Essex Court Chambers

Essex Court Chambers is recognised as ‘one of the top sets for civil fraud with strength and numbers across the board’. Multiple members of the set continue to appear in Public Institution for Social Security v Al Rajaan and others, with Anna Dilnot KC representing the claimant and Joe Smouha KC, James Collins KC, and Felix Wardle acting on behalf of the Man Group in the proceedings. Among the senior end of chambers, Paul McGrath KC brings strong expertise in asset recovery matters, and Nathan Pillow KC is sought after for his experience in acting for financial institutions in civil fraud matters. Ruth den Besten KC is ‘a real star’. Turning to the juniors, Tom Ford is ‘phenomenally hard-working’, with a solid track record in handling claims involving allegations of misrepresentation, conspiracy, breach of duty and deceit. In a boost to chambers, Anton Dudnikov KC and Ciaran Keller KC both took silk in March 2025.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Joe Ferrigno always makes time and runs a very efficient and responsive clerking team.'
'Samantha Wright is always very responsive and effective at resolving queries.'
'Efficient, responsive and commercial.'
'A leading civil fraud set.'
'Essex Court has quality at every level.'
'Essex Court has an excellent group of barristers.'

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.

Paul McGrath KC

'He is the king of civil fraud law.'

Nathan Pillow KC

Joe Smouha KC

'Joe is superb in the court room.'

Tim Akkouh KC

'A superb junior silk who is all over the detail of a case.'

Louise Hutton KC

James Willan KC

'James has a razor sharp mind.'

Ruth den Besten KC

'Ruth is a powerful advocate.'

James Collins KC

David Davies KC

'An authoritative advocate who thinks ahead.'

Anna Dilnot KC

'She is a superb silk.'

Paul Key KC

2025 Silks

Anton Dudnikov KC

Ciaran Keller KC

'He provides excellent strategic advice.'

2024 Silks

David Peters KC

‘A very confident strategic thinker.’

James Sheehan KC

'A super-bright silk.'

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.

Tom Ford

'A powerful advocate, who will fight tooth and nail for his clients' interests.'

Sophia Hurst

Christopher Lloyd

Stuart Cribb

'Stuart is clever, strategic and has good judgement.'

Matthieu Gregoire

'Matthieu is a team player.'

Richard Hoyle

'A thoughtful and academic barrister.'

Owen Lloyd

'Owen's attention to detail, commerciality and strategic focus are hugely impressive.'

Bibek Mukherjee

Alexander Riddiford

John Robb

'He possesses intense ability, backed by a phenomenal intellect.'

Felix Wardle

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.