Serle Court

Serle Court is highly esteemed by clients as 'a brilliant Chancery commercial set'. Jonathan Adkin KC and Zahler Bryan acted for the Republic of Mozambique in the high-profile "tuna bonds" litigation, which involved allegations of bribery and breaches of fiduciary duty; the High Court ruled in favour of the Republic. Philip Marshall KC is 'an excellent barrister for heavy-weight commercial and fraud litigation'. Bolstering the team at the senior end, Matthew Morrison KC took silk in March 2025.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Charlie Payne is very responsive.'
'Charlie Payne is fantastic, responsive and helpful. For Charlie, nothing is ever too much trouble.'
'Team players with a can do attitude.'
'The clerking is extremely professional, sensible and user-friendly.'
'A stellar set.'
'Great strength in depth at all levels.'

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.

Jonathan Adkin KC

‘A go-to silk for hard cases. No one fights harder or better.’

Elizabeth Jones KC

‘Simply outstanding; case winning, energetic, talented, bright.'

Philip Marshall KC

‘Philip is a forceful individual who provides robust advice.'

Daniel Lightman KC

‘He has good judgement and a sixth sense for what the court will decide.’

Hugh Norbury KC

‘Hugh is a practitioner from the very top drawer. He has the complete package - sharp and well-honed forensic skills, a powerful advocate, good judgement.'

Lance Ashworth KC

‘Lance is the complete package: clear, concise advice; commercial awareness; responsive and user friendly; and great in court.'

Zoe O’Sullivan KC

‘Strong legal analysis - gets across issues very quickly.'

Rupert Reed KC

'Rupert's advocacy skills are excellent.'

David Blayney KC

‘David is a unique talent in the litigation market.’

John Machell KC

John is a first-class advocate who has the ear of the court.’

Dominic Dowley KC

Jonathan Harris KC

‘Jonathan has unparalleled expertise. He is extremely thorough and is able to identify angles others cannot.'

Justin Higgo KC

‘Smart, eloquent, always one step ahead and moving faster than anyone else.'

2025 Silks

Matthew Morrison KC

‘Matthew is great at providing clear and concise advice that clients can easily understand. His advice and drafting of pleadings are consistently of the highest standard and he is able to get to grips with even the most complex disputes with ease.’

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.