Essex Court Chambers is praised for its ‘strength in depth when it comes to all types of arbitration’ with members of the set frequently appearing in internationally significant investment treaty arbitrations, arbitration related proceedings in the English courts and commercial arbitrations in arbitration centres across the globe. Away from a the set’s practice across international commercial arbitrations, in the investor-state sphere David Joseph KC led Anton Dudnikov in the English enforcement proceedings related to the Cairn Energy v India investment treaty dispute, with India paying over $1bn to Cairn for unlawful retrospective taxation measures. Key highlights on investor state arbitrations include First Quantum Minerals v Panama, in which Paul Key KC, leading Lucas Bastin KC and Sean Aughey, represents First Quantum Minerals in their dispute over the termination of a mining licence in Panama. Among the lineup changes to the set in the last year was the arrival of Thomas Sebastian from Monckton Chambers in July 2023; David Peters KC and James Sheehan KC being made silk in March 2024; and Tariq Baloch joining from 3 Verulam Buildings in October 2024.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
- Profile
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Fantastic and always responsive. Of note is Samantha Wright, who is wise beyond her years.'
- 'Joe Ferrigno is very much behind the Essex Court success story, and the leading senior clerk at the bar. Beneath his understated and collegiate, affable engagement lies a visionary approach dedicated to engineering the best service delivery and a set geared for the demands of 21st century, complex global disputes. He understands how the market works on an instinctive level.'
- 'The clerks are great - so responsive and helpful, in particular Karl Alsleben.'
- 'Ben Perry, Jack Wood and Katie Myles are very much in Ferrigno's mould, and provide ECC with a particularly strong, user-friendly clerking room.'
- 'Essex Court is one of the top chambers in London for commercial arbitration and investment treaty arbitration work.'
- 'Essex Court are strong in investment treaty arbitration and we use several barristers in this set for our investment treaty work. They have strength in depth.'
- 'Essex Court are without doubt the leading international arbitration chambers and have strength in depth when it comes to all types of arbitration at all levels of seniority.'
- 'A strong set of various personalities that offer different approaches and strategies to disputes. An impressive reputation that does not disappoint.'
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.
David Joseph KC
'It goes without saying that substance of work, both advocacy and drafting, are absolutely first class.'
Paul Key KC
'He is extremely bright and knowledgeable about the law and arbitration practice. He is very friendly and easy to get on with and knows virtually everyone there is to know in the arbitration field. He treats everyone as an equal, despite his considerable success, and is a joy to work with. I would say he is the complete package.'
Richard Millett KC
‘Richard is a master advocate. His vast experience allows him to always be able to spot the issues and not lose the wood for the trees.’
Joe Smouha KC
'He is a valuable and distinguished asset in leading the legal team in complex disputes. His strengths include his strategic approach in complex cases, team leadership skills and deep expertise. He is impressive in arbitration hearings.'
Huw Davies KC
Alison Macdonald KC
'Alison has incredibly depth of knowledge when it comes to arbitration. She adds specialist knowledge where required both on arbitration and human rights issues. She's also a real pleasure to work with - her cooperative, helpful approach has been much appreciated by the whole team.'
David Scorey KC
'Exceptional advocate, very good on his feet and under pressure. Extremely good in conferences with clients. Very knowledgeable and hard working.'
Paul Stanley KC
James Collins KC
'James can master a vast amount of factual material in a relatively short period of time. His cross examination is excellent. He is particularly strong on financial law.'
Ricky Diwan KC
'Ricky's mastery of the detail is hugely impressive, and he combines a first-rate intellect with a measured style and powerful advocacy performance.'
Philippa Hopkins KC
'Philippa is a formidable leading counsel and a real asset to any case. She is an excellent advocate who is able to present even the most complex of legal and factual points clearly and succinctly. Philippa is exceedingly intelligent and makes light work of the most mind bendingly difficult points. She is a strong team player and has a good way with clients.'
Ben Juratowitch KC
'Excellent advocatory skills. Able to simplify an explain complex legal concepts. Very hard working and responsive. Always collegial and considerate.'
David Mildon KC
Sam Wordsworth KC
Lucas Bastin KC
'Simply the best. Lucas is a class act. Lethal as an advocate. A forensic ability to interrogate and dissect exhibits, witnesses and experts but above all a thoroughly good bloke. Lucas is going places fast. Catch him while you can.'
Nathan Pillow KC
‘Fantastic and persuasive advocate, pretty much the best there is in the market. Nathan is also a pleasure to deal with, charming and not afraid to get stuck into all the detail of a case, despite his seniority.’
Iain Quirk KC
'Great presentation; very collaborative and responsive; very client friendly; a pleasure to work with - he does not stand on ceremony and gets involved as required.'
Dan Sarooshi KC
‘Among the handful of the finest advocates at the Bar on matters of public and private international law.’
James Willan KC
Emily Wood KC
'A very smooth operator, very sharp and delightful to work with. Always provides good commercial advice.'
2023 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.
Siddharth Dhar KC
‘Sid is a first-rate advocate and trusted advisor who never fails to impress clients. Sid’s technical legal skills are impeccable, and his judgement is sound. Sid is a forceful and persuasive advocate.’
Angeline Welsh KC
‘Very sharp, great strategic thinking, and very easy to work with. Works well as part of integrated teams with no ego.’
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.
David Peters KC
'His in-depth knowledge of both fraud and arbitration makes him an invaluable team member when seeking to enforce awards. His advocacy skills are superb.'
James Sheehan KC
‘James is a star. Very bright, very hard working and very thorough. He slices through the knottiest problems with panache and good sense. Highly recommended.’
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.
Tariq Baloch
‘Tariq is very user friendly, responsive and easy to work with. He is very bright and a strong lawyer. His written and oral advocacy is excellent; he is both a real wordsmith and a persuasive, calm oral advocate who represents his client’s interests with skill and resilience.’
Sean Aughey
‘He is phenomenally clever, and his written advocacy is superb. He demonstrates a mastery of the material and is able to distill complex matters of public international law into crisp concise submission. He is a brilliant advocate, and he has an excellent rapport with the tribunal. Extremely hard-working, a pleasure to work with and first pick for complex high-value investment treaty disputes.’
Anton Dudnikov
‘Anton is among the very best legal drafters. He is approachable, and easy to work with. He is a very able advocate, and an expert cross-examiner, who always has an eye towards the development of the wider case.’
Matthieu Gregoire
‘A strategic thinker, very commercial, a great advocate who is very calm and articulate, and has the ear of the tribunal, very user-friendly. Definitely one of the best of his generation.’
Thomas Sebastian
'Tom is superb, calm and leads management of a difficult case as well as can be imagined. High intelligent and incisive. Keen mind for the commercial realities in a case.'
Peter Webster
'Very hard working and intelligent. Also, very reliable and calm under pressure.'
Paul Wee
Stephen Donnelly
‘Clear and concise drafting that allows an immediate understanding of the issues.’
Naomi Hart
'Naomi is very articulate and has a very good legal mind. She is able to master complex legal issues very well.'
Bibek Mukherjee
Benedict Tompkins
'Benedict is a solid all-rounder with a keen eye for the detail whilst keeping in mind the overall picture and the client's commercial objectives.'
Adam Woolnough
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.
Katherine Ratcliffe
‘Katie is a pleasure to work with. She is legally and procedurally sharp, and her analysis skills are on point.’
Mubarak Waseem
‘Mubarak forensically probes every aspect of a case. He anticipates issues in the roadmap of a dispute well before they arise and works closely with instructing solicitors to find commercial and strategic solutions for the client.’