3 Verulam Buildings > London, England > Set Profile
3 Verulam Buildings Offices
Chambers of Ewan McQuater KC and David Quest KC
3 Verulam Buildings
GRAY'S INN
LONDON
WC1R 5NT
England
3 Verulam Buildings
GRAY'S INN
LONDON
WC1R 5NT
England
3 Verulam Buildings > The Legal 500 Rankings
London Bar > Art and cultural property Tier 1
Members of 3 Verulam Buildings continue to be involved in a number of high-profile cases and are considered ‘sector specialists’ within the art and cultural property sector. Andrew Onslow KC recently acted as sole counsel for Lord and Lady Wemyss in Wemyss v Simon C Dickinson Ltd, a case concerning alleged professional negligence against an art dealer concerning the sale of a Le Bénédicité painting by Jean Simeon Chardin. Angharad Start has also been very active in this practice area, and is currently representing Dmitry Rybolovlev in his long-running case against Sotheby's concerning an alleged secret profit by Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier.Leading Silks
Rajesh Pillai KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘A very bright and engaging advocate who is particularly strong on his feet. Great on the written and advisory side too.’
Andrew Onslow KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘His assessment of the merits of a case is always right. He has an ability to see long into the future of a case and predict what will happen. He is an excellent go-to when you need to decide if what will be a hugely complex and expensive case should be pursued.’
Leading Juniors
Angharad Start – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Angharad is an exceptionally forceful advocate, and a formidable personality. She has appeared in a number of high-profile art law cases and is highly respected by solicitors in this field.’
Testimonials
‘3VB is an excellent set with excellent counsel.’
‘It is a set with a strong stable of art lawyers from Andrew Onslow at the top end to Sophia Dzwig at the junior end. Few Chambers have as many sector specialists.’
‘The counsel at 3VB are, on the whole, fantastic in the area of art and cultural property. They are a go-to set in this field.’
‘A very helpful clerking team.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Banking and finance (including consumer credit) Tier 1
3 Verulam Buildings are the ‘go-to set for banking litigation‘ with a ‘clear, demonstrable strength in depth‘ in their bench. Members of the set engage on some of the area’s defining cases involving major international banks and prominent individuals. One such example this year is the case of Re an application for directions by Golden Belt 1 Sukuk Company BSC in which Richard Salter KC led Sarah Tulip acted for the claimant bond trustee and its delegate on their application for a declaration that the limitations imposed by the declaration of trust and agency on the power of certificate holders to pass resolutions. Barristers from the set have also been regularly instructed on international and cross-border cases, such as Jonathan Davies-Jones KC and David Simpson representing Siam Commercial Bank in Suppipat v Narongdei, a large civil fraud claim concerning an alleged attempt to wrest control of a wind energy company. Alongside this, the set covers disputes covering all parts of the globe, with significant instructions received from global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Juniors Ravi Jackson and Ryan Ferro are names to watch from the set, with both instructed on high-value, complex banking and finance disputes.Rising stars
Ryan Ferro – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ryan is incredibly capable and operates at a level which is far beyond his call. His attention to detail is first class and he secures results.’
Leading Silks
Andrew Onslow KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Hugely experienced and greatly respected. He commends great respect in the court room and his advocacy is exceptional. Always able to see the points to press and those to concede.'
Ali Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘A persuasive advocate who gets straight to the point.'
Adrian Beltrami KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Adrian has a first-class brain, and commercial and tactical judgement.’
Ewan McQuater KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ewan is a top level banking and financial services silk. He exudes gravitas, has a sharp mind and strong attention to detail and he instinctively knows which points to take and which to leave. He can always see the wood for the trees on complex cases.'
David Quest KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Highly intellectual: a brilliant mind, a creative thinker and a first-rate cross-examiner.’
Adam Kramer KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Adam is a fiercely intelligent and sharp-minded barrister who is as able to deploy clear and persuasive argument in written and oral submission.’
Jonathan Davies-Jones KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Clever, diligent, rolls his sleeves up and doesn’t leave stones unturned. Well-prepared and a good court manner. Nice guy to work with – collaborative.’
Jonathan Nash KC –3 Verulam Buildings 'Immensely intelligent; good and easy communicator across all mediums; client likes him! Effective advocate across written and oral work before court. Great strategic approach to complex litigation which to date has ensured the client's preferred procedural approach to the case has worked out.'
Richard Salter KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Knows the law, and knows his audience and tailors his drafting and submissions to meet them. This makes him very effective.’
Jamie Riley KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Jamie is a true silk. His legal arguments and drafting skills are exceptional. He can certainly pull a rabbit out of a hat in dire situations. He is extremely effective in difficult cases.’
Tom Montagu-Smith KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Tom is an excellent lawyer and draftsman and advocate.’
Peter De Verneuil Smith KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘His straightforward and engaging manner wins the trust of the court. He is a genuine expert on section 90 and 90A FSMA claims.’
Hodge Malek KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Hodge is always well-prepared and ready and willing to get into the details in preparing for a case or in advising the client. He is very pragmatic and honest in his assessment, which is truly appreciated by the lay client. He is simply excellent and top-notch. Excellent as well in dealing with cultural differences given legal practice in Asia which is a rare skill.’
Nicholas Craig KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Nick is a confident and effective advocate. Good and clear advice; great at thinking around issues a finding practical solutions. Very user friendly.’
David Head KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘David is a very engaging advocate, and is great at reading a judge and knowing what tone to strike in key moments. He is a fantastic person to deal with and is very personable. His written submissions are persuasive and compelling.'
Saima Hanif KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Saima is a shrewd operator who provides clear and concise legal advice combined with strategic nous – her wealth of experience in the area shines through in the advice she gives and helpfully informs her opinions.’
Ian Wilson KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ian presents clearly to clients, who take great confidence from his counsel. He is a go-to advocate for banking appeals and a class act.’
Matthew Parker KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Matthew is an excellent advocate – balancing strong legal rigour with personable skills; he achieves results while remaining a pleasure for solicitors and clients to work with.’
Andrew Sutcliffe KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Andrew has a gravitas that means he can be put in front of a board of directors and immediately command their respect. His work as a Deputy High Court Judge gives him a perspective that others lack. His advocacy is of the highest order and the fact that he is also a warm and kind person makes him very easy to work with.’
Rajesh Pillai KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Very bright, he identifies and gets into the key issues quickly. He brings a great deal of common sense and practicality to the team - he is responsive and approachable for any member of the instructing firm. An effective advocate who reads the court well.’
2022 Silks
Farhaz Khan KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘He brings a practical analysis to complex disputes, breaking things down into user friendly work product, which is great for client management. He has an excellent sense of judgment and how a court would weigh the arguments.'
Leading Juniors
Scott Ralston –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Very intelligent with a forensic attention to detail. Certainly someone you would want in your corner.’
William Edwards –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Very insightful and reliable on the way a court is likely to look at something.’
Liisa Lahti –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Very user-friendly, she understands the commercial pressures of the clients that she works with and is an outstanding team player. Clients thoroughly enjoy working with Liisa. She is incredibly smart, dedicated and commercially minded.’
Hannah Glover – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Meticulous, pragmatic and extremely capable.'
Lisa Lacob –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Lisa is highly intelligent, great with clients and passionate in all she does. Lisa goes above and beyond for her clients - she is always contactable, offers quick advice when needed and very commercial is her overall strategy.'
William Day – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Extremely intelligent and able to distil large quantities of information and complex law into clear summaries – both orally and in writing.’
Charlotte Eborall –3 Verulam Buildings ‘She is a superb barrister with a great mix of analytical skills whilst also client friendly. Her drafting is thorough, precise and persuasive. She is a fine advocate. An understated, collected but effective style which plays well with the Judiciary.'
David Simpson –3 Verulam Buildings ‘David is an indispensable member of any legal team. He is completely across the detail and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law, so can therefore provide sound strategic advice, spotting potential obstacles before they arise. He is also down to earth and user friendly.’
Mark Wassouf – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Mark is solutions-driven and practical in his advice, and is very responsive.’
Christopher Burdin – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Christopher is a fantastic junior. He is an excellent lawyer, he has a brilliant grip of both detail and big-picture strategy, his drafting is universally first-class and he is a great person to be stuck in the trenches with.’
Alexia Knight –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Alexia’s knowledge of this area is great, and she is good with clients.’
Cleon Catsambis – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Cleon is a diligent barrister and develops a great control over documents and facts in a case such that he is an asset to any legal team. He is a great asset to the team.’
Sarah Tulip – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Sarah is a force of positivity. She attacks all problems with a smile and enormous energy. Her legal reasoning is spot-on and she gets to grips very quickly with extremely complicated problems. She is greatly in demand as a junior for all of these reasons and has a fantastic future ahead of her.’
Adam Temple –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Adam is a pleasure to work with, speedy in turning around complex and difficult pleadings and advisory work, highly articulate and clever with a real eye for detail and a deep knowledge of the legal principles and authorities on specialist areas of practice that the case have thrown up.’
James Potts – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Brilliant advocate. Unflappable on his feet – exudes calmness. Very responsive. Written work is excellent. Clear and succinct.’
Rebecca Zaman –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Impressive junior who is able to distil in clear and understandable terms complex and lengthy issues. A pleasure to work with.’
Richard Hanke –3 Verulam Buildings ‘A very strong performer. Richard is incredibly bright and his written work is of the highest quality. He is user friendly, responsive and hard working. His advice is always clear and considered and he is excellent on his feet. Very popular with instructing solicitors and clients and a real asset. Strongly recommended.'
Philip Hinks – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Polished and articulate, he prepares strong submissions on technical areas of foreign law.’
Theodor Van Sante – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Theodore has great knowledge of statutory regimes.’
Testimonials
‘3VB have an excellent clerking team. Richard Ansell is a standout and is always accommodating and on point with his recommendations. He and his team always ensure that service levels are high and response times and delivery are as expected.’
‘3VB’s clerks are responsive and easy to work with.’
‘3VB are the go to set for banking litigation. They have a clear, demonstrable strength in depth and I have instructed barrister from all ranges of the call spectrum. Their training sessions are always excellent.’
‘A friendly set, with real strengths in the banking arena.’
‘Good for financial services litigation.’
‘3VB have a high calibre of advocates and are often one of the first chambers I look to instruct in relation to complex banking and finance litigation.’
‘Strong chambers at all levels.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Commercial litigation Tier 1
‘A very good, go-to set, with true bench strength at all levels‘, 3 Verulam Buildings routinely acts in large-value, multi-jurisdictional, complex cases, both at all levels of the English court system and globally. In the leading 2023 COVID-19 business interruption test case London International Exhibition Centre v RSA and others, Adam Kramer KC and rising star William Day acted for the lead claimants. In Argentum Exploration Ltd v The Republic of South Africa, Liisa Lahti was part of the legal team that successfully represented treasure hunters, who resisted South Africa’s state immunity claims in relation to 2,391 bars of silver salvaged from the wreck of the SS Tilawa, which was sunk during World War II. Elsewhere in chambers, Christopher Harris KC and James McWilliams, in Labrador Marine Corporation v Petroserv Marine Inc, are acting for Petroserv in major Commercial Court proceedings concerning Labrador’s entitlement to substantial sums under a promissory note.Rising stars
William Day –3 Verulam Buildings ‘As well as being a fantastic advocate and legal adviser, Will embodies team spirit. He absolutely gets it when it comes to pressure to deliver on time in challenging circumstances, and will do all he can to help the client achieve its objective.’
Ravi Jackson - 3 Verulam Buildings 'A junior who is a star of the future. The work he does is far ahead of his years of call, showing enormous wisdom and judgement. He is a hardworking, highly intelligent lawyer, with superb drafting skills and excellent strategic nous.'
Dominic Kennelly – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Extremely technically detailed. A methodical and persuasive advocate who knows the detail and brings the judge on side.‘
Leading Silks
Ewan McQuater KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ewan is a really high-class operator and at the top of the market. He has a very clear strategic view, but is not afraid to get into the details. His advocacy is always persuasive, and he knows instinctively which points to press and which to leave behind.’
Ali Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings
'Understands how judges think and has a unique ability to understand clients' commercial imperatives.'
David Quest KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘A favourite KC – David is fearsomely bright and tenacious, and with an urbane courtroom style.’
Hodge Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Great advocate, excellent strategist, and very good with clients.’
David Head KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Clear, concise and commercial. A great team player, who is an intelligent, articulate and persuasive advocate.’
Andrew Sutcliffe KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Andrew delivers very clear and decisive advice. There is no sitting on the fence.’
Matthew Hardwick KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Matthew is a details person, but to a different degree. His preparation, even by the standards of the best KCs is truly exceptional. No stone is left unturned in any way. He is also very user friendly and accessible. A real team player who immediately earns and retains claimants' respect and confidence.’
Peter De Verneuil Smith KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Peter remains good-humoured and approachable through very challenging processes. He is able to get to grips with legally and factually complicated scenarios without skipping a beat. ’
Adam Kramer KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Adam is an all-round superstar. He is a true expert across a wide number of areas and balances it all whilst being exceptionally user-friendly and making himself available, even when in a trial on another matter.’
Christopher Harris KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Brilliant, very clever and user-friendly.‘
Nicholas Craig KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘A very user-friendly silk – a no-nonsense barrister who gets the job done.‘
Rajesh Pillai KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Raj is incredibly strong on his feet - equally comfortable in cross-examination as he is in appellate submissions.'
Andrew Fletcher KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Very professional in handling disputes and he has a deep understanding of what the client needs.’
Leading Juniors
Richard Hanke –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Richard is extremely incisive. His advocacy is excellent and his written work is of the highest quality. He is a silk in waiting.’
George McPherson –3 Verulam Buildings ‘He has exceptional written advocacy skills, which are in advance of what one would expect of someone of his vintage.’
Can Yeginsu – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Can is a superb commercial senior junior who is a dream to instruct. He really comes into his own as an advocate against silks in the Commercial Court and is a great cross-examiner. Clients love him, opponents respect him, and judges listen to him. Absolutely top class.’
James McWilliams –3 Verulam Buildings ‘James is a confident advocate, who shows good judgement. He is also good on his legal analysis and a pleasure to work with.’
Lisa Lacob –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Lisa is highly intelligent, great with clients, and goes above and beyond for her clients - she is always contactable, offers quick advice when needed, and very commercial in her overall strategy. Her advocacy and written work are equally impressive, and she can do both to an exceptional standard.’
Philip Hinks –3 Verulam Buildings ‘One of the best and most sought-after juniors in relation to commercial litigation disputes. He is always responsive and is adept at devising creative solutions for clients. His advocacy is measured and calm, which typically builds a good rapport with judges. He is always on top of the facts and works relentlessly to fight for the client.’
William Edwards – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘William is extremely intelligent and able to advance sophisticated arguments in support of a client's position. He is tenacious in seeking out resolutions for clients, and willing to think outside the box to find workable solutions. His advocacy is impressive, and he is very able and quick on his feet when addressing complex and challenging questioning from appeal judges.‘
Hannah Glover – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Hannah is excellent. Extremely responsive, pragmatic, and all over the detail.’
Testimonials
‘Stephen Penson and Stuart Pullum are superb clerks. They intimately understand clients’ needs and are adept at suggesting the best candidates for the mandates at hand – a very strong clerking team.’
‘The clerks are wonderfully helpful. Stephen Penson and Stuart Pullum are amongst the best clerks in London.’
‘Stephen Penson and Lucy Burrows are a dream to work with – responsive, available (even at odd hours) and supremely helpful.’
‘3VB is a very good, go-to set, with true bench strength at all levels.‘
‘Great strength in depth and an impressive junior roster.‘
‘3VB is strong on a number of levels.‘
‘3VB is a set of choice. They have incredible strength in depth and their clerking is second to none.‘
‘The juniors are great and 3VB is rightly renowned as one of the leading sets.‘
Work highlights
London Bar > Financial services regulation Tier 1
With ‘genuine strength in depth’, 3 Verulam Buildings is ‘one of the pre-eminent financial services regulation sets’; highly active across both the contentious side, including FCA investigations, market misconduct and judicial review, as well as non-contentious regulatory matters. 2021 silk Saima Hanif KC has a stellar reputation for acting against financial regulators, while 2022 silk Farhaz Khan KC continues to undertake high-profile work in the area of non-financial misconduct proceedings and investigations. Adam Temple is known for representing regulators and did so in FCA v Steel, the FCA has sought to use s.382 of FSMA to obtain restitution orders against shareholders of regulated firms.Leading Silks
Hodge Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Hodge is the go-to financial services barrister. He is an intellectual powerhouse who is clearly at the top of his game, commanding the respect of his clients, opponents and the courts.’
2022 Silks
Farhaz Khan KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘An absolute class act, with a deep knowledge of financial services matters. Charismatic and user-friendly.'
Leading Juniors
Adam Temple –3 Verulam Buildings 'Adam is incredibly quick to get on top of a vast amount of detail, marshalling it with consummate ease. He works enormously hard and has excellent judgement. His calm and purposeful cross-examination is highly effective and his advocacy matches his outstanding written work.'
Philip Hinks –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Philip is a superb communicator who provides clear and precise advice in all situations. He is a pragmatic but firm advocate who is able to think quickly on his feet.’
Robert Purves –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Robert has absolute expertise in financial services matters, I do not know anyone with the same level of expertise.’
Charlotte Eborall –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Charlotte is extremely forensic with an excellent understanding of financial services. She produces excellent drafts, and is the perfect balance of intellect, pragmatism and client service.’
James Potts – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘James is absolutely first-rate and knows and understands financial services regulation, including basic compliance across the areas on money laundering, fraud and sanctions. He is hard working and over the years he has developed a deeper understanding of the sector and all the sorts of things to look for.’
Theodor van Sante –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Responsive and quick, very pleasant to deal with. Theodor is collaborative and provides clear and accurate written advice which identifies how legal issues impact on clients in practical and commercial terms.’
Cleon Catsambis –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Cleon has great experience in financial services law and is trusted by clients and the court alike.’
Teniola Onabanjo – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Teniola is an outstanding lawyer, with a confident grasp of highly complex legal concepts and an excellent drafting style. She has reliably good judgement and an unusual ability to make powerful points in a low-key way, which is very effective.’
Testimonials
‘The clerks are very efficient and straightforward to work with. I have been impressed by the thoughtful and considered approach of Richard Ansell.’
‘The clerks are 3VB are first rate. Stuart Pullum and Steve Penson are senior clerks leading the room. Clients adore them and they are absolute superstars.’
‘The clerks at 3VB are almost without exception professional and accommodating. Steve Penson and Stuart Pullum lead by example and when problems arise they are faced head on.’
‘3VB have great strength in financial services and financial regulatory work – they are one of the top sets in this area.’
‘Courageous and pragmatic set, with excellent client service. A depth of knowledge and resource in the regulatory contentious space.’
‘Great strength in depth for financial services regulatory work.’
‘3VB are one of the pre-eminent financial services regulation sets. They have a lot of great barristers with experience in this area.’
‘3VB has genuine strength in depth. Their tendency to recruit former solicitors means that a number of their baby juniors have experience that others lack.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Fraud: civil Tier 1
3 Verulam Buildings has ‘a strong civil fraud practice, particularly for cases involving banking fraud‘. The set was recently particularly active in litigation surrounding several very high-value frauds involving the Covid-related furlough scheme and business loans. In other areas, David Head KC is defending Dimitrios Tsouvelekakis against a substantial claim, which alleges that he acted fraudulently in relation to advice on discretionary investment trusts. In a multi-jurisdictional dispute over Russia’s largest fishing business, Hodge Malek KC defended Vitaly Orlov, CEO and co-founder of the Norebo Group, against complex fraud and conspiracy claims brought by Alexander Tugushev. Elsewhere in chambers, Ewan McQuater KC is leading a substantial counsel team that includes David Quest KC and rising star William Day, in defending the interests of Dubai Islamic Bank and Noor Bank, further to the 2020 collapse of the NMC Healthcare group, which is said to have been the subject of a massive fraud by its management. Juniors building notable fraud practices include Sophia Dzwig, Ryan Ferro and Ravi Jackson.Rising stars
Sophia Dzwig – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Sophia is absolutely top drawer. On top of her brief and her written work is particularly strong.‘
Ravi Jackson – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ravi is the real deal, able way beyond his year of call, bright as a button, and with excellent judgement for one so junior.‘
William Day – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘A hugely impressive junior with a very bright future. Very clever and strategic, but also superb to work with.‘
Ryan Ferro – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ryan is an exceptional junior barrister – he works prodigiously hard and his powers of analysis are second to none. Very much one to watch for the future.‘
Leading Silks
Ewan McQuater KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Bright, strategic and articulate. A go-to banking, civil fraud and insolvency disputes silk.’
Ali Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘The leading civil fraud KC in London. Ali has seen it all and understands how judges think.‘
David Head KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘A charmingly ruthless operator – he gets straight to the nub of the issue and is equally happy and impressive before judges and clients.’
Andrew Onslow KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Andrew is a ferocious advocate and highly effective cross-examiner. He is also an incredible court room strategist that knows how to manage long and complex trials to maximum effect.’
Hodge Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Extraordinarily knowledgeable and highly experienced, fine-tuned by his sitting as deputy judge. Always calm and an advocate whom the court can trust.’
Hefin Rees KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘He has excellent research skills and is very thorough. He is an equally careful advocate.’
Matthew Parker KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Very intelligent and a real strategic thinker.’
Adam Kramer KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Adam is exceptional. He sees angles that nobody else can, and is frightfully efficient in turning work.‘
Peter De Verneuil Smith KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘A brilliant fraud silk, immensely engaging, and a delight to work with in every respect.'
Leading Juniors
Philip Hinks –3 Verulam Buildings ‘A very user-friendly and highly-skilled junior, and one of the best and most sought-after juniors in relation to fraud disputes. His advocacy is measured and calm, which typically builds a good rapport with judges.’
James McWilliams –3 Verulam Buildings ‘James shows great judgement and has strong advocacy skills. He is also very analytical.’
Yash Bheeroo –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Wise beyond his years, and able to master his brief and all details. A calm and persuasive advocate, and a phenomenal performer in all areas.’
James Potts –3 Verulam Buildings ‘James is excellent. He is thorough and very hardworking.’
Lisa Lacob – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Lisa is highly intelligent, great with clients, and passionate in all she does. She goes above and beyond for her clients, and her advocacy and written work are equally impressive.‘
Pia Dutton – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Pia brings great energy and determination to a case, and she has excellent knowledge of the law and remedies. Pia combines a good legal brain with solid judgement to deliver results in a client-friendly manner.‘
Emmanuel Sheppard – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Emmanuel is extremely intelligent, engaging, responsive, meticulous, and creative. He becomes an expert on the subject matter of the dispute, regardless of how obscure they sometimes are, and gets to grips with issues quickly and effectively.‘
Georges Chalfoun – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Georges is a very capable written and oral advocate. A great team player with a phenomenal work rate – always adds value, and will always be in high demand for big-ticket cases.‘
Liisa Lahti – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Liisa is a hardworking, driven and diligent junior with excellent powers of analysis and good judgement. Her written work is first rate, and she has impressive skills with clients and instructing solicitor teams.’
Testimonials
‘Best in London. Stuart Pullum goes out of his way to help, no matter the size of the brief.‘
‘Steve Penson is very user friendly and commercial.‘
‘James Kelly is excellent in fixing hearings and arranging things with the court.‘
‘3VB has a strong civil fraud practice, particularly for cases involving banking fraud.‘
‘The whole clerking team is incredibly pragmatic and commercially minded.‘
‘Excellent – responsive and commercial.‘
‘3VB offers a cornucopia of talent – brilliant minds but also brilliantly normal. There is always a specialist to help.‘
‘A very good and trusted set. Clients are very impressed with 3VB generally.‘
Work highlights
London Bar > International arbitration: counsel Tier 1
3 Verulam Buildings is ‘first-class’ and has become ‘the go-to set for international arbitration in London’ for many. With strong recruits in recent years, most notably Zachary Douglas KC and Can Yeginsu, the set ‘has an excellent reputation for arbitration arising from its strength-in-depth of top practitioners’ at all levels of seniority. In synergy with its public international law expertise, chambers built a significant portfolio of the most high-profile and politically sensitive commercial and investment treaty arbitrations across a range of sectors and arbitral rules. Recent highlights include a highly politically sensitive investment treaty arbitration brought by Qatar Pharma in which Christopher Harris KC, leading Mark Wassouf , acted for the government of Saudi Arabia. Douglas KC acted for the claimant in LLC Lugzor v Russian Federation, a dispute relating to the expropriation of Ukrainian investments in Crimea upon Russia’s illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014. Georges Chalfoun, led by Harris KC, is acting for Nova Group Investments B.V. v Romania, an ICSID claim arising out of the expropriation of Romanian insurer Astra Asigurări.Rising stars
Judy Fu –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Judy is fantastic. A superb advocate who already has a fearsome reputation, no quantum expert wants to be cross-examined by her.’
Miriam Schmelzer – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Miriam is a very strong junior; insightful, strategically smart and decisive. She is excellent – thorough and can always be relied upon to see every possible argument in a case.’
Leading Silks
Ali Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ali is an excellent user-friendly lawyer who is a pleasure to work with, accessible and has a commanding presence in court; he demonstrates strong commitment to the wider legal team, and is an effective and persuasive advocate who has an uncanny ability to read his tribunal. Ali’s strength is in his very smooth and measured delivery, and he never fails to impress with his ability to spot the points that will matter most to the tribunal, and to deal effectively with them.’
Christopher Harris KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Christopher is the standout leader in investment treaty arbitration. He is fearless and his advocacy style is extraordinarily compelling. He is one of the best cross-examiners at the Bar and has very strong judgement.’
Jonathan Nash KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Very smooth and controlled, a pleasure to listen to in hearings and a reassuring presence with clients.’
Andrew Onslow KC –3 Verulam Buildings 'Great. Absolutely brilliant.'
Jonathan Davies-Jones KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Jonathan is one of the leading advocates of his generation. He is extremely convincing on his feet and demands attention of tribunals. His ability to think on his feet is second-to-none, as is his advocacy style and temperament.’
Nicholas Craig KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Nick is a forceful advocate. He is commercial, user-friendly and has a strong command of the law. His oral advocacy is extremely effective.’
Leading Juniors
Can Yeginsu – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Can clearly stands out with exceptionally clear, sharp and eloquent pleadings, best in his class by some distance and already operating at KC level. Can is one of the most gifted oral advocates at the London Bar – authoritative, incisive, and phenomenally effective with witnesses. He is a natural leader who sets a terrific example.’
Tariq Baloch –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Tariq is super-smart, super approachable, straight-forward and is one of the few barristers with a strategic and tactical brain as well as book-smarts. He writes beautifully: crisp and to the point, and is a master absorbing what is key to the client and their case and relaying it to the court or tribunal and his advocacy is superb: logical, smooth, easy to follow and persuasive. One of the best advocates around.’
Mark Wassouf –3 Verulam Buildings 'Mark is sharp, commercial and a gifted advocate. Nothing is too difficult for him. He is rapidly becoming recognised more widely as a future superstar for international arbitration, cannot be recommended highly enough.'
Georges Chalfoun –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Georges’ acumen in international arbitration is hugely impressive, and he is a joy to work with.’
Cameron Miles –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Cameron is a very strong junior, particularly in preparing written submissions and contributing to team strategy.’
Dominic Kennelly –3 Verulam Buildings ‘He is incredibly hardworking and knowledgeable. His paperwork is brilliant and his advocacy superb.’
Damien Walker – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘He is the best barrister. Besides having a brilliant legal mind, he is commercially oriented and quite analytical with his analyses. His work is outstanding.’
Testimonials
‘Stuart Pullum is one of the best clerks I have encountered: polite, honest and straight forward, incredibly knowledgeable about the market and the advocates in his stable. He has no hesitation in telling you pros/cons to get the right person, and even learns a but about the case.’
‘Excellent and dynamic leadership with Stuart Pullum, Steven Penson, and Lucy Burrows.’
‘Very user-friendly, switched-on; committed to excellent service provision.’
‘Stuart Pullum and Steve Penson really understand the international arbitration market and there is no complacency at 3VB. I will usually go to them first for a matter and then deal with individual barrister’s clerks.’
‘3VB is a pre-eminent arbitration set. There is huge strength in depth.’
‘3VB distinguishes itself by having juniors who can step up without a KC in commercial arbitrations. 3VB is showing great thought leadership with its annual London lecture. And the set has a growing following in North America, especially from firms in New York and Washington.’
‘3VB is very strong across the board but what stands out is the arbitration offering and the strength of the junior bench’
‘3VB is now the top Chambers for international arbitration in London.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Public international law Tier 1
With the arrival of Zachary Douglas KC and Can Yeginsu, 3 Verulam Buildings ‘has really moved up from being a strong set for public international law to one of the two or three top sets in London’, with ‘unrivalled bench strength’ and outstanding capabilities in international investment treaty disputes, in which Tariq Baloch is particularly sought after. Yeginsu acts for states, international organisations, including the UN, and non-governmental bodies, advising on investment treaty arbitration, international claims commissions and reparations, and matters of diplomatic and state immunity. He currently acts as lead counsel to international media outlet Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty in its challenge to the Russian Federation’s designation of the organisation as a “foreign agent”. Christopher Harris KC maintains a busy practice with significant instructions as lead counsel in a variety of major international investment disputes as well as in complex enforcement proceedings. Cameron Miles, with particular expertise in investment treaty arbitration and state immunity questions arising in English courts, is advancing into the inter-state arena with high-level instructions in the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the ICJ.Leading Silks
Zachary Douglas KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘He is the finest public international law lawyer. His analysis of BITs and his incisive discussion of evidentiary issues place him above all others.'
Leading Juniors
Can Yeginsu – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Can is currently the PIL superstar junior at the London Bar. His academic credentials are superb, a first-rate advocate combining the gravitas of the university professor with the crisp presentation of a London Silk - there is no area he does not have an encyclopaedic knowledge of - whether on issues of state immunity, consular law, investment treaties, or international human rights.’
Mark Wassouf –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Mark has an impressive understanding of public international law as well as clear and persuasive drafting. He is an affable person to work with and his advice, particularly on state immunity issues, is spot on – a charming and clever barrister who will go far.’
Cameron Miles –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Amazing work ethic, complete grasp of the facts with almost perfect recall, extensive knowledge of public international law, boundless enthusiasm.’
Tariq Baloch –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Tariq is a thoughtful and persuasive advocate. He is good at thinking outside the box and adopts an innovative approach. He is also collegial and client-focused in his delivery.’
Testimonials
‘Very good. Stuart Pullum and Steve Penson really understand the market – excellent clerks.’
‘Great clerks – especially Samantha Jones and Stuart Pullum.’
‘Stuart Pullum understands the PIL market and the clerking room has brilliant leaders in the team, including Steven Penson and Lucy Burrows.’
‘3VB has risen to the status of a top London set in public international law with some top senior recruitment in this area and some very strong juniors rising through the ranks (Cameron Miles and Mark Wassouf).’
‘This is no longer a set that views public international law as an extension of its investment arbitration offering. It is a full-service magic circle set for public international law.’
‘3VB has a number of PIL superstars.’
‘They put out top quality legal advocacy, both written and oral.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Crypto and blockchain assets Tier 1
3 Verulam Buildings has a number of members with experience of civil fraud and regulatory work in the crypto space. Hodge Malek KC has expertise in domestic and international compliance reviews for cryptocurrency businesses, while Adam Temple is knowledgeable on the new cryptoasset registration regime, by which the Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for registering cryptoasset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. David Quest KC is a lead author on the landmark UK Jurisdiction Taskforce Legal Statement on Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts, setting out the current state of the law on the proprietary status of cryptoassets and the enforceability of smart contracts. James Potts is noted for the instructions he has received by leading cryptoasset exchanges in the UK and the United Arab Emirates, as well as individuals and companies involved in crypto disputes.Leading Silks
Hodge Malek KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘He is a master tactician and sees new angles to cases that no-one else does. As an advocate, he is assured and breaks everything down to make it simple and compelling for the judge.’
David Quest KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Great in grasping the issues and breaking them down in practical analysis.’
Leading Juniors
Chloë Bell – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Very bold, imaginative and willing to take a punchy or robust position. Very user-friendly, she is forging an excellent reputation for herself.’
James Potts – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Great for crypto and general commercial. Gives assured and confident advice and knows all there is to know on crypto work.’
Testimonials
‘Stephen Penson and Stuart Pullum are brilliant senior clerks. Among the best in the top sets.’
‘3VB are one of my favourite sets. Quality from top to bottom.’
‘One of the best sets for financial services matters.’
London Bar > Group litigation Tier 2
With its focus in the group litigation space on matters crossing over with the set’s financial litigation expertise, 3 Verulam Buildings is described by clients as ‘go-to set for banking and group litigation matters‘. Andrew Onslow KC is representing hundreds of former customers in proceedings against Clydesdale Bank and its parent company National Australia Bank, while Jonathan Nash KC is instructed to represent the lead claimant group against the Ingenious group and their financial advisors in a multi-party case alleging misrepresentation and negligent advice in regard to the tax treatment of a number of film production partnerships. Nash KC is also representing a group of investors in a high value Section 90 and Section 90a Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 claim for losses arising from the decline in the share price of Barclays Bank plc following the discovery of misconduct in its New York ‘dark pool’ trading operation.Leading Silks
Jonathan Nash KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘One of the best for leading a massive group litigation team at the whole Bar, calm under pressure and unflappably brilliant.'
Peter De Verneuil Smith KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘One of the top gurus in the area, with a real understanding of how claimant institutional investors think - and how defendants think. Suave, cool, calm and collected in court.
Andrew Onslow KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Andrew is the consummate silk – exceptionally bright, sharp-witted, at once simultaneously across the detail and big picture strategy, and a delight to work with.’
Adam Kramer KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Highly intelligent and grasps complex financial arrangements very quickly. Very good at distilling and articulating complex information in a way a lay person would understand.’
Testimonials
‘Stuart Pullum is responsive.’
‘3VB has a number of barristers that are fantastic in financial and banking litigation. ‘
‘3 VB have a growing reputation in this field.’
‘3VB are excellent and a go-to set on banking and group litigation matters. They have many of the top silks and juniors in the area. For business/institutional group actions, probably has the greatest strength-in-depth of any other set. But they are also no slouch on consumer group actions with a commercial element.’
‘3VB are a strong set for group litigation.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Insolvency Tier 2
3 Verulam Buildings is known for its members having ‘great gravitas and reputation for contentious insolvency work,‘ with the set often involved in multi-jurisdictional insolvency disputes. In Lehman Brothers Holdings plc, Adrian Beltrami KC was instructed to represent the insolvent bank in ongoing waterfall disputes about the distribution of surpluses within the Lehman estate. Ewan McQuater KC was involved in NMC Healthcare Limited v Dubai Islamic Bank, the Middle East’s largest ongoing insolvency, where he led a counsel team in defending the interests of a Dubai Islamic Bank and Noor Bank in litigation concerning the collapse of the health company, alleged to be caused by fraud on the part of the company’s chairman. Looking at the juniors, Philip Hinks is noted for his work in Harrington Trading Company Ltd v Mehta, in which he acted for seven companies in liquidation and their joint liquidators in their claim that the proceeds of US$1bn of loans of gold bullion were misappropriated and laundered through a global network of companies.Leading Silks
Ewan McQuater KC –3 Verulam Buildings 'Very intelligent, thorough, focused on winning and an excellent advocate.'
Adrian Beltrami KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘He is sharp, pragmatic, constructive and commercial and a pleasure to work with. His advocacy is intelligent and measured and he commands the respect of the bench.'
Matthew Hardwick KC –3 Verulam Buildings 'Matthew's strength is his ability to dive into a complex case and very quickly identify the key issues and what matters the judge would like want parties to address. He is extremely sharp and hardworking, as well as patience in trying to explain the issues to client.'
Andrew Sutcliffe KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Andrew is incredibly bright, user-friendly, hard-working, completely unflappable and also a delight to have on the team. He has a unique charm when on his feet and presents his cases with charisma, clarity and eloquence. Andrew is also a real champion of those working with and around him and inspires others to pull together and work hard.’
Ian Wilson KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ian is a class act. He presents clearly and commercially to clients, who take great confidence from his counsel. An excellent advocate for banking appeals.’
Jamie Riley KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Commercial, responsive and sensible and a powerful advocate.’
Leading Juniors
William Day – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Will is definitely one of the rising stars of the commercial Chancery field. His greatest strength is his considerable intellect, which is combined with evident confidence and enthusiasm. Like many of the very best barristers, his oral and written skills are equally strong.’
Philip Hinks –3 Verulam Buildings 'Phil is practical and thorough. He gets gets to the nub of the problem quickly and comes up with sensible solutions. He is approachable and always happy to discuss and explain the reasoning he has used to come up with his proposed solutions.'
Angharad Start –3 Verulam Buildings 'She is a powerful litigator, has an excellent commercial skills and a keen legal brain. He advocacy is measured and attractive.'
James McWilliams –3 Verulam Buildings ‘James is particularly good for claims where there is a cross-over with insolvency and fraud because of his experience with both. He has good judgement, is good on the law and is a fine advocate.’
Testimonials
‘The clerks at 3VB are without exception professional and accommodating. Steve Penson, Stuart Pullum and Lucy Burrows lead by example. When problems arise they are faced head on. Fee negotiations are usually fair and transparent. It is also good to see a woman in a senior position.
‘Excellent clerks – very responsive and knowledgeable.’
‘Efficient.’
‘The clerks are good. Responsive and commercial.’
‘Incredible strength in depth when it comes to counsel with financial services experience.’
‘3VB has genuine strength in depth. Their tendency to recruit former solicitors means that a number of their baby juniors have experience that others lack. Their ability to cover a wide range of commercial and financial services work makes them one of our first choice sets.’
‘Great gravitas and reputation for contentious insolvency work.’
‘Generally a strong set for insolvency work.’
Work highlights
London Bar > International arbitration: arbitrators Tier 2
3 Verulam Buildings is ‘one of the premier sets at the English commercial Bar’ with esteemed members recognised for their extensive experience handling the whole spectrum of arbitration proceedings with wide-ranging sectorial and geographical reach. Amongst the most in-demand arbitrators are Ali Malek KC who has a track record of presiding over ICSID cases, Zachary Douglas KC, whose experience as an arbitrator ranges from commercial to public international law matters, Christopher Symons KC
, a full time international commercial arbitrator and Jane Davies Evans, a dual-qualified barrister and chartered accountant, with expertise in energy disputes, construction and commercial disputes. Alongside a busy arbitration counsel practice, Christopher Harris KC has become an increasingly sought-after arbitrator in commercial and investment arbitration matters across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Leading arbitrators
Christopher Symons KC
–3 Verulam Buildings ‘He is a delight to sit with. He is conspicuously fair, measured, calm, reassuring and succinct. High regard for him.'
–3 Verulam Buildings ‘He is a delight to sit with. He is conspicuously fair, measured, calm, reassuring and succinct. High regard for him.'
Elizabeth Birch –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Elizabeth is totally and utterly calm: she ticks all the boxes you want from an arbitrator.’
–3 Verulam Buildings ‘Elizabeth is totally and utterly calm: she ticks all the boxes you want from an arbitrator.’Leading counsel as arbitrators
Ali Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘One of the star barristers and arbitrators practising at the commercial Bar. Hugely experienced, but also approachable, practical and very party-friendly, with brilliant judgement and a quiet authority. A true pleasure to work with.'
Zachary Douglas KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Fabulous arbitrator, extremely well-prepared and efficient, sensible, great with the parties, making them feel they have been able to present their case properly such that the losing party really feels they have been listened to, writes beautifully and quickly, and charming to sit with.’
Christopher Harris KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Flexible in his approach to procedural matters, party-friendly with a firm control but light touch on the management of a case. An excellent arbitrator and a pleasure to work with.'
Work highlights
London Bar > Professional negligence Tier 2
3 Verulam Buildings has a strong specialism in commercial related professional negligence claims. Andrew Onslow KC acts for the claimants in a case where hundreds of former customers of Clydesdale Bank have sued Clydesdale and its parent company, National Australia Bank, for fraud and negligence, alleging that they were misled about their liability to pay swap breakage costs to Clydesdale on early termination or restructuring of business loans. Additionally, Ali Malek KC currently acts for one of the defendants, ED&F Mann Capital Markets Limited, on a £1.5 billion claim brought by the Danish Customs and Tax Administration, which claims professional negligence and negligence concerning allegedly fraudulent application for the refund of dividend withholding tax - the matter is against the backdrop of the dispute between SKAT and Solo Capital Partners, concerning what is alleged by the Danish authorities to be a "cum-ex" fraud.Leading Silks
Thomas Weitzman KC –3 Verulam Buildings 'Tom is rightly a very successful and popular barrister. He is very technically-adept, but he combines that skill with very sound judgement as to strategy and an ability to explain his views clearly to the client and win them over.'
Andrew Onslow KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Incredibly easy to work with and understands what the clients want. Tremendous presence in court. Manages his team really well.'
Matthew Hardwick KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Matthew is a brilliant advocate who is incredibly impressive to watch. He is all over the details and the law. He is a highly persuasive advocate and a true champion of the commercial Bar.’
Hefin Rees KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Hefin is a clear thinker who has excellent drafting skills and is easy to work with.’
Adrian Beltrami KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Adrian is an excellent, imperturbable advocate that commands the attention of everyone in the court including the judge and his peers. He is extremely client friendly and instils confidence in all those he speaks with.'
Ali Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘A persuasive advocate who gets straight to the point.’
David Head KC –3 Verulam Buildings 'David is always very clear, no nonsense and to the point on his feet. Very responsive and excellent with the clients.'
Peter De Verneuil Smith KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Peter always understands the clients’ needs and the risks they face. He is a great advocate and truly is willing to make big calls.’
2022 Silks
Farhaz Khan KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Farhaz is very persuasive both on paper and orally. He identifies the key issues quickly and has a very confident court manner.'
Leading Juniors
Peter Ratcliffe –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Peter is very focussed on the detail and misses nothing. He is a go-to on complex insurance and brokers’ professional indemnity matters.’
Christopher Bond –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Chris is an excellent advocate and sharp thinker, with a very strong all-round legal mind. His written pleadings were clever and persuasive.’
Theodor van Sante –3 Verulam Buildings 'Theo's attention to detail and ability to recall detail in a long-running matter is impressive. His advice is always commercial. He is a calm, composed and highly effective advocate.'
Richard Hanke –3 Verulam Buildings 'A very strong performer. Richard is incredibly bright and his written work is of the highest quality. Strongly recommended.'
Adam Temple – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Adam is extremely intelligent. He thinks outside of the box and offers realistic and pragmatic solutions.’
Lisa Lacob – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Lisa is an outstanding advocate who has a personal touch and who is well liked by clients as a result.'
Testimonials
‘Excellent team led by Steve Penson. They are working in a way that should be a model for other clerks in the market to follow.’
‘Excellent clerking team – very responsive and helpful. Special mention to the fantastic Steve Penson and Richard Ansell who are both very responsive, resourceful and make excellent recommendations.’
‘The clerks are very helpful and work together with leading and junior counsel’s chambers to arrange meetings and provide joint availability.’
‘Good clerks, good counsel, great to have as part of a legal team on all sorts of complex commercial disputes.’
‘The clerks have always been responsive to requests and have looked to find a suitable match for cases we wish to involve their barristers on.’
‘Chambers have been brilliant in servicing our needs. There has always been good availability of counsel, including senior and junior counsel.’
‘Wide ranging professional negligence experience, with market leading financial services specialism. Great range of experience across all levels.’
One of my go-to sets. Good clerks, good counsel, great to have as part of a legal team on all sorts of complex commercial disputes.
Work highlights
London Bar > Insurance and reinsurance Tier 3
3 Verulam Buildings is noted as being ‘a good solid set for commercial matters,‘ with members such as Adam Kramer KC and William Day having been involved in Covid-19 lockdown-related cases such as Stonegate Pub Company v MS Amlin. Tom Weitzman KC and Peter Ratcliffe acted for the restaurant chain in PizzaExpress v Liberty Mutual Insurance, another case concerning if the policy (which used the "Aon Trio" wording) applied to central government action and if the limits in that case were national or per restaurant. Kate Holderness has acted and advised in related to a wide range of insurance disputes, including between brokers and insurers, while Sophia Dzwig is another key junior on the set.Leading Silks
Tom Weitzman KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Tom is supremely bright and yet manages to put the clients and people he works with at ease. He has an excellent calm manner and is a great advocate.'
Nicholas Craig KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Nick is a go-to barrister for complex insurance disputes, subject to Middle Eastern law, and has been a number of years. He always makes the right strategic decisions and is well-prepared. He handles pressure well and is an excellent advocate and can be fierce if the circumstances require.’
Adam Kramer KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Brilliant advocate. Extremely bright. Leading light of junior silks.’
Rory Phillips KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Rory is great with clients and instructing solicitors alike. He is extremely knowledgeable and able to recall the minutiae of specific concerns and arguments raised. He is able to take a step back and provide pragmatic commercial advice not only legal advice. Rory is one in a million and a joy to work with.'
Saima Hanif KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘She provides clarity of advice and straight talking.’
Leading Juniors
William Day – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘William is simply brilliant. He is fantastically bright, amazingly hard working and great to work with.’
Kate Holderness – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Her great strengths are her focus, her ability to get the work done and her judgement. She is always on top of the issues, always pulls out all the stops and is an invaluable sounding board, never afraid to express her own opinions but always a team player.’
Theodor van Sante –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Theo is both hard working and thorough. He always provides a fresh and analytically sophisticated view of difficult problems. In court he is a forceful and effective advocate.’
Testimonials
‘Richard Ansell is knowledgeable and helpful.’
‘Stephen Penson is a fantastic senior clerk. He knows how to balance conflicting demands on time and keeps instructing solicitors aware of availability and matters as they arise. There are never any surprises with Stephen.’
‘All the clerks are pleasant to deal with, commercial and efficient. Stuart Pullum has been particularly helpful in the past few months.’
‘Fantastic set – commercial, competitive, pleasant.’
‘3VB is our go-to set for policyholder-side insurance coverage counsel.”
‘3VB is a good solid set for commercial matters. It is stocked with people who are all very easy to deal with.’
‘3VB is a first choice set for insurance work at the moment. They have some exceptional people there and are great to deal with across the board.’
‘The go to set for complex insurance coverage work, with leading silks and juniors.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Proceeds of crime (POCA) and asset forfeiture Tier 3
Best known as a commercial set with a proud track record in banking-related work among other areas, 3 Verulam Buildings is an ‘an increasing force in POCA work and asset forfeiture‘ with a particular focus on civil recovery work relating to proceeds of crime. Andrew Sutcliffe KC, who regularly acts for government agencies, was instructed by the National Crime Agency in National Crime Agency v Persons Unknown, with Barclays Bank as an interested party: in this unprecedented case, the court passed a summary judgment for £55m believed to be proceeds of crime held at Barclays, and gave permission to issue claim against 30,000 account holders as ‘persons unknown’. In the money laundering case NCA v Nuttall & ors, Anne Jeavons also acted for the National Crime Agency on the question of if proceeds of crime can be used to validly discharge a settlement agreement in lieu of the recovery of other proceeds of crime.Leading Silks
Andrew Sutcliffe KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘An outstanding advocate and adviser, who has an excellent courtroom manner, always keeping the court’s undivided attention, knowing just how to pitch a case perfectly.‘
Leading Juniors
Tom Rainsbury –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Good clear advocacy. He is fair and on point. He has a very good academic knowledge and knows the law on civil recovery like a book.‘
Testimonials
‘3VB is an increasing force in POCA work and asset forfeiture, with a number of its barristers gaining experience in the area.’
‘The clerking team is very responsive and good at dealing with court listing to get preferred hearing dates.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Energy Tier 4
3 Verulam Buildings is ‘an excellent set for international arbitration work’ and has ‘unrivalled bench-strength and a really strong group of juniors’, according to one client. Another notes that the set is ‘very responsive and able to produce and recommend counsel who are experts in the matters at hand’. The set continues to grow its presence in energy and natural resources disputes, particularly those that concern financing and commercial contracts, insurance and international arbitration. Its work covers all forms of arbitration and litigation concerning the energy market, and arises from a range of sectors, among them oil, gas, renewables, hydroelectric, nuclear and mining. The most prominent silk is Christopher Harris KC, who is currently representing claimant investors in an ICSID arbitration against Bosnia concerning government measures against two hydroelectric power plant projects on the Vrbas river.
Leading Silks
Christopher Harris KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Christopher has a tremendous grasp of the law and quickly understands how to craft the strategy of a case to ensure the best outcomes.’
Hodge Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Hodge’s strengths are his honesty and dedicated to his profession.’
Ali Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ali is the senior dean of international energy disputes, very smart and very practical.’
Nicholas Craig KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Nick always makes the right strategic decisions and is well prepared. He handles pressure well and is an excellent advocate.’
Leading Juniors
Jane Davies Evans –3 Verulam Buildings ‘A junior in great demand for energy cases. She is uniquely equipped to calculate the complex quantum aspects of a dispute.’
Tariq Baloch – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Tariq is a thoughtful and persuasive advocate who is good at thinking outside the box and adopting an innovative approach.’
Georges Chalfoun –3 Verulam Buildings ‘George has a terrific grasp of detail while maintaining a clear view of the overall picture. He runs cases with an authority and efficiency well beyond his year of call.’
Mark Wassouf –3 Verulam Buildings ‘An excellent barrister, really top-notch, Mark drafts very elegantly and is very impressive at cross-examination.’
Testimonials
‘Clerks are responsive and understand client concerns and timing issues.’
‘First-rate clerking.’
‘Pretty solid clerking.’
‘Stephen Penson and Stuart Pullum are brilliant senior clerks. Among the best in the top sets.’
‘Very good – one of the best.’
‘Excellent set with a lot of skills.’
‘3VB is very responsive and are able to produce and recommend counsel who are experts in the matters at hand. Counsel are excellent generally and vailable at the client’s convenience. Turnaround time is excellent without any delays.’
‘3VB has built excellent bench strength with respect to Middle Eastern commercial disputes.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations)
Leading Silks
Hodge Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Hodge is a superb advocate and one of the best the Bar has to offer. His submissions are clear and precise. He is absolutely devastating at cross-examination and has the ear of the court. He is a difference maker on any case.’
London Bar > Aviation
Leading Silks
Nicholas Craig KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'In approaching any litigation matter, Nick is a quick study on the underlying commercial goals of the client, and is able to work towards achieving those commercial results in the context of judicial proceedings. He is focused and efficient.'
Leading Juniors
Cleon Catsambis – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘He is an excellent barrister and has interpersonal skills as well as being a hard worker.’
London Bar > Media and entertainment
London Bar > Commodities
Leading Silks
Nicholas Craig KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘A stellar silk and a powerful advocate who is razor-sharp on paper and at the top of his game.’
Adam Kramer KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Adam is an outstanding KC who leads the team extremely well, is highly responsive and manages to keep on top of the detail in a highly impressive manner.’
London Bar > Pensions
Leading Silks
Farhaz Khan KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Rising star on contentious pensions disputes, very commercial and popular with clients.'
Leading Juniors
Chloe Bell – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Chloe is very intelligent and user friendly. She is a pleasure to work with and gets on top of issues very quickly.‘
London Bar > Professional disciplinary and regulatory law
Leading Silks
Saima Hanif KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Saima has a very diligent approach to her cases.'
Leading Juniors
Yash Bheeroo –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Yash is absolutely first rate: hardworking, clear and very pragmatic. He gets to the true issues in a case.'
London Bar > Administrative law and human rights
Leading Juniors
Can Yeginsu – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Can is a natural advocate with the ear of the court. He is urbane, persuasive, and unflappable. Definitely a barrister for the difficult cases and the greatest pressure.'
Emmanuel Sheppard – 3 Verulam Buildings 'He is very quick to see points and determined in chasing them down. He is an extremely hard-working and committed junior.'
London Bar > Construction
Leading Juniors
Jane Davies Evans – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Excellent lawyer and advocate, quick-witted and helpful. Particularly good at untangling quantum matters. To be highly recommended.'
London Bar > IT and telecoms (infrastructure and contracts)
London Bar > Consumer
Asia Pacific - The English Bar > Commercial Tier 1
The ‘thoroughly efficient’ 3 Verulam Buildings remains a recognised and prestigious set in a wide variety of commercial law practice areas. Members of chambers have consistently been instructed on leading commercial and investment arbitrations, whilst developing an investment treaty practice within Asia Pacific regions. One standout case for the chambers was International Petroleum Investment Company; Aabar Investments v 1 Malaysia Development Berhad; Ministry of Finance Inc, Malaysia whereby Ewan Mcquater KC handled the London leg of the litigation regarding the 1MDB scandal in Malaysia, relating to the alleged looting of billions of US dollars from a sovereign wealth fund by, inter alia, the country’s former prime minister Najib Razak. Saima Hanif KC has an established practice acting for financial institutions and individuals around banking and finance regulation. Richard Salter’s practice covers all aspects of commercial litigation and arbitration, with specialisms including banking, corporate finance and financial services. Recent arrivals include Can Yeginsu who has joined from 4 New Square Chambers and Damien Walker joining from Essex Court Chambers.Leading Silks
Ewan McQuater KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Very good advocate and strategist. Excellent legal analysis.'
Nicholas Craig KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Nicholas is a powerful oral and written advocate. He operates quickly and turns around quality work at speed with a tactical flair and always delivering value.'
Ali Malek KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ali has a strong reputation as one of London’s finest barristers for commercial disputes and arbitration.’
Andrew Onslow KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'An excellent advocate with real gravitas. Judges listen to him.'
Hodge Malek KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Hodge is extremely bright, a masterful strategist and first rate advocate. He is powerhouse commercial silk, both in England and abroad. He is a commanding figure before any court and tribunal. He has a phenomenal attention to detail and is able to cut through the issues in a simple and effective way. He is always two steps ahead and is ahead to draw on his experience to look at cases more holistically and offer clients advice on every aspect and on issues no one else has foreseen. His clients adore him and trust him blindly to get the right result.'
Hefin Rees KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Excellent on his feet. Very personable to deal with.'
Leading Juniors
James Potts – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘He is growing from strength to strength and is now doing a lot more trials and applications on his own and gets good results. He has good judgement. When necessary he is great at collating complex factual matters and pulling all the threads together. He gets on well with clients.’
Yash Bheeroo – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Thorough, efficient and friendly.'
Cameron Miles – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Cameron is highly versatile and has great expertise in public international law. His written and oral advocacy is highly impressive. A true superstar in the making.'
Testimonials
Set
‘Excellent set.’
‘Thorough efficient friendly.’
‘At 3VB I work closely with a number of excellent juniors.’
‘3VB is a strong all round set – very good at all levels.’
‘3VB is by far the top commercial set in London and the first choice for commercial disputes, fraud litigation, and arbitration disputes as well as insurance claims.’
Clerking
‘Fast and efficient.’
India - Senior Advocates > Commercial disputes Tier 1
Gopal Subramanium SA, a former Solicitor General of India, is also an associate member of 3 Verulam Buildings.Middle East: The English Bar > Commercial Tier 1
3 Verulam Buildings is a leading commercial set, and it is particularly well regarded for its expertise in banking and finance disputes and international arbitration in the Middle East. In Abu Dhabi, Rajesh Pillai KC has been acting as lead counsel for Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank in the ADGM, London and BVI courts in the ADCB v Shetty cases concerning the collapse of NMC Healthcare; David Quest KC and Ewan McQuater KC continue to act for the banks in NMC Healthcare v Dubai Islamic Bank, another case on the same theme in the ADGM. On the other end of the E11, Saima Hanif KC has a strong DFSA regulatory practice. Farhaz Khan KC took silk in the 2022 round.Leading silks
Tom Montagu-Smith KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Tom is a major name in the UAE market. He is an exceptional oral advocate who has the ear of the judges, and commands the confidence and respect of his clients. World class.’
Hodge Malek KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Hodge is an intellectual powerhouse, a first-rate advocate, and one of the go-to senior silks at the commercial Bar. He is a masterful tactician and is always ten steps ahead, has a commanding authority over his case, and his analysis is flawless.’
Rajesh Pillai KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Smooth but forceful advocate, and great with clients. Rajesh is forensic but also has astute commercial awareness.'
Ali Malek KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Ali has an excellent sense for what will win or lose a case, and he is razor sharp in focusing on those issues to the benefit of the outcome of the dispute.'
Nicholas Craig KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Top drawer advocate - calm under pressure, measured and extremely effective.'
Andrew Onslow KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Andrew's advocacy and cross-examination is heavyweight. He is extremely impressive on his feet, and entirely unflappable.'
2021 Silks
Saima Hanif KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Saima is a go-to silk for financial services and sanctions work.’
2022 Silks
Farhaz Khan KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Farhaz is astute, gives great commercial and straight talking advice, and wins the confidence of his clients.’
Leading juniors
Yash Bheeroo – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Phenomenal ability to process reams of complicated and detailed information. Excellent manner, easy to work with, and highly intelligent yet very approachable.'
Matthew Watson – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Matthew is a star in the making. His written advocacy and drafting is superb, and he is a huge asset to any case team. He has excellent judgement and is always commercial in his advice.’
James Potts – 3 Verulam Buildings 'James is a very hardworking and technically-able barrister. He has a good presence and is a persuasive advocate.'
Mark Wassouf – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Mark is brilliant, phenomenally hardworking, and has a really in-depth knowledge of Arabic and the way the Middle East works.'
Adam Temple – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Adam is diligent and articulate. He is clear and direct in his advocacy, and his arguments are persuasive, logical and to the point.’
Testimonials
‘Stuart Pullum and Stephen Penson are world-class clerks who are dedicated, responsive, and a pleasure to deal with.’
‘Stuart Pullum is excellent and offers consistent and dedicated support.’
‘Stephen Penson runs a tight ship, and is always available and accommodating.’
‘Stephen Penson and Stuart Pullum are a delight to deal with. Responsive, commercial, and practical. They are very good at identifying potential counsel for a matter.’
‘Ed Tolfts provides a good service.’
‘Stuart Pullum is very likeable and easy to work with.’
‘Stephen Penson and Stuart Pullum are both excellent. They are consistently excellent at finding the right barrister for the job.’
‘The clerks provide clear, honest, and sound recommendations, which is greatly appreciated by instructing solicitors.’
The English Bar Offshore > The English Bar Offshore Tier 2
Known in the offshore world as a ‘strong commercial set with a number of excellent counsel’, 3 Verulam Buildings experienced another strong year with members receiving instructions across a breadth of complex cases, ranging from banking and finance disputes to high-profile judicial reviews. Hodge Malek KC , Hefin Rees KC and Philip Hinks are representing MBFX and a MultiBank Group's founder in a large international fraud case where it is alleged that the trading platform fraudulently misappropriated €35m of noteholder funds. Ewan McQuater KC is involved in litigation in the BVI worth $1.5bn, where he is acting for provisional liquidators appointed by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands seeking to preserve and prevent dissipation of the assets of the business group headed by Global Cord Blood Corporation.Leading Silks
Hefin Rees KC –3 Verulam Buildings 'Hefin is affable and detail-oriented.'
Hodge Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Utterly unflappable with an incredible capacity to take in complicated facts quickly and work out the route to achieve the best result for client. A perfect mix of academic ability with vast experience and first-rate common sense.’
Matthew Hardwick KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Matthew is always fully prepared and is an excellent advocate. He has a clear and convincing style and is highly intelligent.’
Tom Montagu-Smith KC – 3 Verulam Buildings 'Tom is a highly analytical lawyer and moderated advocate. He is effective and popular.'
Ali Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings 'Top quality advice and a user friendly, excellent advocate who knows that often less is more.'
Leading Juniors
Philip Hinks –3 Verulam Buildings 'Philip is a fantastic barrister. He has a keen insight into the law and adds immediate value to the client's counsel team. He works hard and is a great team player.'
James Potts - 3 Verulam Buildings 'James is bright, fast and accurate.'
James McWiliams – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘James has great judgement and is clear in his advice, as well as producing high-quality work both orally and on paper.’
Testimonials
‘Steve Penson makes sure things are humming.’
‘3 Verulam Buildings clerks have a great business sense and are very responsive to clients’ needs and concerns.’
‘They are a good set of chambers with strength in depth.’
‘3 Verulam Buildings is a great set to work with. It has an outstanding reputation which puts the client at ease.’
‘3VB is a strong commercial set with a number of excellent counsel who I am familiar with. They are certainly a go-to set.’
‘3VB is the premium commercial set for heavy offshore work. Their barristers are top notch and their clerks are genuinely a cut above the competition. Overall an absolutely class act.’
‘Well run set with good helpful clerks.’
Work highlights
Asia Pacific - The English Bar > Construction, energy and infrastructure
3 Verulam Buildings > Set Profile
The set: 3 Verulam Buildings is one of the leading sets providing specialist advocacy and advisory services worldwide in all areas of commercial and financial litigation, dispute resolution, international arbitration and public international law, with over 90 members based in London and with many highly prominent legal practitioners across the World. Members advise and represent clients in court, arbitration and other tribunals in England and other jurisdictions worldwide. 3VB’s approachable and responsive members and practice managers understand the pressures on solicitors and clients and the importance of providing a superb quality of service, in which legal excellence is combined with a commercial attitude.
Work undertaken: 3VB has a genuine depth of experience across the full range of commercial litigation, from banking and financial services to company law, insurance, professional negligence, insolvency, commercial fraud, IT and media and entertainment. Its members are regularly instructed by the leading law firms in the major pieces of commercial litigation of the day, and often act in teams on various sides of major disputes. In addition, chambers has a strong reputation in domestic and international arbitration, including significant experience of investment treaty disputes and cases involving energy, natural resources and infrastructure. 3VB has substantial experience of international work, in both litigation and arbitration. Members are frequently instructed by lawyers from other jurisdictions and are accustomed to working in multi-jurisdictional teams. They have particular experience of disputes arising in the Caribbean, the Gulf States, the post-Soviet states and the Asia-Pacific region. As well as acting as counsel, many of its members and impressive array of international associate members sit as arbitrators, under all the major arbitration rules. 3VB’s members also undertake non-contentious work, such as drafting terms and conditions in contracts for financial institutions and commercial clients, and advising clients on the effects of new law. The languages spoken in 3VB include English, Arabic, Creole, French, German, Greek, Italian, Punjabi, Russian, Sinhala, Spanish, Swedish and Urdu.
Recruitment: 3VB offers up to four pupillages a year (through the Pupillage Gateway and for Gateway-exempt transferring lawyers) and also considers applications as lateral hires from barristers with established, excellent practices.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chambers Director | Stewart Thompson | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Senior Practice Manager | Stephen Penson | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Senior Practice Manager | Stuart Pullum | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Marketing Director | Petra Bailey | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Head of Finance and Operations | Andrew Veale | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | McQUATER KC, Ewan (1985) (KC 2003) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | QUEST KC, David (1993) (KC 2013) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | MALEK KC, Ali (1980) (KC 1996) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | JARVIS KC, John (1970) (KC 1989) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | SYMONS KC, Christopher (1972) (KC 1989) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BELTRAMI KC, Adrian (1989) (KC 2008) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | SALTER KC, Richard (1975) (KC 1995) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BLAIR KC, Michael (Hon Causa) (1965) (KC 1996) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | MALEK KC, HODGE (1983) (KC 1999) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | SUTCLIFFE KC, Andrew (1983) (KC 2001) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | ONSLOW KC, Andrew (1982) (KC 2002) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | PHILLIPS KC, Rory (1984) (KC 2002) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | WEITZMAN KC, Tom (1984) (KC 2003) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | FLETCHER KC, Andrew (1980) (KC 2006) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | NASH KC, Jonathan (1986) (KC 2006) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | REES KC, Hefin (1992) (KC 2013) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | DAVIES-JONES KC, Jonathan (1994) (KC 2013) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | HARDWICK KC, Matthew (1994) (KC 2014) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | GIBAUD KC, Catherine (1996) (KC 2014) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | DOUGLAS KC, Zachary (2006) (KC 2015) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | McKENDRICK KC, Ewan (Hon Causa) (1998) (KC 2015) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | HEAD KC, David (1997) (KC 2016) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | MONTAGU-SMITH KC, Tom (2001) (KC 2017) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | WILSON KC, Ian (1995) (KC 2018) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | RILEY KC, Jamie (1995) (KC 2019) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | DE VERNEUIL SMITH KC, Peter (1998) (KC 2019) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | CRAIG KC, Nicholas (1998) (KC 2019) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | HARRIS KC, Christopher (2002) (KC 2019) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | PILLAI KC, Rajesh (2002) (KC 2020) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | PARKER KC, Matthew (1997) (KC 2021) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | HANIF KC, Saima (2002) (KC 2021) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | KRAMER KC, Adam (2004) (KC 2021) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | KHAN KC, Farhaz (2005) (KC 2022) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | START, Angharad (1988) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | RATCLIFFE, Peter (1998) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | MALLINCKRODT, Sophie (1999) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | DAVIES EVANS, Jane (2001) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BALOCH, Tariq (2001) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | EDWARDS, William (2002) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | McPHERSON, George (2003) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | SIMPSON, David (2003) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | LACOB, Lisa (2004) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | EBORALL, Charlotte (2004) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | HANKE, Richard (2006) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | WALKER, Damien (2006) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | YEGINSU, Can (2007) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | PURVES, Robert (2007) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | KNIGHT, Alexia (2007) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BOND, Christopher (2008) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | HINKS, Philip (2008) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | JEAVONS, Anne (2008) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | TEMPLE, Adam (2008) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | HOLDERNESS, Kate (2008) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | LAHTI, Liisa (2009) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | DE VECCHI, Tom (2009) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | VAN SANTE, Theodor (2009) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | SCHMELZER, Miriam (2010) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | RAINSBURY, Tom (2010) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BURDIN, Christopher (2010) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | ONABANJO, Teniola (2010) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | HIGGINS, Ian (2011) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BHEEROO, Yash (2011) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | POTTS, James (2011) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | CATSAMBIS, Cleon (2011) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | McWILLIAMS, James (2011) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | PAVLOVICH, Anthony (2012) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | RALSTON, Scott (2012) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BIRD, Nathaniel (2012) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | WATSON, Matthew (2012) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | TULIP, Sarah (2012) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | DUTTON, Pia (2013) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | SHEPPARD, Emmanuel (2013) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | GLOVER, Hannah (2013) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | WASSOUF, Mark (2014) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | CHALFOUN, Georges (2014) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | STEINMETZ, Victor (2014) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | MILES, Cameron (2015) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | ZAMAN, Rebecca (2015) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BELL, Chloë (2015) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | KENNELLY, Dominic (2016) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | DAY, William (2016) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | DZWIG, Sophia (2017) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | FERRO, Ryan (2017) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | JACKSON, Ravi (2017) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | HUGHES, Emma (2018) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | DASKALOVA, Ivana (2018) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | JONES, Clarissa (2018) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | FU, Judy (2019) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | MULDERRIG, Calum (2019) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | PARKER, Sarah (2016) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BUNDA, Anca (2019) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | SHARMA, Chinmayi (2020) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | CHOLAKOV, Rumen (2021) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BONNER HUGHES, Paul (2021) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | SCOTT, Gretel (2021) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | BOUCHER, Katherine (2021) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | AIREY, Devon (2022) | 020 7831 8441 | |
| Member of Chambers | GREGG, Amy (2023) | 020 7831 8441 |
Barrister Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
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Tariq Baloch | Specialises in international arbitration (international investment treaty claims and internationl commercial arbitration),… | View Profile |
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Chloe Bell | View Profile | |
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Adrian Beltrami | Barrister specialising in commercial law, banking law, insolvency, sale of goods, commercial… | View Profile |
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Yash Bheeroo | Yash has a broad and successful commercial practice which encompasses: fraud; commercial… | View Profile |
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Elizabeth Birch | Commercial barrister since 1980, has sat as arbitrator since 1992 and as… | View Profile |
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Michael Blair | Queen’s Counsel in independent practice, specialising in financial services. | View Profile |
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Christopher Bond | Christopher has a general commercial practice, much of it with an international… | View Profile |
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Richard Brent | Barrister specialising in general commercial work, including banking law, insurance and reinsurance… | View Profile |
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Christopher Burdin | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration, including banking and finance, civil… | View Profile |
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Cleon Catsambis | Cleon has a strong and well-regarded commercial practice that encompasses commercial litigation… | View Profile |
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Nicholas Craig | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation, in particular arbitration, civil fraud, banking, shipping,… | View Profile |
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Peter Cranfield | Barrister specialising in professional indemnity (including claims against accountants, architects, brokers, financial… | View Profile |
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Jane Davies Evans | Jane is a renowned commercial barrister, specialising in energy and engineering/construction disputes,… | View Profile |
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Jonathan Davies-Jones | Jonathan has a broad-based commercial disputes practice with a wide range of… | View Profile |
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Tom De Vecchi | General commercial practice, including banking, financial services, insolvency, civil fraud, insurance and… | View Profile |
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Peter De Verneuil Smith | Peter is well known for his excellent advocacy and client skills. He… | View Profile |
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Zachary Douglas KC | Barrister specialising in public international law, conflict of laws and arbitration. Counsel… | View Profile |
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Pia Dutton | Pia is building a general commercial practice in line with Chambers’ profile.… | View Profile |
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Sophia Dzwig | Sophia is a commercial barrister with a broad practice spanning litigation and… | View Profile |
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Charlotte Eborall | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation, including banking and finance (including consumer credit),… | View Profile |
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William Edwards | Barrister specialising in general commercial work (including sale of goods/supply of services… | View Profile |
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Andrew Fletcher | Barrister with particular experience in share purchase agreements (especially misrepresentation and breach… | View Profile |
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Clive Freedman | Barrister specialising in commercial work generally, in particular IT law, banking, building… | View Profile |
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Catherine Gibaud | Barrister specialising in commercial law, in particular banking and finance, insolvency and… | View Profile |
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Hannah Glover | Hannah specialises in commercial disputes, with a particular emphasis on banking and… | View Profile |
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Richard Hanke | General commercial work, including banking and financial services, civil fraud and insolvency. | View Profile |
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Matthew Hardwick | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation, banking, insolvency, insurance, professional negligence and employment. | View Profile |
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Christopher Harris | Barrister specialising in banking, financial services, general commercial litigation and international commercial… | View Profile |
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David Head | David Head is an experienced advocate with a wide-ranging commercial practice, including… | View Profile |
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David Head | David Head is an experienced advocate with a wide-ranging commercial practice, including… | View Profile |
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Ian Higgins | Ian is a former solicitor with a general commercial practice, with particular… | View Profile |
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Philip Hinks | View Profile | |
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Kate Holderness | Experience across the breadth of general commercial law, including in the specialist… | View Profile |
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John Jarvis | Commercial work, specialising in banking law both domestic and international, including drafting… | View Profile |
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Dominic Kennelly | Dominic is a former solicitor with substantial experience of commercial disputes, particularly… | View Profile |
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Farhaz Khan KC | Farhaz is a leading advocate at the commercial bar, was appointed Queen’s… | View Profile |
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Alexia Knight | General commercial work and litigation in line with 3VB’s practice, including banking… | View Profile |
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Adam Kramer | Adam Kramer QC is a highly regarded commercial litigator and arbitration advocate… | View Profile |
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Lisa Lacob | Barrister specialising in general commercial work, including banking and financial services, insurance,… | View Profile |
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Michael Lazarus | Michael’s practice includes most areas of domestic and international commercial and business… | View Profile |
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Hodge Malek | Barrister with an impressive academic and practical background with a successful and… | View Profile |
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Ali Malek | Barrister specialising in commercial law, including banking and financial disputes, insurance and… | View Profile |
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Sophie Mallinckrodt | Barrister with general commercial practice, including banking, insurance, financial services, insolvency, company… | View Profile |
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James McWilliams | James is a leading commercial junior with a practice that spans a… | View Profile |
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Ewan Mckendrick | Barrister specialising in advisory work on general commercial matters, particularly contract law,… | View Profile |
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George Mcpherson | Barrister with general commercial practice, including insurance and reinsurance, insolvency, commercial fraud,… | View Profile |
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Ewan Mcquater | Barrister specialising in commercial work in particular international and domestic banking and… | View Profile |
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Gregory Mitchell | Specialises in commercial litigation, arbitration and advisory work. He has been instructed… | View Profile |
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Jonathan Nash | Banking law and insolvency, financial services, professional negligence (solicitors, barristers and accountants),… | View Profile |
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John Odgers | Commercial litigator specialising in banking, financial services, professional negligence, fraud, company sale… | View Profile |
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Teniola Onabanjo | Barrister specialising in general commercial work, including banking, financial services, contractual disputes,… | View Profile |
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Andrew Onslow KC | Andrew Onslow KC specialises in commercial litigation, banking and financial services, fraud,… | View Profile |
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Matthew Parker | Matthew is a leading practitioner at the commercial Bar. He took silk… | View Profile |
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Anthony Pavlovich | Barrister experienced in banking (guarantees, mortgages, bonds, derivatives, sale-and-purchase agreements); financial services… | View Profile |
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Jonathan Phillips | Commercial litigation, particularly banking, finance, security and insolvency; practice includes domestic and… | View Profile |
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Rory Phillips | Wide-ranging public and commercial law practice. | View Profile |
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Rajesh Pillai | Barrister specialising in banking, commercial fraud, company, insurance and reinsurance, entertainment, insolvency… | View Profile |
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David Quest | Barrister specialising in commercial law: banking; international trade and finance; insurance and… | View Profile |
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Scott Ralston | Barrister specialising in commercial and banking law. | View Profile |
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Peter Ratcliffe | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation and advisory work, with particular emphasis on… | View Profile |
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Hefin Rees | Hefin Rees QC has extensive experience of international disputes in the commercial,… | View Profile |
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Jamie Riley KC | View Profile | |
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Richard Salter KC | Richard Salter is regarded as one of the leading commercial silks at… | View Profile |
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Miriam Schmelzer | Miriam is developing a broad commercial practice in line with Chambers’ profile.… | View Profile |
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David Simpson | Barrister undertaking general commercial work with particular emphasis to date on financial… | View Profile |
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Angharad Start | Barrister specialising in company law, corporate and personal insolvency, professional indemnity work,… | View Profile |
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Andrew Sutcliffe | Principal areas of practice are commercial and business law (including banking, financial… | View Profile |
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Christopher Symons | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation/arbitration particularly all aspects of insurance, reinsurance, professional… | View Profile |
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Adam Temple | Adam is a specialist in financial services disputes. He is regularly instructed… | View Profile |
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Sarah Tulip | Sarah has a broad commercial practice, with particular specialisms in banking and… | View Profile |
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Damien Walker | Damien Walker is a senior junior counsel specialising in commercial dispute resolution.… | View Profile |
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Paul Wee | Paul is a barrister practicing from 3 Verulam Buildings in London, specialising… | View Profile |
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Ian Wilson | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation, including banking and finance, commercial fraud, professional… | View Profile |
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Can Yeginsu | Can combines a strong practice in international arbitration and commercial litigation (including… | View Profile |
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Rebecca Zaman | Rebecca has a decade of experience in commercial disputes, with a particular… | View Profile |
Languages
English (fluent) Arabic French German Greek Italian Punjabi Russian Sinhala Spanish Swedish Urdu TurkishDiversity
3VB is committed to furthering equality of opportunity and diversity. We do not discriminate in any aspect of our business on grounds of race, colour, ethnic or national origins, nationality or citizenship, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, religion or belief, political persuasion, pregnancy, or maternity, or social or educational background.
Quite independent from any standards imposed by legislation or the Bar Standards Board, we believe that increasing diversity and inclusion makes good business sense. We know we achieve better outcomes when we have access to talent, perspectives, and experience from all walks of life.
Beyond Chambers, we want to encourage more diversity at the Bar and help address structural problems that inhibit individuals from groups that are underrepresented.
This is why we support and participate in organisations such as:
- The Sutton Trust
- Bridging The Bar
- The Black Talent Charter
- The Bar Council’s Women in Law Pledge
In 2020, together with five of our fellow commercial sets, we set up the Mentoring for Underrepresented Groups Scheme, which aims to mentor young people from underrepresented groups in their path to pursue careers as barristers. For 2021 the scheme was expanded to 10 commercial sets. From 2022 it was operated through the Commercial Bar Association. We are delighted to be part of this Scheme.
For further information on the initiatives mentioned above promoting access to the legal profession and to the bar, please refer to our CSR Page.
- Art and cultural property
- Banking and finance (including consumer credit)
- Commercial litigation
- Financial services regulation
- Fraud: civil
- International arbitration: counsel
- Public international law
- Crypto and blockchain assets
Top Tier Set Rankings
- Group litigation
- Insolvency
- International arbitration: arbitrators
- Professional negligence
Set Rankings
- Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations)
- Aviation
- Media and entertainment
- Commodities
- Pensions
- Professional disciplinary and regulatory law
- Administrative law and human rights
- Construction
- IT and telecoms (infrastructure and contracts)
- Consumer
- Asia Pacific - The English Bar > Commercial
- India - Senior Advocates > Commercial disputes
- Middle East: The English Bar > Commercial
Top Tier Set Rankings
- The English Bar Offshore > The English Bar Offshore