Insurance and reinsurance

Crown Office Chambers

Crown Office Chambers is noted as being the ‘go-to set for coverholders’ within the insurance and reinsurance sector, with members of the set routinely instructed by top tier firms in the space. Andrew Rigney KC‘s practice encompasses both domestic and international cases, and has been on the forefront in the Supreme Court in the FCA Covid-19 business interruption test cases, while Isabel Hitching KC was successful both at first instance and in the Court of Appeal in the case Allianz Insurance Plc v University of Exeter which dealt with the applicability of war exclusion clauses to damage occurring after the end of a war, and is now the leading case on the meaning of proximate cause in the war risk context – the case concerned an unexploded WWII-era bomb, which, during an otherwise successful controlled explosion, caused damage to a university hall of residence. Caroline McColgan stands out for her specialism in warranty and indemnity insurance and for her involvement in the FCA Test case. Hamish Fraser and Toby Chandler are names to watch.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Excellent. Steve Purse is excellent and always goes the extra mile to make sure the service is great.'
'Very responsive and great do deal with. Andy Flanagan is at the top of his game.'
'Clerking is strong at Crown Office - Steve Purse and Andy Flanagan get special mentions.'
'Crown Office Chambers has long been my "go to" set for insurance law disputes as well as occupational disease and higher value injury claims. The breadth of expertise in these areas is unsurpassed. There is always someone suitable available to assist.'
'Responsive and helpful.'

Silks

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.

Andrew Rigney KC

Crown Office Chambers

‘Andrew is a brilliant advocate, extremely hardworking, impeccably-mannered, and a thoroughly decent human being.'

Ben Quiney KC

Crown Office Chambers

‘Ben has a fantastic way of boiling down complex issues in an easy to understand way. His written advices are thorough and digestible. He is also very client friendly and great on his feet.’

Isabel Hitching KC

Crown Office Chambers

‘Isabel is a great team player, working with us as instructing solicitors and with the clients as needed. She is a strong advocate and is increasingly respected by the judiciary. She brings an intellectual rigour and attention to detail.’

Daniel Shapiro KC

Crown Office Chambers

‘Danny is a highly capable lawyer. Danny has an excellent grasp of the legal principles at play and cuts through the detail to get to the most relevant and important points. He allies this with a very calming manner with both clients and the court as well as excellent judgement. He is firm with opponents but balanced and well-respected.’

Michael Kent KC

Crown Office Chambers

‘Michael is among the best appellate counsel in this area. He has a profound grasp of the case law and is always two steps ahead of others in the room – any room. His advocacy is diffident and highly effective. He can run rings around experienced silks with high reputations.’

Crispin Winser KC

Crown Office Chambers

'Crispin is an incredibly talented advocate who is persuasive, calm, and comprehensive, and who delivers oral submissions in a thorough and thoughtful way.'

Juniors

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.

Caroline McColgan

Crown Office Chambers

‘Caroline is excellent: a very good insurance lawyer, very bright, extremely hard-working, dedicated and terrific with clients. She is also a very good cross-examiner.’

James Medd

Crown Office Chambers

'Encyclopaedic knowledge of insurance policy coverage.'

Suzanne Chalmers

Crown Office Chambers

‘Thorough, detailed, but also pragmatic and user-friendly.'

Steven Coles

Crown Office Chambers

'Attention to detail is impeccable. His understanding and communication is also exceptional.'

Julian Field

Crown Office Chambers

Michele De Gregorio

Crown Office Chambers

‘Very user friendly. Adopts a practical approach. He works well with the leader on the claim, but isn't afraid to bring his own ideas and views to the table.'

Athena Markides

Crown Office Chambers

‘Athena deciphers the critical issue really quickly and provides excellent technical and commercial advice that is easily explainable.'

Carlo Taczalski

Crown Office Chambers

‘Carlo is a very able lawyer - he has very good technical grasp of legal principles, he has very good judgment and is a clear and compelling communicator, both to clients and to the court.'

Richard Sage

Crown Office Chambers

Michael Harper

Crown Office Chambers

'Michael has a real eye for detail and immerses himself in the case. A seriously talented junior, excellent in both his drafting and ability to engage with clients.'

David Myhill

Crown Office Chambers

Joshua Brown

Crown Office Chambers

‘Very approachable and quick to grasp the issues in hand.’

Ivor Collett

Crown Office Chambers

Jason Evans-Tovey

Crown Office Chambers

John Greenbourne

Crown Office Chambers

‘Very approachable and accessible.'

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.