Joe Smouha KC
‘Leader of the pack – an immense talent.'
Essex Court Chambers ‘stands at the very pinnacle of the English commercial Bar, particularly for complex international disputes’. Paul McGrath KC is acting for the claimants in Petersen & Ors v Republic of Argentina, concerning the enforcement of a $16.4bn judgment issued against Argentina in New York arising from a dispute over an alleged breach of contract. Joe Smouha KC ‘is able to combine a ferocious intellect with steely determination and a thoroughly charming personality’. In March 2025, the senior end of chambers was bolstered by the elevation of the ‘robust, hard-working, and effective’ Ciaran Keller KC and the ‘incredibly bright, creative and methodical’ Anton Dudnikov KC to silk.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Joe Ferrigno runs a tight ship.'
- 'Ollie Butcher is fantastic to deal with.'
- 'Joe Ferrigno runs a top quality clerks' room.'
- 'Essex Court’s clerks provide a comprehensive and quality service which is second to none.'
- 'A premium set.'
- 'Essex Court are a quality chambers which is highly regarded with an impressive barrister line up.'
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.
Stephen Houseman KC
'Stephen is a stunning advocate and a master tactician.'
Paul McGrath KC
‘Masterful cross-examination, a phenomenal intellect with exceptional command of the detail.'
Graham Dunning KC
'Graham is a very creative and effective advocate; able to masterfully distil complex and vast matters into simple, yet powerful, submission.'
Jeffrey Gruder KC
Andrew Hochhauser KC
David Joseph KC
‘David is an incredible lawyer, very articulate and effective, and very good to work with. He is responsive and proactive and writes beautifully.'
Nathan Pillow KC
‘Nathan can take anything and make it better. His ability to read judges is second to none.'
Huw Davies KC
'Huw provides excellent advice. He has an eye for detail and is an all rounder.'
Richard Millett KC
'He is hard-working, polished and fiercely intelligent. He is particularly good at winning the trust and confidence of both clients and the judiciary.'
Daniel Oudkerk KC
‘He is a great advocate but is also a great team player. Clients love him.'
Paul Stanley KC
Tim Akkouh KC
'Tim is supremely intelligent and a truly thoughtful advocate.'
Anna Dilnot KC
‘Excellent advocate. Quick thinker and calm under pressure.'
Paul Key KC
Excellent barrister. Keen legal intellect.’
Emily Wood KC
'Impressive advocate and excellent in terms of clarity of her overall analysis.'
Jeremy Brier KC
‘Jeremy is very personal and energetic. He is intelligent and a real team worker.'
Edward Brown KC
He has an unerring ability to read the mood of the court and to pivot or respond accordingly. First rate advocate.’
James Collins KC
‘James is at the top of his game. He is a silky-smooth advocate who out classes his opponents with his calm but commanding style.'
David Davies KC
'David is one of the very best, personable, quick to understand, think through and find solutions to issues, creative, hard working and not afraid to roll up his sleeves.'
Ruth den Besten KC
'A real star. Very easy to work with and a powerful advocate.'
Philippa Hopkins KC
'Extremely bright, very personable, and user-friendly. Excellent manner with clients and gives realistic and clear advice.'
John Lockey KC
Iain Quirk KC
‘Iain's advocacy is measured, clear and powerful.'
David Scorey KC
‘Highly analytical, deep sector knowledge, prompt response and service oriented and commercial.'
James Willan KC
‘James has a razor sharp mind and is quite simply one of the two or three stars of his generation at the Bar.'
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.
Anton Dudnikov KC
Ciaran Keller KC
‘Ciaran is extremely user friendly, responsive, and thoughtful. He considers issues deeply and brings a collaborative spirit to work with the solicitor team.’
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.
David Peters KC
'Incredibly bright, and able to cut straight to the core of complex issues on any case. A fantastic advocate, who persuasively puts forward the client's case and has the court's ear.'
James Sheehan KC
'James is incredibly bright and has a depth of knowledge that is, at times, hard to believe. He is totally unflappable, even under the most extreme pressure. His written work is fantastic, and his advocacy is also impressive.'
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.
Tom Ford
‘Tom is an absolutely first-rate senior junior. He is extremely intelligent, confident, and creative. As an opponent, he is formidable, but easy to get on with and cooperative.'
Catherine Jung
‘Catherine is a fantastic junior, with a total command of the matter. She is easy to work with, very intelligent, and dedicated to successes on even the toughest points.'
Christopher Lloyd
'Chris is an absolute superstar, destined for the very top. There are no gaps in his skill set.'
Paul C K Wee
‘Despite his busy schedule, Paul remains consistently available for his clients, demonstrating a level of reliability that is second to none. His dedication and expertise make him an invaluable asset in any legal matter.’
Stuart Cribb
‘Stuart is extremely smart, diligent and hard working. An excellent junior all round.'
Stephen Donnelly
'Really solid competent junior.'
Matthieu Gregoire
‘Really good commercial junior, approachable and user friendly, very clear and confident advocacy, great to work with.'
Sophia Hurst
‘Sophia is an intellectual powerhouse who has a great career ahead of her at the bar. She is certainly one to watch and a future star at the bar.'
Andrew Legg
‘Andrew has a laser-focussed approach to legal analysis and an astute commercial and strategic awareness. He is particularly responsive and communicates very well around his capacity. He is a pleasure to work with.’
Owen Lloyd
‘Owen combines a workhorse work ethic with sharp judgement and an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the law. He is particularly strong when it comes to the preparation of written submissions.'
Helen Morton
Bibek Mukherjee
‘Bibeck is very bright and responsive. He has an incisive mind and is a good all round lawyer.'
Freddie Onslow
‘Freddie is a very impressive junior. She is bright, confident and capable – a valuable member of a team.’
Claudia Renton
‘She is absolutely brilliant lawyer, excellent in navigating strategic and difficult questions, extremely intelligent, solution-orientated and provides business -orientated advice, extremely knowledgeable in her areas of law and hard-working.’
Alexander Riddiford
John Robb
'Intense ability, backed by a phenomenal intellect, to focus on the issues in a case and to draft powerfully coherent submissions at speed.'
Benedict Tompkins
‘Benedict has a formidable intellect and is strong in the advice that he gives. A star of the future.'
Felix Wardle
‘Superb technical lawyer, excellent communicator, and a trusted adviser.'
Peter Webster
‘Peter has an excellent ability to distil and digest complex matters and make them easy for clients to understand. His drafting is exceptional.'
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.
Wei Jian Chan
'Incredibly responsive, analytically sharp, excellent understanding of the papers, and strong strategic instincts. '
Freddie Popplewell
‘One of the standout qualities of Freddie is how commercially minded he is - always focused on practical, cost-effective solutions that align with the client's goals for the litigation. He is a thoughtful barrister.’
Katherine Ratcliffe
‘Very bright, highly practical and resourceful. Great work product and made huge efforts to get the work done, sometimes under quite challenging circumstances..’