‘Elite set’ 3 Verulam Buildings is ‘one of the strongest sets for the largest of fraud claims’. The group has an excellent track record in handling high-profile, cross-border fraud litigation, often involving offshore jurisdictions, as well as asset tracing, bribery and breach of fiduciary duty matters, to name a few. Members of the set continue to be involved in Harrington & Charles Trading Co v Mehta, a $1bn claim concerning alleged fraudulent acquisition and misappropriation of gold bullion shipments from Indian banks; Ewan McQuater KC, Ian Wilson KC, Philip Hinks and James McWilliams are acting for the claimant liquidators. Elsewhere in chambers, Adrian Beltrami KC is representing the claimant in Jinxin v Aser Media, a case involving claims of unlawful means conspiracy, deceit and bribery. Among the juniors, the ‘intelligent’ Yash Bheeroo is acting for the defendant in Pacific Alliance Asia Opportunity Fund LP v Bravo Luck Limited, a $107m claim for unlawful means conspiracy in the BVI. In March 2025, James Robinson KC took silk, and Timothy Killen joined the team in October 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Stuart Pullum is fantastic to deal with.'
- 'Stuart Pullum runs an excellent ship.'
- 'Andrew Monks stands out for his unshakeable support in any circumstances.'
- 'Andrew Monks is professional, courteous and effective.'
- 'A superb set with quality at every level.'
- 'A fantastic set with strength and depth.'
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.
Ali Malek KC
Andrew Onslow KC
'A titan of the commercial Bar.'
Hodge Malek KC
Ewan McQuater KC
Andrew Sutcliffe KC
David Quest KC
'A very strategic silk who is always looking for the killer point.'
Adrian Beltrami KC
Peter De Verneuil Smith KC
'A very measured, sensible and persuasive advocate.'
Adam Kramer KC
'His level of understanding of the detail of a case is a great advantage. His advocacy commands the respect of tribunals and the court.'
Hefin Rees KC
Matthew Hardwick KC
'Matthew is adept at articulating and explaining complex legal principles in a clear and straightforward manner.'
Tom Montagu-Smith KC
Ian Wilson KC
'Ian is calm and quick-witted, with a fantastic brain and a great way with clients. His advocacy style is assured and engaging.'
Matthew Parker KC
Rajesh Pillai KC
'Rajesh is highly intelligent, crafts clear and cogent arguments and keeps his cool under pressure.'
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.
William Edwards KC
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.
Yash Bheeroo
Philip Hinks
James McWilliams
James has a robust, compelling and succinct style, and a level of gravitas and authority beyond his years of call.'
Rumen Cholakov
'Rumen is a top class litigator. He has excellent judgement.'
Ryan Ferro
'Ryan combines intelligence with a work ethic which is second to none. He's calm, thoughtful and highly sympathetic with clients.'
Calum Mulderrig
'He is a very shrewd tactician and knows fraud issues inside out.'
Timothy Killen
Tim is a master on his feet. He is calm, fearless, and deadly. He knows which points appeal to judges and which do not.’
Georges Chalfoun
'He quickly earns clients’ confidence and brings clarity and structure to complex disputes. His advocacy is smooth, well-paced and compelling and he remains composed under pressure.'
Pia Dutton
'She is possessed of formidable intelligence, and is an authoritative and gracious advocate.'
Charlotte Eborall
Liisa Lahti
James Potts
'A very concise and responsive junior.'
Damien Walker
'Damien is an outstanding junior. He is particularly adept at distilling complex issues and presenting them in a concise and compelling manner.'
Christopher Bond
William Day
'He is impressive to judges and has a formidable amount of energy and endurance.'
Sophia Dzwig
'Sophia has that uncanny knack of being able to identify quickly what needs to be done and quickly do it. Her work ethic is simply staggering.'
Saaman Pourghadiri
‘Saaman exercises exceptional judgement, which delivers real value to the client.’
Rebecca Zaman
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.
Clarissa Jones
Gretel Scott
'Gretel is tenacious and really fights hard for her clients.'