Set Profile > New Square Chambers > London, England
New Square Chambers Offices
New Square Chambers
12 NEW SQUARE, LINCOLN'S INN
LONDON
WC2A 3SW
England
New Square Chambers > The Legal 500 Rankings
Offshore Tier 1
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Agriculture Tier 2
New Square Chambers is hailed by clients as being ‘incredibly strong’ in agricultural matters and is particularly reputed for disputes concerning public access to land, specifically in relation to town and village green cases, as well as those involving highways law. In one representative instruction, George Laurence QC is currently acting in Roxlena Ltd v Cumbria County Council in which he seeks to restrain the defendant from making a modification order under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to the effect of establishing 44 new footpaths across his client’s land.
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Commercial litigation Tier 2
Leading Juniors
Fraud: civil Tier 2
Leading Juniors
Private client: trusts and probate Tier 2
New Square Chambers has an ‘excellent reputation for private client, trusts, and probate work.’ This 'excellent Chancery set' is praised by clients for having ‘skilled people who do not charge the earth and who are responsive and available’, and is routinely instructed on the full range of traditional Chancery work and is particularly strong on trusts litigation. As an example, Nicholas Le Poidevin QC led the advice to the trustees in a case where the court had to consider if it could order the removal of a trust company's directors.
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Insolvency Tier 3
Members of New Square Chambers have considerable off- and onshore insolvency experience including in administrations, receiverships, government inquiries, and voluntary arrangements. 'Outstanding' senior junior David Eaton Turner is acting for the trustees in Re Estate in Bankruptcy of Gregory King; a matter that encompasses cross-border issues in Gibraltar, Spain and Scotland. Robin Hollington QC stands out for his offshore and international insolvency experience. He is leading Adrian Pay for the petitioner and its litigation funders in TOC Investments v Beppler & Jacobson; and following success in the substantive proceedings, the pair are instructed by the funder in its recovery of the costs of the provisional liquidation.
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Banking and finance (including consumer credit) Tier 3
Leading Juniors
Property litigation Tier 4
New Square Chambers is a set that can be ‘relied upon for high-quality property-related advice’. Chambers' strengths lie in landlord and tenant work, disputes with a public law element, and public access to land, in addition to town and village green cases. Of note, George Laurence QC is currently acting for the claimant in Roxlena Ltd v Cumbria County Council, which seeks to prevent an order of 44 new footpaths that would criss-cross upon its land.
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Commercial, banking, insolvency and Chancery law
New Square Chambers saw the recent arrival of commercial litigation specialist James Davies from 3PB, who maintains his regional work following the move.
Leading Juniors
Company and partnership
Members of New Square Chambers have 'an eclectic skill-set, centred around corporate matters', which they combine with 'an excellent commercial litigation practice' to advise on contentious and non-contentious company law matters. Recent highlights for Robin Hollington QC included the appeals in minority shareholder disputes Cosmetic v Warriors v Gerrie and TOC v Beppler & Jacobson. David Eaton Turner is representing Juno Nominees and Juno Fund Services in Fondation Rennes v DVP; Juno Nominees Ltd and Juno Fund Services Ltd; two defendants in multi-party claims brought by investors in relation to shares in protected cell investment companies. Sebastian Prentis has been appointed a full-time Insolvency and Companies Court judge.
Company - Leading Silks
Company - Leading Juniors
Set overviews: England and Wales
‘A leading Chancery set for trust-related commercial work’, New Square Chambers also has ‘an eclectic skill set centred around corporate matters and contains great offshore expertise’. Solicitors say ‘the set has some excellent seniors as well as a crop of brilliant younger barristers coming through and making names for themselves’. Also of note is the set’s impressive new initiative, New Square Consulting, which enables law firms to have a barrister in their offices at no cost, at a time which is most convenient for them. Solicitors say this is ‘a good way of getting to know different barristers in the set’. In recent news, James Davies joined from 3PB, Paul Wilmshurst arrived from 9 Stone Buildings, while Sebastian Prentis has been appointed a full-time Insolvency and Companies Court judge. The clerks, led by head of clerking Phil Reeves, are collectively described as ‘personable, diligent, very organised, and proactive; they build a personal relationship with you, value your custom, and always go the extra mile’. Deputy senior clerk Michelle Greene (‘amazing’), and practice managers Cameron Grant and Charlie Sherwood (‘the quality of service is unbeatable’) all draw particular praise. Practice manager Nathan Hitchman has joined from 39 Essex Chambers. Though not a clerk, John Campbell, the set’s business development director, ‘should be mentioned as he is doing a great job in raising the set’s profile’. Former senior practice manager Gary Collins has joined Matrix Chambers. Offices in: London
Regional Bar > South Eastern Circuit > Commercial, banking, insolvency and Chancery law
New Square Chambers saw the recent arrival of commercial litigation specialist James Davies from 3PB, who maintains his regional work following the move.
Leading Juniors
New Square Chambers > Firm Profile
New Square Chambers is based in Lincoln’s Inn and has 43 members of whom five are QCs and is one of the leading commercial chancery sets in London.
The set: In addition to members’ strengths as advisers and advocates in matters before the courts of England and Wales, Chambers is well known for its work in offshore and international jurisdictions.
Types of work undertaken: Commercial litigation and civil fraud: Chambers has extensive experience of commercial and civil fraud cases, and the conflicts of laws and jurisdictional issues that they often involve. Members of Chambers pioneered the development of worldwide freezing and tracing orders and continue to work at the cutting edge of the development of interim remedies and enforcement. Members are also familiar with civil claims relating to financial crime and a wide range of commercial disputes, including pure contract, commercial agency, partnership and remedial trusts. Members also practise in the field of professional negligence.
Company and insolvency: Chambers deals with every aspect of company law, particularly shareholders’ disputes involving unfair prejudice petitions under s994 of the Companies Act. New Square members conduct litigation about public share issues, listing particulars, derivative actions and similar matters. Members have acted in many high-profile insolvency cases. The set’s insolvency expertise extends from bankruptcy and liquidation to administrations, receiverships, DTI inquiries, voluntary arrangements, the adjustment of prior transactions and malpractice in and before insolvency.
Trusts, wills and estates: Chambers has been involved in a substantial amount of trust litigation in recent years. Members have extensive experience in both attacking and defending trusts, trustees and protectors. Members act as advocates in relation to all forms of trust claims before the courts of England and Wales, including in the context of divorce. It deals extensively with the drafting of and advice on wills and on trusts of all kinds, including charitable, governmental, pension and commercial trusts, acting in contentious and non-contentious probate cases. New Square also regularly deals with claims by and against personal representatives and family provision claims. Members advise on the tax consequences of complex trust arrangements at home and offshore.
International and offshore: Chambers has a large offshore presence and its work includes trusts and estates litigation, civil fraud, commercial litigation, company law, insolvency matters, proceeds of crime and property claims. Chambers has a long-standing reputation in many jurisdictions including Antigua, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man and Singapore.
Property: Chambers’ work includes all forms of real property disputes, including easement and boundary disputes, nuisance, trespass, mortgages and related fraud or negligence. Chambers’ expertise covers the full range of landlord and tenant work, including commercial, residential, agricultural, private and public. Members act in contentious and non-contentious matters for landlords, tenants and lenders, as well as advising and drafting documents for a wide variety of leasehold transactions, including those involving unrealised development value. Chambers’ property practice also covers public and administrative law, including commons and rights of way and property rights.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head of clerking | Phil Reeves | ||
| Deputy head of clerking | Michelle Greene | ||
| Business development director | John Campbell | ||
| Members of Chambers | STEWART SMITH, Rodney (1964) | ||
| Members of Chambers | FISHER, David (1985) | ||
| Members of Chambers | MACDONALD QC, John (1955) | ||
| Members of Chambers | LAURENCE QC, George (1972) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HOLLINGTON QC, Robin (1979) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BOOTH QC, Michael (1981) | ||
| Members of Chambers | LE POIDEVIN QC, Nicholas (1975) | ||
| Members of Chambers | TUCKER, Lynton (1971) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HILL-SMITH, Alexander (1978) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SAGAR, Leigh (1983) | ||
| Members of Chambers | EATON TURNER, David (1984) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GRAHAM, Thomas (1985) | ||
| Members of Chambers | STADDON, Claire (1985) | ||
| Members of Chambers | CRAIL, Ross (1986) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SAHONTE, Raj (1987) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SCHAW MILLER, Stephen (1988) | ||
| Members of Chambers | ADAMS, Guy (1989) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SIMPSON, Edwin (1990) | ||
| Members of Chambers | VAN TONDER, Gerard (1990) | ||
| Members of Chambers | ADAMYK, Simon (1991) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HUBBARD, Mark (1991) | ||
| Members of Chambers | EIDINOW, John (1992) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HOOD, Nigel (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | LOPIAN, Jonathan (1994) | ||
| Members of Chambers | ARMSTRONG, Stuart (1995) | ||
| Members of Chambers | MACEVILLY, Conn (1997) | ||
| Members of Chambers | PRYCE, Gary (1997) | ||
| Members of Chambers | PAY, Adrian (1999) | ||
| Members of Chambers | LEARMONTH, Alexander (2000) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DAVIES, James (2004) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WILMSHURST, Paul (2007) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WILLIAMS, Hermione (2008) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BRIGGS, Aidan (2009) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SNELL, Christopher (2010) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HARDMAN, Jeff (2012) | ||
| Members of Chambers | POWERS, Jessica (2012) | ||
| Members of Chambers | KARIA, Amit (2013) | ||
| Members of Chambers | COLCLOUGH, Jon (2015) | ||
| Members of Chambers | MCKEAN, James (2017) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SAUNDERS, James (2017) |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Mr Paul Wilmshurst | View Profile |
Top Tier Set Rankings
Set Rankings
- London Bar Agriculture
- London Bar Commercial litigation
- London Bar Fraud: civil
- London Bar Private client: trusts and probate
- London Bar Insolvency
- London Bar Banking and finance (including consumer credit)
- London Bar Property litigation
- Regional Bar Commercial, banking, insolvency and Chancery law
- London Bar Company and partnership
- London Bar Set overviews: England and Wales