Erskine Chambers > London, England > Set Profile
Erskine Chambers Offices

1, Paper Buildings
London
EC4Y 7EP
England
Erskine Chambers > The Legal 500 Rankings
London Bar > Company Tier 1
Erskine Chambers stands out as 'the leading company law set', with 'deep knowledge of this area of law' and 'the best range of counsel in the market, with excellent strength in depth'. Shareholder disputes are a core area of strength for the team, which is regularly sought after to advise on a wide range of complex contentious and non-contentious company law work. David Chivers KC is a highly regarded practitioner in the space, with an excellent track record in handling restructuring and insolvency work in the corporate field as well as offshore matters. Edward Davies KC and Jack Rivett appeared in ClientEarth v Shell, involving a derivative claim brought against the directors of Shell for alleged breaches of directors' duties in relation to Shell's climate change risk management strategy.Rising stars
Leading Silks
2023 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘Very good. I have dealt with Alex Calder and Samantha Rouse. They are both very helpful and knowledgeable.’
‘The clerks at Erskine are excellent and more responsive and user friendly than most other sets that I work with. Michael Shillingford is my favourite clerk to work with.’
‘Seamus Nixon has been first-class in managing diaries and understanding the pressures of an instructing solicitor.’
‘Michael Shillingford is excellent and responsive. Jake Taylor is good.’
‘Clerks are consistently excellent: rapid, thorough, knowledgeable, professional, polished, easy to deal with.’
‘Erskine Chambers has unparalleled strength and depth of experience in this area.’
‘The confidence that they inspire in company law matters is huge. Their ability to draw on very wide and deep experience is impressive: if they haven’t seen something, it almost certainly hasn’t been done.’
‘A strong chambers when it comes to corporate, company law and restructuring matters, and I am very comfortable relying on all of their barristers and team.’
London Bar > Insolvency Tier 2
Erskine Chambers handles both contentious insolvency and corporate restructurings, with members acting on litigation arising from large insolvencies in the wake of the financial crisis, with Peter Arden KC having been instructed by a creditor in Re Project Lietzenburger Strasse Holdco S.A.R.L to oppose a restructuring plan proposed by a Luxembourg company, covering aspects of German law. Raquel Agnello KC has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, and covers restructuring based matters, including CVAs and acting for various businesses. Matthew Parfitt sits as a deputy insolvency judge and has a focus on public interest winding up, and the appointment of provisional liquidators, and Anna Scharnetzky is frequently instructed in contentious restructurings and claims brought by or against office-holders.Leading Silks
2023 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘Michael Shillingford is consistently excellent, Alex Calder is extremely helpful and diligent, Seamus Nixon is responsive and effective, and Jake Taylor is always quick to assist.’
‘Alex Calder always responds quickly and efficiently.’
‘The clerks provide an excellent service.’
‘All of the clerks have been particularly helpful and accommodating in all aspects.’
‘Erskine is a top chambers for insolvency work.’
‘High quality junior counsel.’
‘A class act.’
‘An excellent set at all levels.’
London Bar > Commercial litigation Tier 4
Well-regarded for its company law and insolvency expertise, Erskine Chambers is ‘excellent for commercial litigation and corporate litigation’. James Potts KC acts for the Co-operative Group in a £450 million lawsuit initiated by the liquidators of Food Retailer Operations, which involves claims of preferential treatment and undervalued transactions following the group’s restructuring efforts in 2015 and 2016. In Nam Tai Property v West Ridge Investment, David Chivers KC represented the appellate in a case concerning whether, following a BVI Commercial Court ruling setting aside an allotment of shares, the property development and management company is obliged to return the subscription monies.Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘Alex Calder is very helpful. Overall the clerks are excellent.’
‘The clerks at Erskine Chambers are great – extremely professional, responsive to requests and very understanding of the challenges faced by instructing solicitors.’
‘The clerks are excellent and responsive.’
‘The level of clerking is very good.’
‘Erskine Chambers are by far the leading company law set. Their deep knowledge of this area of law combined with their excellent development of strategy is invaluable.
‘Go-to chambers for corporate matters.’
‘Erskine is excellent for commercial litigation and corporate litigation.’
‘Strong Chambers when it comes to corporate, company law and restructuring matters, Erskine Chambers is a go-to Chambers for company law and shareholder dispute issues. The depth of knowledge there is incredible.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Banking and finance (including consumer credit)
London Bar > Insurance and reinsurance
Leading Silks
London Bar > Partnership
London Bar > Pensions
Leading Silks
The English Bar Offshore > Commercial disputes Tier 3
Praised as a ‘very strong commercial’ chambers, Erskine Chambers is a ‘go-to set for complex company law and insolvency and restructuring matters’. Other areas of expertise for its members include corporate transactions and the financial services sector. Michael Todd KC is a notable silk at the set with expertise in company law mandates, as well as corporate finance, capital markets, and corporate insolvency disputes. Todd KC is acting for the defendant in Athene Ltd v Siddiqui, a case concerning allegations of misusing confidential information, which will be heard before the Supreme Court of Bermuda. For David Chivers KC BVI restructuring and insolvency form key areas of practice, while Edward Davies KC is also called to the Bar in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Turning to the juniors, Andrew Blake is acting for Jardine Strategic Limited in a case surrounding a $5.5bn restructuring, in which more than 80 plaintiffs are seeking compensation. Anna Scharnetzky is another key junior in this case.Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
“Alex Calder is excellent. He is very helpful and provides timely responses which is important.’
‘Alex Calder and Seamus Nixon have been extremely helpful and very user-friendly.’
‘The clerks at Erskine chambers are an excellent team; quick to respond, helpful and pragmatic, and understanding of the challenges faced by instructing solicitors. They are polite, professional and hard working.’
‘Erskine is a very strong commercial set which you feel confident approaching for important matters requiring counsel’s involvement. Clerks provide timely responses and the barristers are excellent. Having seen some of their juniors, it is clear that they attract and train excellent barristers.’
‘Erskine is the go-to set for complex company law and insolvency and restructuring matters. Their members are the brightest company law set, who are easy to work with and very available.’
Erskine Chambers > Set Profile
Erskine Chambers is recognised as being pre-eminent in company law and a leading set in associated fields including insolvency, financial services and corporate/commercial litigation (including civil fraud and asset recovery).
The set: Chambers’ size (29 barristers including 11 KCs) allows it to maintain expertise in its core practice areas while fielding effective teams in Commercial Court and Chancery Division litigation. Prominent former members include Lady Arden of Haswal, Sir David Richards and Richard Snowden LJ, while present members sit on various law reform committees and are editors and contributors to the leading texts on company law.
Types of work undertaken
Company law: Erskine is the go-to set for company law disputes and corporate transactions, including: (Peter Waddell Holdco Ltd v Bluebell Cars Holdco Ltd; Kulkarni v Gwent Holdings Ltd & Anor) , joint venture disputes and technical company litigation (Saxon Woods Investments Ltd v Costa ; Eclairs v JKX; Enviroco v Farstad – both Supreme Court) derivative claims (ClientEarth v Shell). Members have advised on all of the largest UK corporate transactions of recent years, including Anheuser-Busch InBev/SAB Miller, Friends Life/Aviva, Invensys/Schneider, Glencore/Xstrata and Vodafone/Verizon. Erskine provides counsel for the majority of schemes of arrangement (William Hill), Part VII transfers (Royal London/CIS, Barclays/ING), and reductions of capital.
Corporate/Commercial litigation and Arbitration: a large proportion of Erskine’s work is litigation at the intersection between company, commercial and insolvency law, including: commercial disputes; directors’ disqualification (Carillion) breach of fiduciary duty (BTI v Sequana – Supreme Court; Hewlett Packard and Autonomy v Lynch); breach of duty (ENRC v SFO) and funds disputes (Re Charterhouse Capital; F&C Investments v Barthelemy); and civil fraud and asset recovery (PrivatBank v Kolomoisky & Others) Members have particular expertise in freezing injunctions and other forms of interim relief.
Arbitration work has always been an important part of Erskine Chambers’ Skill set, members of Erskine are increasingly being instructed to appear as arbitrators, where their expertise can be pivotal.
Insolvency: Erskine has a strong reputation for both contentious insolvency and corporate restructuring. Insolvency litigation often involves cross-border issues ( Re Snoozebox Limited [2023], Lehman Brothers Holdings Limited; Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) and Omnia (In Liquidation); Singularis v PwC; PwC v Saad; MF Global; Sturgeon Central Asia Ltd). Restructurings include insolvent schemes of arrangement, administrations and CVAs (Regis UK Limited (in administration); Lazari Properties v New Look; SphinX, Halliwells).Chambers had two teams involved in the litigation arising from the well-known collapse of Carillion, recently described as the largest and most complex trading insolvency in the UK, and the highest profile directors’ disqualification proceedings for many years. The claim against the NEDs (represented by one of the Erskine teams) was abandoned by the Claimant (the Secretary of State) at the door of the Court the day before a 13-week trial in October 2023 – a major triumph for the whole defence team.
Financial services: members undertake both contentious and non-contentious FSMA work. Litigation includes: funds, collective investment schemes and public offers of securities; prospectus liability (RBS rights issue litigation); financial conduct, regulation and enforcement (Lehmans client money) and interest rate swap claims against banks. Non-contentious work includes Part VII business transfers, securitisation and structured finance.
International: Erskine’s work is highly international, whether advising on multi-jurisdictional transactions or litigating complex cross-border disputes (Re Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Ltd and Omnia Ltd [2023] SC (Bda) 57 Civ Jardine Strategic Holdings Limited; Nam Tai Property Inc) Members are active in a large number of offshore jurisdictions, including the Channel Islands, Cayman, BVI, Bermuda, Turks & Caicos, St Vincent and Grenadine, Hong Kong and Singapore and have extensive trial experience, from First Instance to Appellate and Privy Council.
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
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Senior Clerk | Phil Reeves | ||
Clerks | Michael Shillingford | ||
Clerks | Alex Calder | ||
Clerks | Seamus Nixon | ||
Clerks | Jake Taylor | ||
Clerks | Samantha Rouse | ||
Members of Chambers | TODD KC, Michael (1977) (KC-1997) | ||
Members of Chambers | MABB KC, David (1979) (KC-2001) | ||
Members of Chambers | MOORE KC, Martin (1982) (KC-2002) | ||
Members of Chambers | CHIVERS KC, David (1983) (KC-2002) | ||
Members of Chambers | ARDEN KC, Peter (1983) (KC-2006) | ||
Members of Chambers | AGNELLO KC, Raquel (1986) (KC-2009) | ||
Members of Chambers | THOMPSON KC, Andrew (1991) (KC-2014) | ||
Members of Chambers | POTTS KC, James (1994) (KC-2013) | ||
Members of Chambers | THORNTON KC, Andrew (1994) (KC 2020) | ||
Members of Chambers | DAVIES KC, Edward (1998) (KC-2017) | ||
Members of Chambers | SHAW, Ben (2002) (KC-2023) | ||
Members of Chambers | ROBERTS, Catherine (1986) | ||
Members of Chambers | DOUGHERTY, Nigel (1993) | ||
Members of Chambers | HORAN, Stephen (2002) | ||
Members of Chambers | GRIFFITHS, Ben (2004) | ||
Members of Chambers | PARFITT, Matthew (2005) | ||
Members of Chambers | RIVETT, Jack (2010) | ||
Members of Chambers | SCHARNETZKY, Anna (2011) | ||
Members of Chambers | STAYNINGS, Chantelle (2012) | ||
Members of Chambers | BLAKE, Andrew (2012) | ||
Members of Chambers | MCLAUGHLIN, Conor (2017) | ||
Members of Chambers | MORRISON, Philip (2018) | ||
Members of Chambers | WOODS, Seamus (2018) (New Zealand 2013) | ||
Members of Chambers | HALL, TOM (2021) | ||
Members of Chambers | BUTLER, DAN (2021) (Solicitor -2011) | ||
Members of Chambers | SOBCZYK, CARLEEN (2022) | ||
Members of Chambers | LILY CHURCH (2022) | ||
Members of Chambers | SEGAL, Nick (2018) (Solicitor-1982) (Associate Member) |
Barrister Profiles
Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
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Peter Arden KC | Peter is a highly regarded silk, with a focus on insolvency and… | View Profile |
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Andrew Blake | Andrew specialises in company law, commercial litigation, restructuring and corporate insolvency. His… | View Profile |
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Dan Butler | Dan is developing a busy company and insolvency law practice and frequently… | View Profile |
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David Chivers KC | David is a highly experienced, sought-after silk specialising in company law, corporate… | View Profile |
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Lily Church | Lily is developing a busy practice in Chambers’ core areas of practice… | View Profile |
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Edward Davies KC | Edward Davies KC is an experienced commercial litigator, with a strong grounding… | View Profile |
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Nigel Dougherty | Nigel is a highly regarded senior junior. He is particularly sought-after in… | View Profile |
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Ben Griffiths | Ben is a corporate, insolvency and financial law specialist. His expertise spans… | View Profile |
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Tom Hall | Tom is a busy company and insolvency law junior. He is currently… | View Profile |
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Stephen Horan | Stephen’s main areas of practice are company law and related matters of… | View Profile |
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David Mabb KC | View Profile | |
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Conor McLaughlin | Conor is developing a commercial, company and insolvency law practice. Following pupillage… | View Profile |
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Martin Moore KC | Martin is a leading Silk for company law litigation and advice, corporate… | View Profile |
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Philip Morrison | Philip specialises in company and insolvency law; he undertakes instructions across the… | View Profile |
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Matthew Parfitt | Matthew is an advocate, litigator and adviser who specialises in company and… | View Profile |
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Samuel Parsons | Samuel is a specialist insolvency and company law barrister. His practice spans… | View Profile |
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James Potts KC | Company law, corporate insolvency (cross border and domestic), financial services, LLP, partnership… | View Profile |
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Jack Rivett | Jack Rivett has a strong commercial chancery practice, with an emphasis on… | View Profile |
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Catherine Roberts | Specialist in Company Law and commercial litigation involving issues of Company Law,… | View Profile |
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Anna Scharnetzky | Anna specialises in company law, corporate insolvency and corporate finance, as well… | View Profile |
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Nick Segal | Nick has extensive experience in a wide variety of work in commercial… | View Profile |
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Ben Shaw KC | Ben has a busy practice which is divided equally between litigation and… | View Profile |
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Carleen Sobczyk | Carleen is fast developing a commercial, company and insolvency law practice. Upon… | View Profile |
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Chantelle Staynings | Chantelle combines a strong transactional and corporate advisory practice with significant experience… | View Profile |
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Andrew Thompson KC | Andrew is a sought-after, specialist commercial litigator, with particular expertise in: corporate… | View Profile |
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Andrew Thornton KC | Andrew is involved in most of the leading public company M&A transactions… | View Profile |
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Michael Todd KC | Michael specialises in litigation and transactional advice on company law, corporate finance,… | View Profile |
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Ms Olivia Tolson | Olivia accepts instructions in the areas of company, insolvency and commercial law… | View Profile |
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Seamus Woods | Seamus has a broad commercial chancery practice with a particular focus on… | View Profile |
Client Testimonials
TESTIMONIAL: “I regard Erskine Chambers as my first choice set of Counsel to consult on company law related matters. Their Clerks have never been less than excellent in assisting me in over 20 years of instructing Counsel from Erskine. The complexity and variety of matters which Erskine’s Counsel can tackle has also been much wider than pure company law. I have always been guided to the right Counsel and not once been disappointed. I believe that relationship with Counsel and their Clerks is important, as is working as a team on particularly large cases. I have found that in abundance at Erskine.”
TESTIMONIAL: “Erskine Chambers is an excellent set for high-value, complex commercial litigation with particular strengths in company and insolvency issues in the Chancery Division. There is an excellent spread of high quality silks and high quality senior junior counsel in the team with an appreciation of the need to provide the highest levels of service and a good blend of experience and specialist expertise. The ability to put teams together in a single set of chambers for the more complex litigation matters is very useful. I have worked with Erskine Chambers for many years and have never been disappointed with the service levels provided.”
TESTIMONIAL: “Erskine Chambers combines first-rate company law advice with consistently excellent service [and an innovative outlook]. The clerks are friendly, responsive and straight forward to work with. Facilities are well suited to handling conferences in person. For novel or high value company law problems Erskine Chambers remains the first port of call.”
TESTIMONIAL: “I have worked with many members of Erskine Chambers over a number of years, and I have always found both the advice and the service to be exemplary. Their assistance with large offshore matters, in relation to which there is often a paucity of precedent, is invaluable. All of the members of chambers with whom I have dealt have been extremely bright, focused and practical. In my view, Erskine is by far the first choice set for complicated or difficult corporate and related matters.”
Diversity/Community
Erskine Chambers: Diversity/pro bono/CSR
Erskine Chambers is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and fair treatment for all its members, as well as pupils, mini-pupils, employees, clients and the public.
A number of members of Chambers are involved in pro bono activities from time to time, and support several legal charities engaged in law reform and human rights issues.
It is our policy to comply with the rules relating to equality and diversity set out in the Code of Conduct, supplemented by the guidance contained in the Bar Standards Board Handbook Equality Rules. Chambers adheres to a written policy on equality and diversity, and an associated implementation plan. Specific policies designed to promote and protect equality and diversity have been adopted by Chambers in relation to flexible working, recruitment and diversity data collection.
Chambers acknowledges that all its members are entitled to an equal opportunity to develop their practices and to experience the full range of the available work. In order to ensure a fair and equitable allocation of unassigned instructions, and to provide support and guidance in career development and marketing, individual members of chambers meet with the senior clerks on a regular basis (once in every three-month period in the case of junior tenants) to review the nature and development of that member’s practice and to identify any concerns over the fair distribution of work. It is recognised that discriminatory or stereotypical assumptions about the type of work that a member of Chambers might undertake may well be subconscious. To address these considerations, all clerks undertake appropriate equality and diversity training. If any solicitor insists on a discriminatory allocation of work, that instruction will be refused.
The extent to which members of Chambers conduct their practices from Chambers or from home, the hours and days that they choose to work, the length of their holidays and their timing is left to members’ discretion, subject to all members of Chambers providing the level of service which meets the reasonable expectations of Chambers’ clients and prospective clients. Chambers recognises that flexible working practices, such as the ability to work from home, make it easier to combine practice in Chambers with childcare and other domestic responsibilities and therefore facilitates working from home, including through the use of remote access to Chambers’ computer network and access to online research tools.
Chambers is focused upon ensuring equality of opportunity, fair treatment and diversity, in relation to recruitment. For those seeking tenancy, it is not a pre-requisite to have studied company or insolvency law, and Chambers considers candidates with both law and non-law degrees. Two of our most recent tenants did not read law at university. Amongst our members of Chambers we have individuals who have transferred from other professions, including former academics and solicitors. The members of chambers with responsibility for the selection of members of chambers, pupils, clerks, other employees or assessed mini-pupils have been trained in fair recruitment and selection processes.
Erskine Chambers will not tolerate any form of harassment and will take all necessary steps to ensure that its members, pupils, mini-pupils and employees are not subject to harassment. Chambers prohibits any behaviour which causes offence or distress to another and which is perceived by that person as relating to or arising from their race, religion, political belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age and/or which constitutes less favourable treatment on such grounds. Disciplinary action will be taken against any member or employee of chambers found to have harassed a colleague or other person in the conduct of their work.
- Company
Top Tier Set Rankings
- Insolvency
Set Rankings
- The English Bar Offshore > Commercial disputes