Alexander Nissen KC
‘Alexander is a compelling advocate, who is extremely approachable and responsive.’
With its ‘formidable bench strength across the construction and engineering sector’, Keating Chambers continues to be a go-to set for professional liability matters relating to cladding, defective designs, and fire safety issues. Jonathan Selby KC is instructed in a claim against an architect as well as a design and building contractor concerning a defective care home that needed to be demolished and rebuilt. Samuel Townend KC is acting for the architect in Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd v Sheppard Robson Ltd, a case centering around fire safety defects that affect more than a hundred residential units in Woolwich. Tom Owen KC took silk in March 2024; he will be leading the team for the defendant in the case of One Hyde Park v Laing O’Rourke, which concerns the design and installation of pipework in One Hyde Park.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Paul Adams, James Luxmoore, and Robert Garvan are always polite, very helpful, and proactive.’
- ‘They have a broad range of construction specialists.’
- ‘They have formidable bench strength across the construction and engineering sector. They have a great mix of juniors and KCs.’
- ‘Keating is one of the clear go-to sets for construction professional negligence with experienced counsel at all levels.’
- ‘Keating Chambers is first-class.’
- ‘The clerking team is friendly, cooperative, proactive, and efficient.’
- ‘They offer a great service. The clerks are always willing and available to assist.’
- ‘The clerks at Keating are very responsive and eager to assist.’
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.
Simon Hargreaves KC
Jonathan Selby KC
He is exceptional in his ability to absorb and to understand complicated technical matters very quickly.'
Lucy Garrett KC
‘Lucy has a great skill to distil complex and challenging scenarios into legal and strategic advice that is clear and compelling. Her written advocacy reflects that clarity and depth of analysis.’
Adrian Williamson KC
Calum Lamont KC
Krista Lee KC
‘Krista has a brilliant analytical mind. She is one of the few barristers at the Bar who really understands technical points in design and construction.’
Vincent Moran KC
‘He’s a very astute barrister who leads a large team strategically and effectively.’
Samuel Townend KC
‘Sam is a very able advocate and a good tactician. He is particularly strong on arguing difficult points of law.’
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.
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.
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.
Alexandra Bodnar
‘The quality of Alexandra's legal advice is exceptional. She thinks outside the box when identifying solutions, which are often innovative and always sensible. Her approach is commercial and is always in consideration of the client's overarching aims.’
Brenna Conroy
‘Brenna is quick to grasp the issues and intricacies of a case. She is very good with clients and her legal knowledge is excellent.’
Emma Healiss
‘Emma has strength in construction matters. She is excellent to work with.’
Gideon Scott Holland
‘Gideon has exceptional drafting skills. He is very thorough and persuasive.’
Rachael O’Hagan
‘She is very thorough.’
David Sheard
‘David is immensely intelligent. He is a gifted and natural draftsman. His advocacy is calm and measured. He is a superb all-rounder.’
Tom Coulson
‘Tom is very intelligent, great on paper, and is developing into a leading advocate.’
James Frampton
‘His key strengths are his oral advocacy, attention to detail, and his knowledge of key case law.’
Harry Smith
‘Harry is pragmatic and excellent with strategy. He communicates very well with commercial clients. Harry is excellent in court and concisely identifies and navigates the relevant issues.’
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.
