Quadrant Chambers continues to be a market-leading set for the shipping industry, featuring expertise across shipbuilding, marine insurance, dry and wet shipping matters, as well as related commercial disputes. Members are instructed in claims arising from all manner of economic circumstances as well as global geopolitics. John Russell KC regularly represents cargo interests, charterers and vessel owners in high-profile damage claims, arbitrations, and contractual disputes. In the ongoing Ever Given case, Russell was instructed in both the court and arbitration proceedings arguing on behalf of cargo interests concerning the obstruction of the Suez canal in 2021. Chirag Karia KC, praised by client for his ‘steady, persuasive, and matter-of-fact style of advocacy’, is another standout member of the set. He is currently representing claimant Réseau de Transport d’Électricité, France’s electricity grid operator, in a series of Commercial and Admiralty Court actions arising from a multimillion damage claim. Junior Henry Ellis has successfully dismissed a shipowner’s $850m claim for alleged repudiation of ten shipbuilding contracts, acting for a Chinese shipyard in a major shipbuilding dispute.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

Quadrant remains, in my view, the leading shipping and commodities set, and in particular, there are now more junior barristers specializing in the commodities field. The service of the clerks at Quadrant is first-rate, and Quadrant’s educational program in the shipping and commodities space is also of very high quality. They are truly market leaders.
Top chambers are strong in shipping work, but also excel in other areas.
In my view, Quadrant remains the preeminent shipping and trading set.
They are the leading shipping set, bar none.
Quadrant is really excellent. The clerks at Quadrant are also excellent and very helpful/client-focused.
Very strong all around and in depth, many of the top specialists at all levels.

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 Rainey KC

Simon Croall KC

Simon always works hard to provide efficient legal services, and his advice is very straightforward and helpful.

Luke Parsons KC

Nigel Jacobs KC

A silk with an easy manner and clear advocacy.

Robert Thomas KC

John Russell KC

John is a standout KC for shipping and international trade disputes. His advocacy is exceptional: clear, persuasive, and strategically astute. He has a remarkable ability to absorb vast quantities of complex material and distill it into compelling oral submissions that carry real weight with courts and arbitral tribunals. His cross-examination is incisive without being theatrical, and he consistently demonstrates outstanding judgement on the points that will decide the case. He is calm and authoritative, has strong commercial insight, and an ability to lead teams effectively in the most demanding disputes.

Poonam Melwani KC

Nigel Cooper KC

Nigel is a quietly highly effective advocate who is always impeccably prepared. Good at working with and promoting the right junior for the case. Client-friendly and commercially astute across the maritime and marine insurance sector.

Michael Davey KC

Chirag Karia KC

Chirag is an excellent barrister who combines strong legal expertise with a highly practical approach. His advocacy before the tribunal is first-class, particularly in complex or tricky shipping matters.

John Passmore KC

First-rate on shipping matters and more.

Stewart Buckingham KC

Guy Blackwood KC

James Turner KC

John Kimbell KC

Yash Kulkarni KC

Yash is a seasoned advocate who is able to read the room and is not easily ruffled under pressure.

Nichola Warrender KC

Likeable, hard-working, high standard of written opinions.

Thomas Macey-Dare KC

Thomas is a first-rate KC. His advocacy skills are excellent, as are his writing skills.

Matthew Reeve KC

2026 Silks

Caroline Pounds KC

The work has covered both substantive and procedural aspects of arbitration, including drafting pleadings and submissions, advising on jurisdictional issues and strategy, procedural timetabling, and settlement-related matters.

Gemma Morgan KC

Gemma is a superstar. She is always a pleasure to work with and makes even the most complex cases seem straightforward and manageable.

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.

Nevil Phillips

Ruth Hosking

Paul Henton

Benjamin Coffer

One of Ben’s great strengths is that he is able to combine his rapier-like intellect with a very down-to-earth and highly user-friendly approach to working with his instructing solicitors and our clients. Ben has a great knack for always being able to distill the key legal and commercial points in the case, enabling us and our clients to focus on what really matters for the outcome. Ben’s meticulous preparation for trials and arbitration hearings lies behind his excellent cross-examination skills. By force of logic, and step-by-step, Ben is frequently able to convince the opposing witness to give evidence supporting our client’s case. In my view, Ben is without a doubt the best junior now practicing at the Commercial and Admiralty Bar. Just to add, Ben makes himself available to provide advice at all times, which is another very big plus point.

Mark Stiggelbout

Andrew Leung

Andrew is of the highest quality; he will drop anything to assist us and is very impressive when in front of a court or tribunal. His knowledge is unrivaled for a junior and he is super quick and responsive on matters.

Tom Bird

Tom is extremely intelligent, but he also has the skill of being able to explain complex issues in a concise and comprehensible manner. He is also very personable and approachable.

James Shirley

Sensible, measured advice and always with an eye on the client's wider commercial objectives. My "go-to" barrister for any shipping work.

Koye Akoni

Koye is extremely eloquent on his feet and is unflappable before a tribunal. He has an excellent grasp of the law.

Peter Stevenson

Bright, perceptive, tenacious.

Andrew Carruth

Andrew is extremely bright and able to take difficult points and advise in a clear, efficient, and pragmatic way. This is also reflected in his written advocacy, where he is able to present and respond to arguments with clarity and precision. Andrew is also very responsive, which is helpful in balancing procedural and client expectations. Overall, Andrew is a top-quality barrister, with an excellent ability to balance the legal issues with commercial realities, which always results in advice that is of great quality and benefit to us as solicitors and to the end clients. He is a go-to for the team, and I thoroughly enjoy working with him.

Ben Gardner

Ben is a leading junior. Great on strategy, calm under pressure, commercial, and practical. A go-to junior for shipping.

Natalie Moore

Natalie Moore is exceptionally strong analytically and is able to distill complex issues into clear, practical advice. Her written work is precise, well-structured, and highly persuasive. She is also very responsive, collaborative, and commercially minded, which makes her a pleasure to work with on demanding matters. Natalie is particularly effective at managing complex expert evidence. In a recent matter involving multiple experts, she demonstrated a strong ability to get to the heart of the issues, focus the experts on the real issues in dispute, and ensure that the case did not become sidetracked by peripheral points. She is also notably tenacious and does not shy away from pressing difficult arguments where appropriate.

Henry Ellis

Andrew Stevens

He is an exceptional shipping barrister with a rare combination of technical excellence, commercial judgment, and strategic clarity. He is highly responsive under pressure, quickly identifies the real issues in complex disputes, and provides practical advice that is both legally rigorous and commercially effective. Clients value his calm and measured advocacy style, as well as his ability to distill highly complex disputes into persuasive and workable solutions.

Saira Paruk

She is always quick to respond and provide a helpful commercial view, and excellent drafting of submissions.

Stephanie Barrett

Amazing eye for detail. Easy to work with. Gets the law spot on. Comes up with solutions. Always feels she knows what is going on and never drops the ball. A go-to when you need something tricky looked at.

Christopher Jay

Michael Proctor

Michael is a first-rate barrister, my go-to choice for shipping matters. He is a sharp and persuasive oral advocate with the ability to triumph over more senior counsel in the courtroom. He is also a keen strategist and will strive to achieve the best commercial outcome for the clients.

Max Davidson

Max is very astute and easily grapples with highly complex issues, and at the same time, is very user-friendly. My first choice Junior.

Jamie Hamblen

Jamie is super bright and excellent on legal issues. He understands the point quickly and is able to analyze the arguments and work out a way to present the case successfully.

Benjamin Joseph

Top-tier intellect who is able to provide precise advice on intricate points of law.

Tom Nixon

Craig Williams

Mr. Williams is a strong and fierce advocate. His written advice is first-class and commercially focused.

William Mitchell

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.

Celine Honey

Joseph Gourgey

Jo is an extremely bright junior who is a pleasure to work with. His drafting is consistently high quality, being clear, concise, and persuasive. Advocacy is a real strength, particularly in cross-examination – Jo is unfailingly calm and polite while being highly effective at exposing key weaknesses in witnesses' evidence. A very user-friendly choice whom I highly recommend for shipping and other commercial matters.

Lydia Myers

Maya Chilaeva

Jakob Reckhenrich

Meticulous and fastidious academic mind with the ability to think laterally.