39 Essex Chambers

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

• 'The service in the clerks' room was excellent throughout and was of great assistance to instructing solicitors. Andrew Poyser in particular was outstanding.'
• '39 Essex Chambers is widely recognised for its strength in construction law. The set offers a deep bench of experienced practitioners and is frequently instructed in high-profile domestic and international construction disputes. Its members are active across a broad range of forums, including litigation, arbitration, adjudication, and dispute boards, and the set is known for its collaborative and commercially minded approach.'
• '39 Essex provides a great service and offers a team with great strength-in-depth. Always responsive. They have always offered a good availability of levels of counsel.'
• '39 Essex is one of our 'go-to' chambers for construction disputes. They are very good at what they do and regularly provide training to my firm.'
• 'The Clerks are always extremely responsive and helpful, especially Helaina Padda. They make the task of arranging hearings and conferences very easy.'
• 'Lewis Walker is fantastic, knowledgeable and hugely personable. He makes a real effort to remember details, both personal and professional and is a real pleasure to deal with. He is not pushy like other chambers' clerks and it means he retains our business.'

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.

2

Adrian Hughes KC

‘Adrian’s advocacy is clear, persuasive, and well-calibrated to both technical and legal audiences. He is particularly effective in managing expert evidence and complex contractual frameworks, and he brings a calm authority to proceedings.’

2

Adam Robb KC

2

Marion Smith KC

4

Kate Grange KC

2026 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.

1

David Sawtell KC

‘David is always on hand to assist the clients understanding on what was going on in a complicated situation, and advocated superbly at trial leading to a successful application for the clients and an excellent result for them, including on several previously undetermined points of law.’

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.

3

Rebecca Drake

3

Melissa Shipley

‘Melissa very quickly gets on top of the detail of even the most complex of cases, and importantly is always ready to raise/discuss potential weaknesses. Her drafting is prompt, efficient, yet precisely to the point.’

4

Patrick Hennessey

4

David Hopkins

4

Vivek Kapoor

4

Alexander Burrell

‘Alexander’s ability to distil complex areas of law into clear, accessible advice is particularly valuable for clients. His skill in navigating complex expert advice is also commendable: he engages with expert material thoughtfully and effectively, enhancing the overall case presentation.’  

4

Ruth Keating

‘Ruth is articulate, considered and manages to react quickly on her feet during interactions, feeding in comments from others into her retorts with ease, which is a skill in itself.’

4

Anthony Edwards

 ‘Anthony is very calm and methodical. He puts everybody at ease and breaks everything down to its most simplest. This is reflected in his advocacy.’

4

Jess Connors

‘Jess has incredible mastery of the detail of matters, and is able to pick up the key points quickly from large quantities of documents. Her advocacy is well structured and highly effective.’