5 Stone Buildings

‘A terrific set with a deep bench’, 5 Stone Buildings’ expertise covers a broad swathe of chancery, especially large contentious probate, Court of Protection work and taxation. Penelope Reed KC led Emilia Carslaw in Bond v Webster, a High Court probate claim concerning the capacity of a testator. Made silk in March 2025, Ruth Hughes KC acted for the CPS on the trusts elements of its POCA proceedings against Baroness Mone . Elis Gomer appeared for an ICB in the Court of Protection concerning a case that examined whether a personal health budget is capable of being administered by a property and affairs deputy.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Paul Jennings is a very competent clerk who always provides prompt information.'
'5 Stone Buildings are supreme in my view. A top tier set.'
'The clerking service at 5SB is a real credit to chambers. Friendly efficient and reliable. A pleasure to work with.'
'A terrific set with a deep bench.'
'5 Stone Buildings are one of my first choice of sets for Chancery work.'
'Has a reputation for being both technically excellent and approachable.'

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.

Henry Legge KC

‘Great in court and very persuasive.'

Penelope Reed KC

‘Unflappable, hugely knowledgeable, excellent with clients.'

Tracey Angus KC

‘Tracey is technically excellent and one of the best Chancery advocates at the moment. Her attention to detail and analytic skills are unparalled and her cross-examination of witnesses can be devastating.'

David Rees KC

‘David is an absolute rock in terms of his work in our contentious estate matters. He is a leader in the profession and commands respect wherever he appears.'

Sarah Haren KC

‘Sarah is an excellent communicator, she has a fantastic manner with clients, and her legal knowledge and case presentation is outstanding.'

Christopher Tidmarsh KC

‘Chris is so approachable, calm and knows all there is to know about trusts.’

Shân Warnock-Smith KC

‘One of the greatest strengths of hers is her unparallelled experience over many years.'

2025 Silks

Ruth Hughes KC

‘Extremely capable and fantastic attention to detail, thinks every angle through, works well as part of a wider team.’

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.

Elis Gomer

‘Simply fantastic. Superb legal knowledge and gives commercial, practical advice.'

Barbara Rich

Toby Bishop

‘Toby is a very bright and personable barrister who has a pragmatic approach to cases.'

Alexander Drapkin

‘Alexander is a powerful advocate with deep expertise in Court of Protection, trusts and estate matters.'

Rose Fetherstonhaugh

‘Rosie is brilliant - she is extremely clever, so switched on and is an absolute dream to work with.'

Jordan Holland

‘Jordan is bright and is very knowledgeable on a broad range of issues in this area.'

Francis Ng

‘Francis is very bright and very good on the details. He is a pleasure to work with, and his written advocacy is especially good.'

Michael O’Sullivan

'Great depth of experience and entirely unflappable.'

Mark Baxter

Hugh Cumber

'Fantastic knowledge, great with clients, can handle any level of case with ease.'

Eliza Eagling

‘Eliza provides considered, strategic advice with an excellent bedside manner.'

William East

‘William is technically excellent. Really knows his stuff when it comes to thorny trust law issues.'

Luke Harris

‘Luke is very sharp and focused. He has a great knowledge and is capable of digesting and disseminating a huge volume of information in a flash.'

Edward Hewitt

‘He is a silk in junior's clothing. Incredibly bright, yet commercial and confident.'

Mathew Roper

‘Matthew is excellent at analysing the evidence, relating this to the law and providing clear, practical advice.'

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.