Commercial litigation in Regional Bar

Commercial Litigation

Leading Silks

Lesley Anderson QC - Kings Chambers ‘An excellent advocate, that clearly has the respect of the Judiciary and the profession. Her technical knowledge and expertise are exemplary, as is her approach towards clients. Highly skilled in strategizing and understanding the needs of commercial clients.’

David Berkley QC - St John's Buildings ‘Excellent advocate, orator and communicator. Formidable in court with the ability to quickly capture an audience and the attention of the judge. Calmness under fire. Ability to digest large volume of material, identify the key issues and its application to the facts and law.’

Mark Cawson QC - Exchange Chambers ‘He has mastery of detail, penetrating perception of key threads in a morass of evidence, excellent command of law and practice, ability to convey complex issues to clients, prudent and solid judgement and assessment of the risks in a case.’

Paul Chaisty QC - Kings Chambers ‘He is a formidable trial Counsel, without doubt my number 1 choice. He crafts his submissions so deftly, never wasting his words with the rhetoric and posturing that so many Counsel feel is necessary which is why he constantly holds the Judge’s his attention whilst on his feet.’

Mark Harper QC - Kings Chambers ‘Undoubted strength is commitment to give clear and swift advice and to stand by it. Clients are impressed by approachability aligned with incisive legal thinking.’

David Mohyuddin QC - Exchange Chambers ‘Good communicator; client friendly; practical; gets to the core issues quickly; go-to choice for large cases and has never let me down.’

David Casement QC - Kings Chambers ‘A leading and user-friendly silk.’

Richard Chapman QC - 18 St John Street Chambers ‘Richard is fantastic. He is technically excellent, and presents the law in a way that clients understand and accept - even when the message is not what the client wants to hear. He is also incredibly commercial in his advice, and offers a very good service to solicitors’

Simon Myerson QC - Byrom Street Chambers ‘Experienced in a wide range of commercial cases.’

2020 Silks

Andrew Grantham QC - Kings Chambers ‘He is first rate and very impressive in complex financial services case.’

Leading Juniors

Neil Berragan - Kings Chambers ‘Neil is first rate and my go to junior counsel in Manchester. He is academically brilliant, good with clients and his advice is straight to the point. He is superb on his feet with no weaknesses.’

Martin Budworth - Kings Chambers ‘He has an outstanding client care manner which in the vast majority of occasions leads them to trust his judgement after a very short time. He is thorough and although very busy he never attends a hearing unprepared. He is obviously respected by the bench at all levels.’

James Fryer-Spedding - 9 St John Street ‘Puts clients at their ease, and has the great skill of breaking down complicated situations into their easily comprehensible constituent parts, and is a highly effective advocate.’

Giles Maynard-Connor - Exchange Chambers ‘Giles is an exceptional advocate. I have now seen him on his feet numerous times and his advocacy is as good as any I have seen from any of the top silks at any of the leading sets. Giles tells you how it is. His advice is straight and to the point. He does not sit on the fence.’

Carly Sandbach - Exchange Chambers ‘Excellent on the law and extremely tenacious.’

Jennifer Newstead Taylor - 18 St John Street Chambers ‘Jennifer adds true value to any legal team and impresses with a willingness to go the extra mile alongside a meticulous and commercial approach. Jennifer knows her key clients inside-out so her advice is decisive and can be immediately applied.’

David Went - Exchange Chambers ‘David is a first rate barrister. He is a superb lawyer and very good with clients. He is a pleasure to work with and is very responsive and has a great eye for detail.’

Pépin Aslett - St John's Buildings ‘He is a formidable advocate and very skilled on his feet. His professionalism is second to none and having worked very closely with Pepin on heavy matters his ability to understand every detail of a complex case is very impressive.’

Richard Bradley - Oriel Chambers ‘His is a fierce commercial litigator who thrives in a trial environment. ’

Paul Brant - Oriel Chambers ‘Paul is very calm and considered. The real strength of Paul is his ability to engage with the client, and make them feel at ease. Paul is able to illicit information in a friendly manner, whether it be in a conference with a client, or when undertaking cross-examination.’

Andrew Clark - 9 St John Street ‘Strengths – technical expertise, ability to think rapidly on his feet, practical advice, rigorous attention to detail.’

Stephen Connolly - Exchange Chambers ‘An exceptional advocate - he really gets into the nitty gritty of the papers and leaves no stone unturned. His cross examination skills are as good as I have seen. His client handling skills are superb.’

Ben Harding - Kings Chambers ‘A star junior for commercial disputes.’

David Hoffman - 18 St John Street Chambers ‘Sees the core issues very quickly while not neglecting non-core but equally important issues. Quick, alert, knowledgeable, available, focused and infinitely patient.’

James Malam - Exchange Chambers ‘Technically sound and accessible.’

Steven McGarry - St John's Buildings 'Steve is a strong performer in financial and banking litigation, tenacious and detailed with good client skills.'

Christopher McNall - 18 St John Street Chambers ‘His written work is excellent. Arguments presented coherently on paper.’

Susanne Muth - Forum Chambers ‘She is a formidable Counsel who you would want on your side. Susanne understands complex issues quickly and is able to present them to the Court in a manner that gets the judge on board.’

Kelly Pennifer - Kings Chambers ‘She gets to grips with the detail of the case very quickly and gives robust, commercial advice. Willing to listen to clients concerns and able to explain why they have to be put to the judge in a certain way. Very approachable and user friendly.’

Brad Pomfret - 23 Essex Street ‘Very attentive. A real team player who is incredibly approachable. He has a sharp brain. He is excellent in cross-examination.’

Tina Ranales-Cotos - Kings Chambers ‘Extremely thorough and a fierce advocate.’

Andrew Vinson - Exchange Chambers ‘Andrew is both thorough and knowledgeable. He is approachable and very hard working. I have no hesitation in recommending and referring my clients to him safe in the knowledge that they will be very well represented both with his written advice and as an advocate at court.’

Warren Bank - Kings Chambers ‘Warren is very attentive to detail and meticulous in planning a coherent strategy for the entire litigation process up to and including trial. He is also a strong advocate from the Court room to mediations and settlement meetings.’

Christopher Cook - Exchange Chambers ‘A calm, knowledgeable and able advocate.’

Richard Lander - Kings Chambers ‘Richard is technically very good, and also commercially very sensible. His advice is thoughtful and useful to clients - both experts and lay people alike. He is very reliable, well priced, and on time with his advice.’

Daniel Metcalfe - St John's Buildings ‘Very responsive and well prepared. Excellent in court, reads judges well.’

Aidan Reay - Kings Chambers ‘Aidan balances a commercial and practical approach with razor sharp technical skills. He is an excellent advocate, who always performs well on his feet.’

Guy Vickers - Exchange Chambers ‘Particularly experienced in credit hire litigation.’

Jonathan Wright - Kings Chambers ‘He is very approachable and his pleadings; advocacy and advice are first rate. He is going to be a star at the bar.’

23 Essex Street

23 Essex Street's commercial group is 'populated by like-minded and able barristers who pull-together' and are 'gaining a strong reputation in Manchester'. With a broad commercial litigation and arbitration practice, with particular expertise in unjust enrichment, company, insolvency, banking, and sports disputes, Brad Pomfret is praised by solicitors for being 'persuasive; calm and confident. He is a reassuring presence in court. He is accessible; hands-on and liked by clients'. Pomfret is currently acting in a claim for breach of confidence and related actions against former employees who left the claimant and joined a competitor. The set also receives praise for its 'very responsive' clerks who are 'at the forefront with their training offering'.

9 St John Street

Clients go to 9 St John Street for its members 'professionalism, dedication, and technical excellence'. An 'excellent all-rounder', James Fryer-Spedding was successful in establishing fraud and obtaining a judgment with indemnity costs for the claimant in Bovinex Ltd v Lomas & Others, a dispute over the price of sheep exported from the UK to Germany by the claimant's agents; the defendant claimed it was entitled to set off against the liability to pay the price for their costs and an independent alleged debt. Also in chambers, Andrew Clark is instructed in a multi-claimant action brought by 351 borrowers against a high-cost short-term lender under the unfair relationship provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Byrom Street Chambers

Byrom Street Chambers' Simon Myerson QC is experienced across a broad range of commercial disputes. Recent instructions of note include acting for the defendants in allegations of civil fraud in the context of the purchase of shares of a private company and representing the claimant in a £2m claim for negligent performance of a contract to remove asbestos from a Grade 1 listed art deco house, which contaminated the entire property.

Forum Chambers

Forum Chambers' Susanne Muth, a former investment banker before coming to the Bar, acts in a wide range of banking and financial services disputes, predominantly on behalf of the borrower/customer. Instructing solicitors praise her for providing practical and commercial advice: 'Susanne is formidable, was straight to the point, got straight to the heart of the issue – and wasn’t interested in pursuing arguments without merit'.

Oriel Chambers

Oriel Chambers is 'a friendly and approachable set of chambers. Nothing is too much trouble for them, and the clerks are very knowledgeable.' The head of Chambers, Richard Bradley, is 'a fierce commercial litigator who thrives in a trial environment'. The set is also home to Paul Brant, who acts for both commercial and public sector clients in complex disputes.

Tier 1 sets

Exchange Chambers

'A very strong set for commercial work with a wide range of specialist and experienced counsel and lots of strength in depth', Exchange Chambers is 'brilliant with very capable juniors and a "can-do" attitude from commercial litigation counsel across a broad range of spectrums'. Mark Cawson QC, leading Carly Sandbach, is part of the counsel team instructed in Municipio De Mariana v BHP Group Plc and BHP Group Ltd, a claim by over 200,000 claimants seeking compensation with regard to the collapse of the Fundao Dam in Brazil in 2015. At the junior end, David Went is a specialist competition law practitioner, with instructing solicitors noting that his background as a former partner at Sidley Austin means 'he understands what clients are looking for and gives pragmatic advice'. Similarly, as a former solicitor Stephen Connolly 'has the benefit of being more pragmatic than most barristers and is, therefore, able to be commercial in his approach which is often what the client is needing/wanting'.

Kings Chambers

Kings Chambers is 'by far the standout set in the North' for commercial disputes. Instructing solicitors say 'there is a good range of counsel in this field within chambers, from pupils to silk. There is a clear focus on developing from within and leading the way in relation to client engagement'. Members are instructed to represent major institutions, public, international, and limited companies, and high-net-worth individuals in complex litigation and arbitration at home and abroad. Instructions include advisory work and disputes over contracts, business sale and purchase, banking and finance, competition, and civil fraud, amongst other areas. The set's silk ranks – containing the highly regarded Lesley Anderson QC, David Casement QC, Paul Chaisty QC, and Mark Harper QC – have been further strengthened after Andrew Grantham QC took silk in early 2020. At the junior end, Neil Berragan and Martin Budworth are standout counsel.

Tier 2 sets

18 St John Street Chambers

18 St John Street Chambers' Business and Property Department has members working across a wide range of contentious and non-contentious business and property-related instructions, and is also able to offer arbitration and mediation specialists in addition to experienced litigators. Chair of the Northern Circuit Commercial Bar Association, Richard Chapman QC has particular expertise in commercial contract and banking disputes, among others. In CW & CG Claims Ltd v Clarkewood Ltd he is representing the defendants, a claims management company, in an almost £10m High Court claim for alleged breach of contract and fraud.

St John's Buildings

St John's Buildings' David Berkley QC has significant experience in commercial and banking and financial litigation, as well as advisory work in disputes of significant complexity and value. At the junior end, Pépin Aslett is acting for numerous investors in the recovery of multi-million-pound losses after insurance from an insurer on the Island of Nevis failed to provide cover in relation to failed property transactions. Meanwhile, Daniel Metcalfe is acting for a claimant IT company in its pursuit of the remainder of its contract term after the defendant terminated a service contract for an alleged breach of a confidentiality clause.

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