Stuart Catchpole KC
'A pre-eminent Kings Counsel and a ferocious cross -examiner.'
Recognised for its ‘deep knowledge of construction law’, barristers at Atkin Chambers have extensive experience advocating in major international disputes concerning construction and engineering worldwide. Stuart Catchpole KC and Samar Abbas Kazmi have recently acted in substantial construction arbitrations in the Middle East, while Manus McMullan KC continues to act in Grupos Unidos per el Canal v Autoridad del Canal de Panama for the Panama Canal Authority in the dispute concerning the expansion of the Panama Canal and challenges brought to previous awards made. Zulfikar Khayum has an active arbitration practice, recently concerning hospital, airport, transport and energy developments and Edmund Neuberger also has a broad construction arbitration practice and Andrew Fenn KC is experienced in major energy infrastructure disputes and was made silk in March 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'David Barnes and Justin Wilson are absolute Rolls Royce clerks. Rick Bulaitis also worth a mention - approachable and commercial.'
- 'David Barnes, Andrew Burrows and Justin Wilson are a wonderful team assisted by junior staff. Sensible, practical and commercially astute with a great sense of humour.'
- 'Excellent. David Barnes is exceptional, and Andrew Burrows is very diligent. They are very good clerks.'
- 'The very best in energy and construction. Period.'
- 'Atkin Chambers is the go-to set for construction and like disputes. The barristers have very deep sector experience and expertise.'
- 'Atkins are in a league of their own. The clerks are super responsive, particularly Rob Bryant. They always find the right person for the job.'
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.
Manus McMullan KC
'Manus exudes gravitas. He oral advocacy is second to none and is adaptable to the audience. He knows how to adjust his style to be able to best present a case and to convey the strongest arguments.'
David Streatfeild-James KC
Andrew White KC
'Great advocate and interrogator. Great ability to get what it takes from witnesses and experts.'
Stephen Dennison KC
Stephen is a brilliant advocate and extremely diligent. He is able to cut across complex issues quickly, focusing on the core issues in dispute.’
Andrew Goddard KC
‘Hugely experienced. Very pragmatic and responsive.’
Simon Lofthouse KC
An exceptionally talented trial advocate. Hard working and phenomenal memory.'
Rupert Choat KC
Rupert is a very effective advocate, using a matter-of-factly, fact-based style and approach.'
Chantal-Aimée Doerries KC
She is thorough, solid and persuasive. A very elegant and effective advocate.'
James Howells KC
go-to silk: razor-sharp, a master of the detail, pragmatic and a true pleasure to deal with.’
Riaz Hussain KC
Christopher Lewis KC
Serena Cheng KC
Serena's eye to detail is exceptional in both her written and oral work whilst yet being approachable and client focused.’
Fiona Parkin KC
Fiona is great to work with and a tireless barrister - she communicates well, works well with a team, is good fun, and a brilliant barrister.'
Steven Walker KC
'Steven is brilliant with clients, very responsive and commercial and fights the case like its his own. Clients love him. He is a real specialist in arbitration and has been for 30 years.'
Mark Chennells KC
'Very sharp, gets to grips with the most complex of cases. Will work tirelessly to try and achieve a solution to difficult points.'
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.
Andrew Fenn KC
'Really strong performer in front of tribunals - well prepared and on top of the detail, and spots the issues that matter.'
2024 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.
Camille Slow KC
'Camille is an all-round star; clear thinking, clear talking, a wonderful and hard-working team player who clients adore. She shines at cross examination; she is confident, focused and unflappable.'
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.
Edmund Neuberger
'Intelligence; calm, focused and measured.'
Samar Abbas Kazmi
‘Samar is highly intelligent and has excellent judgement. He is in the detail but is also able to sit back and see the big picture to develop overall strategy.’
Zulfikar Khayum
‘Clever, approachable, hardworking, bright. His ability to quickly master technical issues and experts reports is well beyond most silks and accordingly his cross-examination of experts is very often fatal for their cases.’
Lucie Briggs
'Lucie is an absolutely excellent advocate. Her submissions were structured, clear, easy to follow and apply. Her questioning of witnesses was thoroughly prepared, absolutely on point and extremely effective. Her work ethic is extraordinary.'
Simon Crawshaw
'Great mind, very determined, focused and always on top of the issue. Very impressive ability to understand technical issues sometimes better than people involved in project.'
Mathias Cheung
'Very responsive and efficient. Well placed to handle China related matters since he can communicate in Chinese.'
Omar Eljadi
Shourav Lahiri
Marc Lixenberg
'Marc is an excellent advocate. He really grasps what he thinks is the key issue and wrestles with it at length in front of the Tribunal in a way that is confident, effective and persuasive. He is well-prepared and can see the wood for the trees.'
Christopher Reid
'Great attention to detail, unflappable, very bright, great with clients.'