Neil Kitchener KC
One Essex Court is 'at the top of the market for commercial disputes work'. Laurence Rabinowitz KC is 'a true litigation heavyweight who combines a calm demeanour with an ability to find solutions in the most complex of cases'. Sonia Tolaney KC and James MacDonald KC are acting for the defendants in BM Brazil & Ors v Sibanye, a $1.2bn claim concerning the alleged wrongful termination of share purchase agreements for the acquisition of two Brazilian mines from a private equity firm; the defendants had invoked an MAE clause to terminate the agreements following a geological event at one of the mines. In a boost to chambers, Michelle Menashy KC and Niranjan Venkatesan KC were both elevated to silk in March 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Darren Burrows is one of the best clerks at the Bar.'
- 'Darren Burrows is excellent - accessible, clear and fair.'
- 'Adam Wheeler and Jackie Ginty are both lovely to work with and always happy to help.'
- 'Rob Smith stands out for his flexibility, market knowledge and client service.'
- 'One Essex Court are brilliant.'
- 'One Essex Court is a pre-eminent set in commercial litigation.'
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.
Kenneth MacLean KC
‘Superb cross-examiner with a laser-like focus on the case strategy. One of the best senior silks in London.'
Laurence Rabinowitz KC
‘One of the best of his generation of commercial and banking silks.'
Sonia Tolaney KC
‘Sonia possesses exceptional advocacy skills combined with a razor-sharp intellect. She is one of the best commercial trial advocates available.'
Daniel Toledano KC
‘Daniel is at the very pinnacle of the commercial Bar. He is razor sharp and sees to the very heart of the issue straightaway.’
Stephen Auld KC
'Great sector knowledge and legally and commercially astute.'
Camilla Bingham KC
'Fantastic advocate. Very intelligent and pitches propositions and arguments to the judge with great skill.'
Alain Choo Choy KC
A star at the Bar. Works incredibly hard.'
Lord Grabiner KC
John McCaughran KC
'John is one of the leading commercial silks. A true class act, and a stand out lawyer.'
Jeffery Onions KC
Craig Orr KC
‘Craig's attention to detail is extraordinary. His oral advocacy is very powerful.'
Lord Wolfson KC
'He is a top choice for heavyweight and high profile commercial litigation.'
Richard Boulton KC
'Richard is absolutely fantastic. He's incredibly clever and is always the smartest person in the room - but without any ego.'
David Cavender KC
Charles Graham KC
‘An outstanding barrister with deep specialisation with brilliant client-handling skills.'
Sa’ad Hossain KC
‘Sa’ad has a brilliant mind with a wonderful forensic approach to advocacy. Clients also love him and hang on his every word.'
Rhodri Davies KC
'Very client and user friendly. Fantastic advocate.'
Michael Fealy KC
‘ Intellectually strong and willing to fight.'
Sebastian Isaac KC
‘Seb is a highly talented silk. A superstar of the bar for many years to come.’
James MacDonald KC
Simon Colton KC
‘Simon is absolutely superb. Extraordinarily bright; works at great speed; incredibly responsive; clear and crisp drafting.'
Alexander Gunning KC
Conall Patton KC
'Conall is absolutely superb. One of the brightest and best barristers - everything he says has substance and is the product of thoughtful analysis.'
Anna Boase KC
‘Anna is fiercely intelligence - the speed and precision of her analysis, and the clarity with which she conveys it, is unrivalled at her level.'
Hannah Brown KC
‘Hannah is a powerful advocate, who is always well prepared. Her communication skills are second to none.'
Laurence Emmett KC
‘Approachable and easy to work with. Great on his feet.'
Richard Gillis KC
‘Richard is meticulous in his preparation, and a considered advocate who is particularly strong on legal submissions.'
Orlando Gledhill KC
‘Orlando is a tenacious and fearless advocate with a good commercial approach to litigation.'
Jamie Goldsmith KC
‘Jamie is pretty much the perfect modern barrister. A real part of the team who rolls his sleeves up and gets stuck into the case.'
Alexander Polley KC
‘Phenomenally bright, fantastic written work and exceptional on his feet.'
Edmund Nourse KC
‘Edmund is the person to have in your corner if the gloves are off.’
2025 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.
Michelle Menashy KC
Niranjan Venkatesan KC
2024 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.
Nicholas Sloboda KC
‘Nick is an excellent barrister. He is quick to get up to speed on complex issues and he is very pragmatic and commercial.'
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.
Emma Jones
Sandy Phipps
‘A brilliant junior. Phenomenally hard-working, clever, a great drafter, excellent judgment and a seriously nice person..’
Clare Reffin
‘Clare is superb. Hugely knowledgeable and good commercial instincts.'
Nehali Shah
‘Nehali provides clear, thorough and thoughtful advice, which takes account of the client's commercial and wider strategic interests and objectives. She is a pleasure to deal with and a trusted advocate and adviser.'
Michael D’Arcy
‘Michael is an excellent lawyer. He combines his considerable technical ability with a practical, client-focused approach.'
Tamara Kagan
‘Tamara is excellent; technically superb, a brilliant draftsman, and a total pleasure to work with. She is highly pragmatic.'
Michael Watkins
‘A really superb senior junior who is super bright. He is a real star and a vital member of the team on any case.'
Mehdi Baiou
Simon Gilson
Patrick Harty
‘Really excellent. Strong on company law and not afraid to take a strong view.’
Douglas Paine
‘Excellent junior. Really on top of detail and lightning quick.'
Adam Rushworth
‘A super senior Junior. Extremely knowledgeable on litigation tactics.'
Maximilian Schlote
‘Extremely hard-working and the quality of his work is always excellent.'
Derek Spitz
Very calm advocate - unflustered, methodical and well-prepared. Extremely effective cross examiner.'
Joyce Arnold
‘Joyce is a very strong junior who punches above her weight.'
Daniel Benedyk
‘A star of his generation. Extraordinarily hard-working, legally gifted, self-starter whose work is of the highest quality.'
Nathaniel Bird
An incredibly talented and in-demand senior junior. A go-to.'
Abra Bompas
‘A tremendous junior. Absolutely first rate.'
Oliver Butler
‘Oliver is a pleasure to work with. He is detail-oriented, responsive and highly analytical.'
Eleanor Campbell
Eleanor is an extremely impressive barrister. She is very good at team working on complex technical and contractual matters.'
David Caplan
'David is an absolute star across all areas. His advocacy - oral and written - is fantastic.'
Joshua Crow
‘Very bright. Exceptional written work.'
Daniel Fletcher
Timothy Goldfarb
‘A very bright junior who is a delight to work with. His written work is excellent and his oral advocacy is clear and to the point.'
Henry Hoskins
‘Razor sharp attention to detail; expansive legal knowledge; safe pair of hands; extremely smart and also very use friendly.'
KV Krishnaprasad
Saul Lemer
Andrew Lodder
‘Andrew is extraordinary. He is bright and knowledgeable, has strong judgement, works very hard and delivers speedy turnaround - all with an easy-going manner that makes everything seem effortless.'
Sam O’Leary
‘Exceptionally bright, hardworking, all over the detail, strategically adept but, most of all, an absolutely first-rate court advocate capable of facing off against top-level silks.’
Rachel Oakeshott
James Ruddell
Oscar Schonfeld
Veena Srirangam
Alyssa Stansbury
Sophie Weber
Stephanie Wood
‘Stephanie is an exceptionally clever junior, whose written advocacy is consistently of the highest calibre — lucid, persuasive, and meticulously crafted.'
Rising stars
Rising stars at the Bar are defined as barristers between four and eight years’ call who are seen as up-and-coming members of the Bar in their respective practice areas by clients and peers alike. They will already be instructed in high-profile, complex, and high-value contentious and non-contentious matters, working with and opposite more experienced leading counsel.
Katherine Boucher
Katherine has a consistent ability to distill complex legal issues into compelling arguments. She is also notably responsive and collaborative, earning trust quickly through her thoughtful communication and client-focused approach.'
Tom Foxton
‘He is an outstanding barrister across every metric. He is whip smart, technically excellent and exceptionally creative in identifying arguments, notwithstanding difficult factual patterns. His written and oral advocacy are both superb. In particular, he is calm and measured in his oral presentation, thinks quickly on his feet and is able to gain the respect and trust of the judge.’
Matthew Hoyle
‘A highly cerebral barrister and a confident, well-prepared advocate.’
Michael Kotrly
'Michael is whip crack away smart and a really easy to work with. He's able to cut through difficult concepts and simplify them into bite size chunks.'
Ben Lewy
‘ Ben is very bright and understands the case quickly almost always comes up with new and important points to help strengthen the claim and then advocates in a very pleasant yet persuasive manner. ’
Sabrina Nanchahal
'Sabrina makes an instant impact, a true pocket rocket. She is not afraid to contribute to discussions and always adds value. Her drafting is superb and her client skills even better.'