Tim Owen QC > Matrix Chambers > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Matrix Chambers offers ‘a large talent pool at several different levels of seniority’ and multi-disciplinary approach to enforcement proceedings. The set enjoys a strong reputation internationally, thanks in part to its strong work relationships with firms in the US and Hong Kong, as well as its extensive experience of engaging with foreign authorities the likes of the US DoJ; in addition, Tim Owen QC is also noted for his focus on offshore jurisdictions, including a judicial appointment to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. Another strength of the team lies in its representation of a mix of global companies, banks and financial institutions in fraud, bribery, corruption and money laundering investigations conducted by UK agencies, including the SFO and the FCA; Clare Montgomery QC and Alex Bailin QC remain among the country’s most highly regarded specialists in this space. In October 2020, the set expanded its market visibility in the financial regulatory space with multiple lateral hires, including those of Nichola Higgins of Doughty Street Chambers and former First Senior Treasury Counsel Richard Whittam QC of 2 Bedford Row.

Matrix Chambers is ‘extremely well-placed in the area of administrative and public law with great strength, especially at QC level‘, with distinguished silks such as Phillippa Kaufmann QC being sought after on human rights cases; Karon Monaghan QC, who continues to advise on the UK Infected Blood Inquiry; and Tim Owen QC, who represented three claimants in a judicial review of the Foreign Secretary’s decision to refuse to extend protection and assistance to Afghan nationals, who asserted they had worked as undercover agents for the UK for many years in the Helmand province. Helen Mountfield QC often represents claimants in judicial reviews where public policy is under scrutiny for being discriminatory, such as representing the Equality and Human Rights Commission in a Supreme Court appeal, SC, CB and 8 Children v Secretary of State for Work of Pensions, a challenge to the availability of the individual element of child tax credit for the first two children only. Leading junior Zoë Leventhal represented claimants in the first case to reach the Court of Appeal about Universal Credit, R (TP, AR & SXC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, a case centered on whether the phasing of Universal Credit and the absence of transitional protection is discriminatory against severely disabled people. In other news, the set also expanded its bench strength at the senior end with the appointment of Mathew Purchase QC, Sarah Hannett QC and Christopher Buttler QC to silk in 2021.