39 Essex Chambers is ‘very well respected in the Court of Protection health and welfare arena’. In a high-profile matter, Vikram Sachdeva KC, Catherine Dobson, Neil Allen and Alexander Ruck Keene KC appeared for various parties in Hemachandran v Thirumalesh, a Court of Appeal case concerning capacity issues regarding making decisions for medical treatment. The Court held that an individual’s belief in the relevant information when making a decision about medical treatment was not a legal requirement of the mental capacity test. In another matter, Victoria Butler-Cole KC acted for a client in Aberdeenshire Council v SF & Ors, a case involving the question of whether a Scottish Guardianship order could authorise a guardian to deprive a person, who was residing in an English supported living placement, of their liberty. Peter Mant KC was elevated to silk in March 2025; Saara Idelbi, Alex Cisneros and Matthew Wyard joined the team in August 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The client care skills of Sheraton Doyle and Peter Campbell are superb.'
- 'Oscar Redif is a pleasure to work with and always helpful, friendly and working tirelessly to go above and beyond expectations.'
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.
Nicola Greaney KC
‘Her advocacy is clear and succinct. Nicola is a very experienced pair of hands.’
Parishil Patel KC
Fiona Paterson KC
‘Fiona is extremely knowledgeable. She is clear, firm and very persuasive in her advocacy.’
Alexander Ruck Keene KC (Hon)
‘He is a fountain of knowledge, as well as possessing a very effective ability to apply his expertise in the real world.’
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.
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.
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.
Sian Davies
‘Sian knows her stuff. She is responsive and committed to her cases. A true joy to work with.'
Francesca Gardner
'She is extremely bright and formidable in court.'
Nicola Kohn
‘She is super-calm and effective, and a highly skilled advocate in complex health and welfare matters.'
Annabel Lee
Mungo Wenban-Smith
‘He is a very robust advocate in court. He has a keen sense for which arguments will be persuasive and which will not.’
Katherine Barnes
Anna Bicarregui
Adam Fullwood
‘Adam is a formidable advocate.’
Alexis Hearnden
‘Alexis is a truly excellent advocate. She is always a very safe pair of hands.'
Arianna Kelly
‘Arianna has a great eye for detail and grapples with complicated legal concepts very easily.'
Eliza Sharron
‘Eliza’s ability to master the most complex issues and subject them to forensic analysis is extraordinary. Her advocacy is calm and authoritative.’
Jack Anderson
‘Jack has excellent knowledge and a wealth of experience.'
Adam Boukraa
Alex Cisneros
‘He has a real depth of knowledge. A go-to choice for Court of Protection welfare cases.’
Stephanie David
Saara Idelbi
‘Saara is meticulous, tenacious and resilient. She is a fierce advocate for her clients, even in the most difficult of cases.’
Matthew Wyard
‘Matthew is very client-friendly, and is able to find solutions to the most difficult problems very quickly.’