Miss Clare Montgomery KC > Matrix Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

Matrix Chambers is experienced in advising corporate and individual clients on extradition exposure in international criminal cases, and the set’s barristers have been instructed in numerous cases before international courts such as the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. Leading Jessica Jones, Alex Bailin KC represented the former CEO of Autonomy in USA v Michael Lynch, an extradition case in relation to allegations of fraud by HP concerning its $11bn purchase of the company, with Mark Summers KC opposing him for the US government. Clare Montgomery KC represented the former vice president of FIFA Jack Warner in an appeal against extradition from Trinidad to the United States, while Mark Summers KC  has been instructed in Japan v Chappell, a case concerning a jewellery heist in Tokyo in 2015; a rare case of extradition from the UK to Japan in the absence of an extradition treaty between the states.

Matrix Chambers is an ‘excellent‘ multi-disciplinary set and regularly advises banks, financial institutions and other corporate entities as well as individuals on complex criminal charges. Alex Bailin KC and Edward Craven, representing a former employee of the company, and Clare Montgomery KC, for the company, represent defendants in the SFO’s ongoing case regarding Glencore, the company having entered guilty pleas to bribery offences in order to secure access to oil rights in several African countries.

Primarily acting for the defence, Matrix Chambers is a strong criminal law set, with particular expertise in cases with human rights components. Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC, who took silk in March 2023, has a track record of cases where Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights is run as a defence – she is instructed to represent two members of Palestine Action, who used parliamentary visitor passes to gain access to the member’s lobby where they doused a statue of Lord Balfour with tomato ketchup. Tim James-Matthews and Clare Montgomery KC represented the defendants in Director of Public Prosecutions v Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court, a prosecution appeal concerning the acquittal of individuals who dug tunnels in an attempt to interfere with construction of HS2. The set also has a track record of work relating to terrorism offences.