Back to United Kingdom - The Bar

Leading Silks

Lesley Anderson KC – Kings ChambersLesley is very clever, client friendly and great attention to detail.'
Paul Chaisty KC – Kings ChambersPaul is the best trial lawyer. He brings a superb balance of strategic and commercial thinking with the need to prepare for trial from the outset. He is a first-rate exponent of the art of cross-examination, and usually leaves the opposing witness wishing they had not given a witness statement in the first place.’
Richard Chapman KC – 18 St John Street ChambersRichard combines great experience and a bright legal mind with an ability to communicate complex issues to lay clients in a clear and practical way. Richard is first rate and he knows how solicitors need to be supported by counsel.'
Mark Harper KC – Kings ChambersMark is ferocious in cross-examination. He has an eye for the detail. Clients respond well to Mark, as they find him engaging, commercial and approachable. He works collaboratively and is incredibly generous with his time. He looks for ways through, not problems. Mark is by far one of the go-to barristers.'
David Mohyuddin KC – Radcliffe ChambersDavid is outstanding. He is one of the most user friendly, down to earth counsel. He is always approachable; nothing is ever too much trouble. He grasps the issues instantly and his advice is well thought through. His written work is outstanding, and on his feet he is utterly persuasive, but in a very calm way. The Judges really warm to him. Altogether fabulous Counsel.’
Andrew Grantham KC – Kings ChambersAndrew is a delight to work with: he is bright, quick-thinking, perceptive, knowledgeable, thorough, hard-working, very prompt with papers and a strong advocate. He is very supportive of his solicitors and exceptionally helpful, anticipating needs and problems, and is very able. He fully understands the commercial context, and keeps this in mind when advising, such that the team with client, counsel and solicitor feels close and unified. He is a good, clear and empathetic communicator.'

2021 Silks

Giles Maynard-Connor KC – Exchange ChambersGiles is a heavyweight in the market. He is a clever, astute and user-friendly commercial counsel. A team player, he is a ferocious advocate with a winning mentality.'

Leading Juniors

Neil Berragan – Kings ChambersNeil brings with him to any matter a sense of calm and thoughtfulness. He is always integral to any legal team with regard to a particular legal matter and seamlessly dovetails with the clients to form a very strong working relationship. He is very good on paper and is a tenacious advocate.'
Martin Budworth – Kings ChambersMartin provides calm, unflappable and succinct advice. He is excellent on his feet and especially when confronted by complex and fast moving changes which can arise from time to time during trial.'
Carly Sandbach – Exchange Chambers ‘Carly is one of the best at the Manchester Bar- first class paperwork, pragmatic, hands on and commercial.’
Pépin Aslett – St John’s Buildings ‘Pepin has a very sharp mind and he is a master tactician. He is able to provide first class advocacy and legal advice as well as ideal strategic and commercial advice. He is one of the best senior junior barristers, he never backs down and he is happy to take on silks when required. His rapport with clients is excellent and he always fits right into a team. His rapport with clients is perfect: charming and professional at the same time.’
Andrew Clark  – 9 St John Street ‘Andrew has great attention to detail, a thoroughness of advices provided, is extremely knowledgable within his area of law, and is able to anticipate defendant arguments.’
Stephen Connolly – Exchange ChambersStephen quickly gets to the nub of issues and is able to focus on the points that really matter. He gives clear views and delivers his messages to the client in a very user-friendly way. He also thinks outside the box and is prepared to consider all potential options at any stage.'
Ben Harding – Kings ChambersBen has a breadth of knowledge that is highly impressive and combines that with a gravitas that belies his length of call. An outstanding young commercial barrister and one to watch for the future.'
David Hoffman – 18 St John Street ChambersDavid has an exceptional understanding of the law that applies to any particular legal scenario and assesses the best course of action to achieve a client's objectives. He is very approachable, flexible and helpful.'
Christopher McNall18 St John Street Chambers 'Highly experienced, extremely knowledgeable and dynamic.'
Kelly Pennifer – Kings ChambersKelly is extremely bright; she has excellent attention to detail and delivers technically sound and commercial advice in a client friendly way. She is innovative and often comes up with innovative arguments which help the clients achieve a good result, even in the worst of cases. As an advocate, she is tenacious and methodical and despite her status as junior, instructing solicitors are never concerned about pitting her against even the most experienced silks. The clients appreciate her no nonsense approach and she is very accessible and user friendly.’
Tina Ranales-Cotos – Kings ChambersTina is extremely hard working and can be relied upon to produce excellent quality written submissions in tight timescales. She is well-liked by clients and where Tina has undertaken advocacy, this has been executed clearly, concisely and effectively.'
Andrew VinsonExchange ChambersAndrew always offers sensible, pragmatic advice to achieve the best results for the client. He is commercially minded and conscious of the costs consequences of the available courses of action. Although he always advises upon the pros and cons of seeking a settlement, he is not afraid to advise clients to proceed to trial when this is in their best interests.'
Richard Lander – Kings ChambersRichard undergoes meticulous preparation and has great attention to detail, combined with compendious and detailed knowledge of the subject matter, calm and unflappable authority as an advocate in court, and an ability to get to the nub of the case.’
Tom Longstaff  - Exchange Chambers 'Tom is calm and thinks quickly on his feet. He is excellent in conference with clients and is able to put them at ease. His advice is clear, concise and always with an understanding of the commercial impact of the advice, rather than solely the legal aspects.'
Lawrence McDonald – Exchange ChambersLawrence is very good with clients and supports his solicitor. He knows what solicitors and clients want of him, and is great on his feet, personable and very likeable. He is good at getting his head around the larger issues.’
Aidan Reay – Kings ChambersAidan has exceptional knowledge of relevant case law and attention to detail. He has a highly effective litigation strategy and he is very responsive, personable and easy to deal with.'
Richard Tetlow – Exchange ChambersRichard is commercial in his approach, delivers clear advice and builds a good rapport with clients, which in turn provides them with confidence.'
Elisabeth Tythcott18 St John Street Chambers ‘Elisabeth is very user friendly and able understand and assimilate complex case details in a very short timescale. Her eloquence is second to none and she has the most impressive vocabulary. She is a superb communicator; very firm in her delivery and very clear in her arguments. She is highly recommended and the clients very much enjoy working with her, as she is so approachable and clear in her advice but firm with her opponents.’
Guy Vickers – Exchange Chambers 'Guy's work rate and commitment to the client are beyond any reasonable expectation. Paperwork and advice are always first-rate. He is a tenacious and fearless advocate and consistently delivers in line with or beyond expectation. He is personable, approachable, eminently flexible and accommodating, especially during the recent pandemic. He has great attention to the commercial objective and specifically a capacity to focus on delivering the best outcome, even if that is to avoid litigation.'
Michael Wilkinson  – 18 St John Street Chambers ‘Mike is very committed to his role as a barrister but his intellectual curiosity and commitment to professional self development goes way beyond what is normal for barristers, particularly those on circuit. It should be noted that he also has a PhD in banking, which is unique at the Bar.’
Jonathan Wright – Kings ChambersJonathan has a great ability to understand the issues of a matter and translate that into written submissions through pleadings or a skeleton argument that are clear, succinct and brings out the best arguments. He is extremely thorough and covers all bases to ensure the strongest position can be presented for the client. Jonathan’s written approach is complemented by his advocacy which is considered, calm and ensures the judge has the key points.’

Commercial litigation in Regional Bar

Exchange Chambers

Exchange Chambers is praised for having ‘exceptional barristers of all levels of experience’ who work on a wide range of commercial litigation matters, including corporate and personal insolvency work, shareholder, company and partnership disputes, and commercial fraud. Giles Maynard-Connor KC‘s practice has a strong focus on corporate fraud whilst Lawrence McDonald  acts for companies, individuals, office holders and public bodies. Stephen Connolly specialises in shareholder and partnership disputes and Carly Sandbach  is highly adept at in commercial litigation cases, representing banks, multi-national companies, small businesses, professional services firms and private individuals.

Testimonials

Set

‘Exchange Chambers offers considerable strength in depth in commercial, chancery and general litigation matters. They have a broad range exceptional barristers of all levels of experience available to advise as and when required.’

‘One of the leading chambers in this area, if not the pre-eminent one outside of London – a very good roster of barristers.’

‘Exchange chambers is a go-to set in Manchester.’

‘Exchange are comfortably the best set outside of London.’

‘Exchange are a strong Manchester Chambers with a wide selection of counsel on offer across all levels. 

Clerking

The clerks are generally responsive. The are very good and responsive – Joe Mawson is always very helpful and quick to assist.’

‘The clerks tend to be very responsive. Ian Spencer and Nicole Haigh are excellent.’

‘The clerks are generally responsive and Nick Buckley as the senior clerk is larger than life and will go out of his way to help.’

‘Excellent service. Joe Mawson Senior Commercial & Chancery Clerk’s service has always been efficient and he is easy to deal with.’

‘Joe Mawson is a pleasure to work with – commercial and efficient.’

18 St John Street Chambers

18 St John Street Chambers is a ‘quality set‘. Head of chambers Richard Chapman KC  is also Chair of the Northern Circuit Commercial Bar Association and has expertise in commercial contract disputes. The set also houses Elisabeth Tythcott, who handles shareholder disputes and breaches of fiduciary duties by directors. Tythcott represented the claimant in Miller v Ball, a case concerning a partnership dispute between veterinary surgeons. David Hoffman is also a notable name.

Testimonials

Set

‘The chambers are one of the leading sets in commercial litigation in the North-West, with appropriate practitioners at all levels of seniority.’

‘Chambers is always able to find a member to assist and there is real depth in the experienced juniors.’

‘Each member is equally impressive and well-versed, both in respect of the litigation and the client-facing aspects.’

‘A quality set and is always accommodating.’

‘The barristers are personable, intelligent, diligent and readily available to offer advice and guidance.’

Clerking

Very well clerked commercial department. Katie Brown and Ryan Pugh do everything possible to ensure barrister of choice is available. Both a real asset to Chambers.’

‘Ryan Pugh and Katie Brown have been in their roles for many years, understand the members skill sets and are very helpful. The more recently recruited practice manager, James Parks, has brought with him great experience and has added to the existing administrative excellence at the chambers.’

‘The clerks are generally very attentive and supportive, particularly with instructions on short notice.’

‘The clerking is strong. Reliable and straight on fees.’

‘Katie Brown is very professional and always very responsive.’

Kings Chambers

The members of Kings Chambers are highly adept at handling a range of matters, from breach of directors’ duties, shareholder disputes, unfair prejudice petitions and fraud, to the protection of confidential information and injunctive relief cases. The set is praised as ‘one of the pre-eminent commercial sets in Manchester’ and houses a number of commercial specialists, including head of the business and property department Lesley Anderson, who advises on all aspects of commercial contract disputes, and Mark Harper KC, who has expertise in advising on breach of director’s fiduciary duties. Other notable silks include Andrew Grantham KC and David Casement KC. The team also a strong number of juniors, including Martin Budworth and Neil Berragan

Testimonials

Set

‘Best set outside London. Excellent training during covid.’

‘Kings provide a comprehensive programme of seminars, which are always good quality and well received. They are a very supportive and flexible set, with great strength in depth across a surprisingly wide range of work. They are consistently helpful and understand well the needs and demands of their solicitors, with whom they work closely and collaboratively, strengthening the feeling of a single team working to get the best possible result for the client.’

‘Kings is the strongest set in Manchester for commercial work.’

‘Kings are one of the pre-eminent commercial sets in Manchester, and is usually able to offer counsel in response to most instructions and at an appropriate level of seniority. They are enthusiastic providers of training.’

‘The set as a whole has a number of excellent individuals. It is extremely comforting and reassuring that there is such strength in depth, which invariably means that there are always first-class counsel available to look after our matters.’

Clerking

‘Harry Young, Louise Barnes, Gary Young, Brandon Singh, are all very approachable and good communicators, work hard at developing good relationships, anticipate well the needs and anxieties of solicitors and clients, and provide a very modern service.’

‘Gary Young is a fantastic head of commercial clerking.’

‘Harry Young is extremely responsive, communicates effectively and is pragmatic when it comes to fees.’

‘Excellent service. Gary Young and Harry Young are always available at short notice and prepared to work very hard to provide solutions.’

‘The Chancery clerks are top notch, ranging from Harry and Gary Young through to Brandon Singh. They are always helpful and accommodating and responsive to emails and requests.’

St John's Buildings

The members of St John’s Buildings act for multinationals companies, small businesses and individuals in their commercial litigation matters, especially regarding contract disputes. The set is praised for its ‘good range of counsel‘ and is home to Pépin Aslett, who has a strong practice, handling multi-part claims, and Daniel Metcalfe is also a notable name.

Testimonials

Set 

‘St Johns Buildings have a good range of counsel across the practice area. They have a good range of juniors and mid ranking senior juniors especially.’

‘The set’s annual property litigation seminar in Chester is helpful.’

Clerking

‘Very professional clerking service. They are always contactable and pro-active.’

‘The clerks are approachable and responsive. Chris Brown and Rob Lang appreciate the importance of key client relationships.’

‘Chris Shaw is very professional as is Rob Lang.