‘Highly esteemed for its leadership in handling both competition and competition-adjacent claims’, members of Brick Court Chambers remain at the forefront of the most prominent matters in competition law across a variety of courts and tribunals. ’One of the most outstanding barristers of her generation’, Marie Demetriou KC led proceedings on behalf of millions of consumers in Merricks vs Mastercard, the first collective action to be certified, in a four-day appeal in the Court of Appeal, while Sarah Ford KC represented Mark McLaren Class Representative Limited on the second ever collective proceedings to reach trial following the CAT’s decision to make its first ever Collective Settlement Approval Order. The ‘creative and fantastically adaptable’ Daniel Jowell KC was successful in the high-profile and cross-border Epic Games vs Google matter, in obtaining permission for the claimant to allege excessive pricing by the technology giant for use of its app store, and Mark Hoskins KC was instructed to lead for a class representative in collective proceedings against Apple in litigation concerning its app store. An ’exceptionally strong advocate’, Tony Singla KC led on behalf the defendant in Gormsen vs Meta in hearings at the CAT and the Court of Appeal in a class action valued around £3bn.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

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.

Marie Demetriou KC

'Marie is one of the most outstanding barristers of her generation, and not merely in competition law. She is an extraordinarily effective advocate who can always distil from a morass of material the simplest and most compelling answer to the case. She is the kind of advocate who judges will instantly start noting every word she says.'

Sarah Ford KC

Mark Howard KC

Daniel Piccinin KC

'Daniel is a genius - he's lightning fast and extremely accurate. He is robust in his advice and advocacy, and a huge pleasure to work with.'

Fergus Randolph KC

'Fergus is very good at navigating his way through complex fact patterns and he is a reassuring voice for funders.'

Nicholas Saunders KC

'Nick has brings a truly unique combination of patent and competition law expertise to the bar. He is incredibly knowledgeable, even on seemingly obscure areas of science, which provide a powerful edge over the competition in a highly talented field.'

Colin West KC

'Colin is an effective barrister, with a calm and serious style. He responds squarely and directly to judges' questions, which they clearly appreciate, and reads the courtroom well, not taking or maintaining points which are not going down well.'

2024 Silks

Richard Blakeley KC

'An absolute pleasure to work with. Clever, a great communicator and very user friendly.'

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.

David Bailey

'David has an encyclopedic knowledge of the law and applies that in a very focused and thoughtful way. His drafting is excellent: crisp, direct and very clear. David is very adept at identifying and articulating the strongest points in any case, and in identifying and neutralising strongest arguments on the others side.'

Hugo Leith

'He has a first-rate intellect, wonderful written and oral advocacy skills, and really impeccable judgment in terms of which points will, and will not, play out well in court. He also has great strategic awareness, coupled with strong tactical senses to execute his strategic thinking. He is also well able to leverage his considerable commercial law experience into competition litigation.'

Sarah Love

‘Undoubtedly one of the cleverest juniors at the competition Bar and now also one of the most experienced. Sarah is also a great pleasure to work with. An obvious pick for the biggest and most complex cases.’

Tim Johnston

'Tim is a great junior with a terrific instinct for the points that matter and already a formidable advocate in his own right.'

Matthew Kennedy

'Offers an ideal blend of measured and commanding presence on his feet. Forensic understanding of some of the most complex issues that tend to arise in this area, and is able to explain them in a simple and strategic way.'

Jennifer MacLeod

'Jenny is the full package: she is a forensic powerhouse and extremely tactically sharp as well. All of this combined this with an indefatigable work ethic. She is one of, if not the best, competition juniors at the Bar. Her advocacy is second to none.'

Emma Mockford

'Emma is incredibly clever and quick - she's always a step ahead and can see just where an argument is going. She never stops thinking about a case or turning issues over in her mind. She's approachable and easy to work with; solicitors and clients love her. She's great at working in a large team of counsel or co-defendants.'

Gerard Rothschild

'Gerard has phenomenal attention to detail. He is highly responsive, so turns documents around quickly and is a very safe pair of hands. His advocacy is characteristically thorough and methodical, which seems to land well with judges, and his level of preparation and communication beforehand gives the solicitor team and client confidence going into hearings that he will be able to field questions and deal with ad hoc developments as they arise.'

Charlotte Thomas

'Charlotte has a fantastic worth ethic, her drafting is crisp and persuasive, and her sense of strategy is great. She is a real team player, makes herself available, and has a fantastic grasp of the law in this area.'

David Heaton

'Extremely thorough, very diligent barrister with a real focus on the points that matter.'

Emily MacKenzie

'A brilliant and charming junior barrister who can turn her hand to anything with great aplomb.'

Andrew McIntyre

‘Andrew is totally reliable, a completely safe pair of hands and incredibly calm in all possible circumstances. He is really good at legal research and at thinking through legal arguments. He is creative and assertive in his client’s interests.’

Sarah O’Keeffe

‘Sarah is the complete package: diligent and thorough in her research; clever and thoughtful in her analysis; clear and cogent in her written and oral expression; and dependable, indefatigable and good-humoured at all times.’

Tom Pascoe

‘He is a very clear thinker and is able to cut through issues, provides excellent strategic advice and is extremely proactive and happy to lend support. He is very down to earth and easy to work with.’

Jonathan Scott

'Jon is exceptionally clever and an extremely quick worker. He has great intellectual self-confidence and is always willing and keen to attack any problem. He thinks laterally and often has ideas that have not occurred to others.'

Max Schaefer

‘Max is an exceptional senior junior. His written submissions are brilliant, clear and persuasive. He balances a range of cases but always seems to find the time to advise. He is clever, personable and pleasure to deal with. He acts across a range of the most high-profile cases in the market. His ability to grapple with complex technical evidence is also very impressive.’

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.

Joshua Pemberton

'Josh is an up-and-coming competition junior who has been instructed in some of the key cases. He is a delight to work with - clever, dedicated and hugely personable.'

Michael Quayle

‘Michael’s written advocacy is outstanding. His written submissions are clear and persuasive and he presents complex legal arguments with admirable simplicity. Michael is tirelessly hard working and passionate.’