Doug Jones
'Doug is one of the finest arbitrators practising today. He is also extremely busy and very much in demand. His capacity for hard work is absolutely phenomenal. He is one of the pre-eminent construction arbitrators practising today.'
Lauded as ‘the leading set for construction disputes’ Atkin Chambers full and part-time arbitrators are appointed on major energy, powerplant construction, infrastructure and mining disputes in seats across the globe. In April 2023 the previous Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, the Hon James Allsop AC joined the chambers and was shortly thereafter appointed as an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court. Doug Jones, Sir Robert Akenhead and Frances Kirkham are also full-time arbitrators, with the latter having recently been active in arbitrations concerning infrastructure projects in the Middle East.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
- Profile
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Justin Wilson bears particular mention. Great service. Organised, responsive, straightforward, helpful and fully immersed in and aware of his market.'
- 'David Barnes is still the gold standard. Top class service. Has strong relationships with many law firms in Asia.'
- 'The clerks are superb; David Barnes is the current doyen of London clerks.'
- 'David Barnes is a leader among clerks at the English and Welsh Bar.'
- 'Atkin Chambers is the leading set for construction disputes and counts many leading construction arbitrators as arbitrators.'
- 'As a whole the set is one of the strongest in the world for construction and infrastructure.'
- 'Both as advocates and arbitrators the members of Atkin Chambers are of the highest quality.'
- 'The quality of advocates and arbitrators at Atkin Chambers is of the very highest standard. There are absolutely no weak links.'
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.
Sir Robert Akenhead
'Sir Robert's knowledge of construction law and practice is second to none. He is very hard-working, always fully on top of the detail and fearsomely well-prepared. He has a sure touch when analysing the evidence and a wealth of experience in assessing witness and expert evidence. He is always ready with a key question or observation. Nothing passes him by.'
Hon James Allsop AC
‘A brilliant mind and a superb administrator.’
Frances Kirkham CBE
‘Frances has a very good brain; her legal analysis is first-class. She is hard working and easy to work with.’
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.
Jonathan Acton Davis KC
‘Pragmatic, easy to work with and intellectual.’
Stuart Catchpole KC
‘Stuart is an excellent chair. He is industrious and very user friendly both with his co-arbitrators and with the parties. The parties will always have a fair hearing. His contribution to the awards is always excellent. He is a very well respected and intelligent construction lawyer.’
Chantal-Aimée Doerries KC
Andrew White KC
'Andrew is simply one of the best presiding arbitrators.'