers acts for regulators, such as the CAA, and the regulated, such as airlines and tour operators. This year they have been increasingly providing advice around topics including flight delays, cancellations, regulatory issues and Brexit-related issues among others. Akhil Shah KC has been instructed by the liquidators of Thomas Cook Airlines to assist in securing its slots at Gatwick, Manchester and other leading airports in an expedited judicial review application brought by Manchester Airport against the Civil Aviation Authority and Thomas Cook - the matter settled.

Testimonials

Set

‘The bench strength is fantastic, with top Silks, top senior juniors and all the juniors are excellent – there are no duds at all.’

‘Fountain are a leading set for aviation and travel work.’

Clerking

‘The clerks are brilliant and the service excellent, really pro-active and fast response times, Sian Huckett is a stand out.’

Outer Temple Chambers

Outer Temple Chambers counts on the expertise of Sarah Crowther KC, who appeared in the Supreme Court in Brownlie v FS Cairo, a case regarding the scope of the tort gateway for service abroad and the requirement to plead foreign law. Gerard McDermott KC is also a part of the team, and a recognised name in this field and sought after by those who have suffered a catastrophic injury abroad. Eliot Woolf KC, has recently appeared for the successful claimant in Kempson v First Choice Holidays, establishing the basis for strict liability in salmonella claims.

Testimonials

Set

‘The set has several very good barristers who specialise in the area of Travel Law, both junior counsel and silks.’

‘A very good travel law team. A number of knowledgeable and able barristers specialising in cross-border litigation.’

‘A fine set of silks, ably supported by some of the brightest juniors around.’

‘They are an excellent set.’

‘Very good set – very good travel law seminars and very good selection of Counsel.’

Clerking

‘Paul Barton and Mark Gardner are excellent. Both are knowledgeable, helpful and will go out their way to find solutions when required.’

Quadrant Chambers

Quadrant Chambers’ team acts in cases for a number of leading airlines including British Airways, Ryan Air, and Etihad airlines. Its work varies from arbitrations and inquests through to commercial disputes leases and regulatory matters. John Kimbell KC, who was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2018, has recently acted as a foreign law expert witness in class action proceedings arising out of a mass outbreak of COVID on a cruise ship. Mark Stiggelbout acts for an airline in a case pivoting on the definition of the term ‘operations of disembarking.’

Testimonials

Set

‘Quadrant is a very strong set which has for many years been recognised as the top aviation accident set for claimants and defendants alike.’

‘A solid core have a good understanding of this area, both practical and legal.’

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