Ms Elspeth Talbot Rice KC KC > Chambers of Elspeth Talbot Rice KC > London, England > Barrister Profile
XXIV Old Buildings Offices
XXIV Old Buildings
24 OLD BUILDINGS, LINCOLN'S INN
LONDON
WC2A 3UP
England
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Ms Elspeth Talbot Rice KC KC
Position
Elspeth Talbot Rice KC has a broad commercial Chancery practice and an extremely loyal client base. Clients comment especially on her meticulous eye for detail, particularly well-used in cross examination, her clear and robust advocacy in Court and her practical approachable style outside court. She is highly sought after for her incisive legal analysis, the depth of her experience, her ability to present complicated law and facts in a simple and clear way, the energy and zest she brings to the cases with which she deals, her strong court presence and her superb advocacy.
She has strength and depth right across the spectrum of commercial chancery matters: her expertise and experience straddles large scale trust, succession and probate litigation, both domestically and internationally, and business-based litigation and arbitration including fraud, company, partnership, insolvency and contractual disputes. She is particularly well regarded for international trust and succession disputes.
Many of her cases have overseas and international elements. She has been called to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean, and has appeared in the British Virgin Islands on a number of occasions. She has also been licensed to appear, and has appeared a number of times, as an advocate in the Courts of the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. Additionally she has advised on many cases being fought in Guernsey, Jersey, the USA, the Bahamas, other islands of the Caribbean, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Career
Call: 1990 | Silk: 2008
Memberships
- ACTAPS
- Chancery Bar Association member (committee member 1994-1996, Hon Sec, 2008-2012)
- Denning Society of Lincoln’s Inn (committee member since foundation)
- Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Education
- BA (Hons) Durham University
- Wigglesworth Scholar of Lincoln’s Inn
- Elected Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn
Leisure
Lacrosse, horse riding, music.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Private wealth and probate
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Elspeth Talbot Rice KC –XXIV Old Buildings ‘Elspeth is a fearsome advocate and go-to silk for all heavyweight litigation. She cuts through the weight of evidence to get to the core issues.’
XXIV Old Buildings is ‘the leading set for domestic and international contentious trust, probate and commercial disputes’. Elspeth Talbot Rice KC is heavily involved in complex and high-value contentious trust matters, including applications for addition and removal of beneficiaries, removal or substitute trustee and restructuring of the trusts. ‘A real intellectual giant of the chancery Bar’, Adam Cloherty KC, is currently acting for the beneficiary in a case concerning the structuring of trusts holding several UK companies, in a dispute over control of the structure. On the junior end, Daniel Warents garners praise for his ‘skilful and slick cross-examination’, and Elizabeth Weaver regularly acts for trustees, executors and beneficiaries and is known for ‘spotting the critical points for development in any case’.
London Bar > Partnership
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Elspeth Talbot Rice KC – XXIV Old Buildings ‘A fearsome advocate, but excellent with clients. A go-to silk for all heavyweight litigation. Elspeth cuts through the weight of evidence to get to the core issues with apparent ease.’
XXIV Old Buildings covers a full spectrum of partnership disputes across a wide variety of industry sectors, from legal, to farming, film and finance. Members handle partnership and LLP cases both domestically and abroad, and for both commercial and family-owned structures. Elspeth Talbot Rice KC is a key silk from the set, while Hugh Miall covers all areas of partnership law, spanning traditional 1890 Act partnerships, LLPs and joint ventures. Helen Galley is noted for her advisory work in numerous partnership disputes, from small commercial partnerships to professional partnerships.
London Bar > Insolvency
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Elspeth Talbot Rice KC – XXIV Old Buildings ‘Elspeth really knows her stuff, is clear in her advice, doesn’t overstate the merits and makes herself available at short notice when needed.’
Noted for having broad expertise in insolvency and restructuring cases, members at XXIV Old Buildings handle a range of matters, from corporate and personal insolvency work to contentious and non-contentious matters. Barristers are often instructed in cases involving offshore issues in the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. Edward Cumming KC specialises in corporate insolvency and bankruptcy, and Elspeth Talbot Rice KC acted for Barclays Bank in the case GTC v Zedra/Barclays which dealt with a claim in Jersey. Stuart Adair is noted for his ‘in-depth knowledge of insolvency law,’ while Jessica Lavelle and Alex Peplow are names to watch.
London Bar > Company
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Elspeth Talbot Rice KC – XXIV Old Buildings ‘Elspeth has a great court presence, which comes from self-confidence, experience, and thorough preparation.’
At XXIV Old Buildings, ‘counsel are of an extremely high calibre‘, and clients remark on chambers’ ‘extremely complementary blend of private wealth, offshore, corporate and commercial expertise, which is well suited to heavyweight litigation‘. Shareholder disputes, often involving allegations of fraud, form the backbone of the set’s practice. Stephen Moverley Smith KC continues to handle a high volume of prominent, high-profile company law cases, often involving international elements. Elspeth Talbot Rice KC is a ‘confident and experienced‘ silk, with a solid track record in advising on unfair prejudice claims and breach of duty issues. Stuart Adair is well versed in handling claims against directors and directors’ disqualification matters.
London Bar > Commercial litigation
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Elspeth Talbot Rice KC –XXIV Old Buildings ‘Truly outstanding, one of the best barristers ever.’
London Bar > Fraud: civil
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Elspeth Talbot Rice KC –XXIV Old Buildings ‘Her formidable determination ensures she resolutely champions the client’s position. She has an uncanny ability to see round corners and anticipate what the other side will do in the course of a case.’
The English Bar Offshore > Trusts and private wealth
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1XXIV Old Buildings is sought after by clients to handle work originating from Gibraltar, Bermuda, BVI, the Cayman Islands, and the Crown Dependencies. Stephen Moverley Smith KC is a key silk at the set and has appeared before the Supreme Court of the Bahamas, the Bermuda Court of Appeal, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and the Privy Council, and has recently been acting alongside Francis Tregear KC for the trust beneficiaries in a case concerning the division of a trust into several, and the related opposition application. Tregear KC is called to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean, as is Elspeth Talbot Rice KC, who continues to act for the appellants in the Wong v Grand View case, which concerns the validity and transfer of five purpose trusts, as well as the related use of powers of addition and exclusion. Among the set’s strong bench of juniors, Nicole Langlois is dual qualified to act in England and Jersey, and Bajul Shah is notable for his trust disputes work; he represented the defendant in Pilatus (PTC) Limited v RBC Trutsees (Guernsey) Limited, which concerns a breach of trust claim following the resignation of the trustee. Andrew Holden is another key junior at the set.