Charles Dougherty KC
Very experienced silk with a range of group action experience and real expertise.
2 Temple Gardens is known for handling complex group claims across a vast range of sectors including consumer products and human rights. The team is recognised for its expertise in managing cases involving international and domestic group actions The team features experienced silks such as Charles Dougherty KC, Marie Louise Kinsler KC, Lucy Wyles KC, Sonia Nolten KC, as well as juniors such as Jack Harris, Meghann McTague, David Thomas, Gareth Shires, Anna Hughes, Alistair Mackenzie, Jessica van der Meer, Tom Fairclough, Benjamin Phelps, Lucinda Spearman, Kate Legh and Eswar Kalidasan who are involved in the emissions litigation involving motor manufacturers including Volkswagen, Ford, BMW and Stellantis as well as dealerships, litigation funders and claimants, concerning a vast number of group claims alleging that the vehicles were fitted defeat devices reducing the effectiveness of emissions controls. Fairclough, led by Kinsler KC, also appeared in Limbu and ors v Dyson, acting for migrant workers alleging they were trafficked to Malaysia in order to work in factories that make components for use in Dyson products.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- Excellent set with a specialization in group litigation.
- Very impressive set with a particular specialism in group litigation.
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.
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.
Meghann McTague
Superb advocate, great at project management, fantastic with clients who just love her. She is an absolute joy to work with and rapidly makes herself completely indispensable. No weaknesses.
Alistair Mackenzie
Alistair is a leading expert on group litigation and private international law. He is tireless, determined, and a wonderful person to work with.
Tom Fairclough
Tom is exceptionally smart, enthusiastic, and hard-working. He is probably the most responsive barrister I know - the speed with which he turns work around is extremely impressive. He combines a deep understanding of the law with strategic sophistication and a healthy dose of pragmatism. He is unfailingly hard-working and is never anything less than completely enthusiastic and helpful. He is undoubtedly a star of the future, and I cannot sing his praises highly enough.
Anna Hughes
Benjamin Phelps
Ben is incredibly good at mastering the details of technical issues. He clearly understands the complex and detailed issues in the case we are working on and is capable of distilling them into cogent and concise language. Ben provides very clear, considered, and user-friendly advice.
Robert Cumming
Robert's advice was clear and instructive. He was generous with his time and frank with his advice.
Kate Legh
Kate is extremely proficient at getting on top of the details of a case. She communicates clearly and effectively with clients and instructing solicitors alike, and is a pleasure to work with.
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.
Anna Dannreuther
Anna is a superb barrister and a great pleasure to work with. She was instructed at a comparatively late stage in a complex matter and was an enormous asset to the team. The silks leaned on her heavily and she worked tirelessly, overseeing every aspect of the case in the way that the best juniors seem to be able to do. Anna has a remarkable ability to switch between tasks while under pressure. She is able to see both the bigger picture and also get stuck into the detail as required. Her drafting is of very high quality and her advocacy is compelling, engaging, and very well received by the bench. On a personal level, she is a pleasure to work with – approachable, clear, sensible, resilient, and not afraid to have difficult conversations. She instills confidence throughout the team. I would not hesitate to instruct Anna again on other matters, either alone or led.