Twenty Essex
‘David has an outstanding intellect and is always available, courteous and excellent with clients.’
Twenty Essex has ‘some of the best and broadest expertise in international trade, shipping and insurance, whether amongst skills and juniors’, and those skills see members increasingly involved in complex and high-value matters in the energy sector, particularly the oil and gas market. Their work also encompasses LNG, mining, drill and rig disputes, and there is a growing volume of work arising from the renewable energy sector and issues related to climate change and energy transition. Members couple industry-specific knowledge with expertise in financial, fraud and contractual disputes, as well as engineering and construction both onshore and offshore. David Lewis KC is an increasingly prominent presence in energy disputes, frequently acting for large trading houses in matters concerning price reviews and supply contracts. Michael Ashcroft KC recently acted for BP Oil in a $20m Commercial Court claim, BP Oil International Ltd v Vega Petroleum Ltd and Dover Investments Ltd, concerning the return of payments for 211,387 barrels of Gulf of Suez Mix crude oil that was, according to BP, never delivered from the Ras El Ush field in Egypt. Wendy Miles KC, who is best known for climate change matters, is also heavily involved in oil and gas disputes.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'I have always found the clerks of Twenty Essex to be very fair in fixing brief fees and in pricing work generally. They have been able to advise me well on availability of barristers and in making alternative arrangements when there are issues of maternity or paternity leave.'
- 'Excellent - Anthony Carroll is excellent in BD. Robert Wheeler - excellent.'
- 'Chris Theobald is a straightforward and approachable clerk with whom frank commercial discussion is always on the agenda. He leads a clerk team that is always keen to help and keep me informed about workloads and timings.'
- 'The clerks offer a very good service indeed; fast, responsive and friendly. I am always offered a number of good options for counsel and I find the clerks are willing to be sensible in fee negotiations.'
- 'Twenty Essex provides impeccable client service.'
'Twenty Essex is one of a cluster of first-rate chambers for commercial matters that I regularly use, so they are always front-of-mind for a new case.'
- 'A first-class commercial set at the top of their game; my go-to for heavyweight commercial and international disputes.'
'The set is my preferred set for commercial disputes; it has a deep bench of very good counsel at all levels and covering the full spectrum of commercial disciplines.'
- 'Twenty Essex for me has some of the best and broadest expertise in international trade, shipping and insurance, whether amongst skills and juniors as advocates or amongst members of their chambers who appear as arbitrators or mediators.'
- 'In my opinion one of the top three in the country for this type of work.'
Silks
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.
Twenty Essex
‘Wendy is extremely intelligent, combining a deep understanding of both the law and the most complex factual matrices. She is a systemic thinker and excellent advocate.’
Twenty Essex
‘Charles is extremely user friendly, adaptable and hardworking. His advice and paperwork are of the highest standard and his oral advocacy is superb.’
Twenty Essex
‘Incredibly bright, cool, calm and collected under pressure, Michael is a very polished and persuasive advocate.’
Twenty Essex
‘A very powerful advocate who has the ear of tribunal and mastery of the details.’
Twenty Essex
‘Andrew is a clear and incisive thinker who always cuts to the heart of the legal and factual issues in any dispute. He is also a tenacious advocate.’
Twenty Essex
‘Extremely user-friendly and honest about the merits of the case, Timothy fights tooth and nail for a good result and utterly fantastic on his feet.’
Twenty Essex
‘Gordon’s strengths are his knowledge of the energy market and his commercial approach.’
Twenty Essex
‘Philip is strong in dealing with expert evidence and is strategically creative.’
2023 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.
Twenty Essex
‘Really smart, agile, conscientious, and unflappable under pressure, Luke is impressive on his feet.’
Juniors
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.
Twenty Essex
‘Malcolm has a very good eye for detail and works quickly, providing definitive and clear advice. His advocacy is measured, precise and persuasive.’
Twenty Essex
‘Monica is an outstanding junior – a hardworking and committed team member who is an absolute pleasure to work with.’
Twenty Essex
‘Absolutely excellent. A KC in the making. He is incredibly bright, on top of detail, responsive and user-friendly.’
Leading Juniors
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.
Twenty Essex
‘Malcolm has a very good eye for detail and works quickly, providing definitive and clear advice. His advocacy is measured, precise and persuasive.’
Twenty Essex
‘Monica is an outstanding junior – a hardworking and committed team member who is an absolute pleasure to work with.’
Twenty Essex
‘Absolutely excellent. A KC in the making. He is incredibly bright, on top of detail, responsive and user-friendly.’