‘Widely recognised as a leading set for civil fraud work’, Twenty Essex has ‘a deep bench of highly skilled advocates with extensive experience in multi-jurisdictional disputes’. Among the senior end of chambers, Blair Leahy KC is ‘a strong choice for multi-jurisdictional disputes’, and Philip Edey KC has ‘extensive experience of fraud cases’. Luke Pearce KC stands out as ‘an ideal choice for tricky fraud cases where mastery of the detail is imperative’. Paul Lowenstein KC‘s ’commercial awareness and calm authority make him a trusted advisor in high-stakes fraud litigation‘; he is leading Andrew Feld and Edward Gilmore on behalf of the claimants in Chen and others v Ma and others, a BVI claim alleging unlawful means conspiracy connected to the movement of secured assets out of the corporate holding structure of the A7 skyscraper construction project in Taiwan.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Mentions
Profile
Work Department
Arbitration; Banking and financial services; Civil fraud and asset tracing; Commodities and international trade; Energy and infrastructure; Jurisdiction, conflicts and enforcement; Shipping
Position
Edward’s practice spans the range of Chambers’ expertise in commercial litigation and international arbitration, with particular expertise in civil fraud, banking, international trade and energy disputes, typically with an international element. Edward is admitted to the bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, BVI. Edward is comfortable working as part of counsel teams of different sizes and is regularly instructed as sole counsel. He has appeared unled in the Commercial Court, Chancery Division and County Court.
Edward is currently instructed by the Republic in The Republic of Mozambique v Credit Suisse and others; Commercial Court proceedings worth at least US$2 billion concerning, inter alia, the enforceability of sovereign guarantees in the wake of the ‘Tuna Bond’ scandal, claims in conspiracy, bribery, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt, and a number of state immunity issues.
From January to April 2020, Edward worked as a judicial assistant in the Commercial Court to Mr Justice Andrew Baker and Mr Justice Foxton. He worked on a variety of interlocutory and injunctive hearings as well as applications under the Arbitration Act and a full trial.
Career
Called 2018; Called 2022 to the bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, British Virgin Islands.)
Education
- University of Oxford, New College: Politics, Philosophy and Economics, First Class (2015)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University: Visiting Student, LLM program (2016)
- City, University of London: GDL, BPTC (2018)
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Christopher Theobald goes above and beyond in every way.'
- 'Christopher Theobald is practical and smart - a pleasure to deal with.'
- 'The clerks at Twenty Essex are lovely to work with, amiable and very responsive.'
- 'They are professionally outstanding.'
- 'Twenty Essex is truly a top tier set, boasting a roster of incredibly talented advocates.'
- 'They have a real depth of talent.'
- 'Twenty Essex is well-regarded for its strength in civil fraud.'
- 'An excellent set.'