Tom Allen KC
‘Tom is knowledgeable, clear in his advice and strategic in his thinking. The additional benefit is that he regularly defends individuals in business crime cases so he has an excellent insight into the defence arguments to run.’
Well-versed in multi-jurisdictional work, Cloth Fair Chambers is lauded for its expertise in all aspects of bribery, corruption, money laundering, and insider dealing as part of the set’s varied caseload, which frequently extends to the intersection of criminal and civil law. Tom Allen KC is highlighted for acting for the lead defendant in R (SFO) v Cook, Mason, proceedings regarding charges of corruption in relation to military contracts related to work carried out for the Saudi Arabian National Guard, which included allegations about the involvement of senior UK politicians and civil servants. Stuart Biggs represents a director pre-charge in the SFO investigation into the collapse of London Capital & Finance, while Robert Dacre joined the set in March 2024 from 2 Hare Court, and prosecutes for the London Borough of Hillingdon in a case related to infringement of the copyright of a number of leading brands. Rhys Meggy arrived in May 2023 from QEB Hollis Whiteman.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
- Profile
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Hiring Dean Brown is a super development and a great indication as to Cloth Fair's future ambitions. They are an approachable clerks room.'
- 'They are all very user friendly and client service focused.'
- 'Strong and responsive clerking team.'
- 'The clerks have always been helpful and efficient.'
- 'Helpful and professional clerks' room.'
- 'Clear and efficient.'
- 'Cloth Fair has no equal in terms of bench strength in this area.'
- 'Cloth Fair has an unrivalled panel of the top KCs in criminal law who are all at the top of their game. Chambers has recruited a number of juniors in the last year who will assist in providing strength in depth across junior and senior counsel.'
- 'Great set - acts on all the most high profile mandates.'
- 'Incredible strength in depth, absolute credibility in this area.'
Lawyers
Leading silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
John Kelsey-Fry KC
‘Clients are yet to encounter a silk who has JKF’s work ethic, depth of perception and judgement. He is also an excellent jury advocate.’
Alison Pople KC
‘Alison is an absolute pleasure to work with. Her meticulous preparation and advocacy style put her up there with the very best. She is a great tactician and leads the team in a very collegiate way. She commands the utmost trust from clients.’
Nicholas Purnell KC
‘Nick is a titan of the criminal Bar. He has been involved in most of the big business crime cases, and therefore has an outstanding feel for the dynamics and strategic considerations.’
Ian Winter KC
‘Fearless and compelling advocate, brilliant in court has the ear of judge and jury. Great strategist, huge drive and intellectual stamina. A great leader in this field.’
Leading juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
Stuart Biggs
‘There is no issue that Stuart can't or won't turn his hand to. A particular strength of his is his interest in and enthusiasm for technical and esoteric issues, especially cases involving emerging technologies and applying them to older legislation.’
Rhys Meggy
‘One of the leading practitioners in the highly competitive field business, regulatory crime and fraud. He is an excellent advocate with immense presence in court, respected by the bench and his opponents. He has a wonderful manner that comes with a confidence borne from exposure to the most challenging work.’
Robert Dacre
'Rob is an outstanding junior, destined to be a true star of the bar. He is vastly intelligent, totally committed and hugely industrious. He has a strategic sense way beyond his years. His advocacy is charismatic, creative and compelling.'
Polly Dyer
‘She is fantastically hard working, very clever and very organised. A great advocate.’