‘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
Profile
Work Department
Arbitration and mediation; Banking and finance; Civil fraud and asset tracing; Commercial law; Energy and natural resources; Insurance and reinsurance; Private international law; Shipping; Sport
Position
Luke has a broad practice covering all aspects of commercial law, with a particular emphasis on banking and finance, international arbitration, shipping & commodities and civil fraud.
He regularly appears in the High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as before arbitral tribunals under a variety of rules. He has also appeared three times in the Supreme Court.
Luke is recommended in the Chambers UK and The Legal 500 guides as a leading junior in the fields of (1) commercial dispute resolution; (2) banking and finance; (3) international arbitration; (4) shipping; and (5) commodities. In 2021, he was shortlisted by Chambers and Partners for the award of ‘International Arbitration Junior of the Year’. He has also been shortlisted twice by The Legal 500 and once by Chambers and Partners for the award of ’Shipping junior of the year’. In 2013 he was named by Legal Week as one of their ‘Stars of the Bar’ under ten years’ call.
Before coming to the Bar, Luke taught contract law at Worcester College, Oxford and King’s College, London.
Languages
French (proficient); Portuguese (proficient); Spanish (conversational)
Content supplied by Twenty Essex
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.'