Mr Stuart Adair > 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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Mr Stuart Adair
Position
Stuart has an extremely successful commercial chancery practice which focuses on commercial litigation, company law, insolvency, fraud, breach of trust and asset tracing. He is a specialist advocate who is particularly effective in the context of highly contentious litigation. It is here that his excellent cross-examination skills prove most valuable and effective.
In addition to appearing in the English courts, Stuart has been called to the bar of the British Virgin Islands and regularly appears in international arbitrations.
Career
Prior to the Bar Stuart served for 10 years as a British Army officer; called 1995, Inner Temple; co-author of Blackstone’s ‘Guide to the Companies Act 2006’.
Languages
French (fluent).
Memberships
- Chancery Bar Association
- Insolvency Lawyers Association
- Subscriber to R3
- Bar of The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Education
- LLB Exeter
- Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Leisure
Open water swimming
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Company
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1Stuart Adair – XXIV Old Buildings ‘Stuart has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the field and combines this will a polished but remorseless approach to litigation.’
XXIV Old Buildings is ‘the supreme set for trust and commercial work and anything offshore, with an excellent roster of counsel at all levels’. The set has built a solid reputation for company law work, which typically arises from its highly regarded practices in Chancery and offshore matters. Head of chambers Elspeth Talbot Rice KC remains a standout silk for domestic and cross-border company matters. Stephen Moverley Smith KC’s highlights include long-running case Re Genmar Resources Ltd, concerning winding up and unfair prejudice claims in relation to an oil trading business, with allegations of asset misappropriation. Stuart Adair remains a standout junior in this field, his recent work including unfair prejudice proceedings for the claimant in Excess Reserves Limited v Patel and others.
London Bar > Commercial litigation
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 2Stuart Adair –XXIV Old Buildings ‘Good grasp of the commercial realities of a case and good empathy with clients. Stuart has a persuasive manner in court and is ready to deal with the unexpected as it arises.’
London Bar > Insolvency
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1Stuart Adair –XXIV Old Buildings ‘He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the field and combines this will with a polished but remorseless approach to litigation.’
London Bar > Fraud: civil
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 2Stuart Adair –XXIV Old Buildings ‘He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the field and combines this with a polished but remorseless approach to litigation.’
‘A go-to chambers for civil fraud work involving complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes‘, XXIV Old Buildings also has a consistent flow of domestic fraud work, and is widely esteemed for its expertise in trusts and insolvency-related civil fraud matters. Elspeth Talbot Rice KC is currently acting in a claim that funds were stripped out of a company to render it judgment-proof; and in an important decision on the principles to apply in determining a forum challenge involving foreign law expert evidence, Stephen Moverley Smith KC represented various defendants in a claim to recover $50m of alleged bribes that were paid to an agro-chemical company’s chief executive. At the senior junior end of chambers, Stuart Adair is defending an individual who is alleged by the claimants to have induced them to invest in start-up technology company, Seed Media, by making multiple fraudulent misrepresentations.