David Bailey KC
‘A superb advocate.’
7 King’s Bench Walk ‘offers excellence across the board’, with in-depth shipping experience and the ability to draw on strong expertise in adjacent practice areas such as insurance and commodities. Stephen Hofmeyr KC appeared in two Supreme Court cases of late: in Argentum Exploration Limited v Silver concerning if state immunity blocked a claim for the salvage of silver from a ship sunk during the Second World War in the Indian Ocean, as well as in Herculito Maritime Ltd and others & Gunvor International BV and others, which dealt with insurance issues arising out of pirate attacks. In a significant ruling, the Commercial Court decided in the Star Antares that the 2016 version of the York-Antwerp Rules apply to general average claims; Richard Sarll successfully represented the cargo insurers in this matter. Jonathan Gaisman KC was instructed in KC SMIT Salvage BV et al. v Luster Maritime SA et al., a salvage claim surrounding the infamous grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal in 2021. Marcus Mander represented Kibaz Shipping in a dispute following the termination of a ship sale contract due to sanctions being imposed on the buyers, claiming forfeiture of the deposit plus damages.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
- Profile
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- '7KBW has a good range of shipping counsel at different levels.'
- '7KBW clerks are very user-friendly and top notch. Eddie Johns and Greg Leyden adopt a particularly solicitor-focused approach, which is appreciated. Joe Clayton and Sean Hulbert are also very responsive and commercial.'
- 'Exceptionally strong. Greg Leyden is probably the best clerk in any commercial set. The combined team of Eddie Johns and Gary Rose alongside Greg is formidable.'
- 'Gary Rose is an excellent professional: courteous, responsive, and always doing his best to meet the high expectations solicitors have of 7KBW.'
- 'Excellent clerks. Gary Rose is the clerk with whom I most work but all the other senior clerks when he is absent will always push themselves to assist. Good relations also with listing clerks which is important.'
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 Allen KC
'A commercial, pragmatic, straight-talking, heavy-weight silk.'
Jonathan Gaisman KC
Peter MacDonald Eggers KC
'Peter is seen as one of the leading lights in terms of insurance and reinsurance disputes. He has a good rapport with commercial judges and keeps them well engaged and enthused throughout some difficult arguments.'
Siobán Healy KC
Stephen Kenny KC
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.
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.
Marcus Mander
‘Marcus is very clever and responds quickly and well often on difficult legal points. He is very good working as part of a wider team and easy to get along with.’
Charles Priday
‘Excellent advice, written skills and advocacy skills. A very commercial thinker.'
Richard Sarll
‘Richard is without doubt the leading barrister on general average by some distance. He has also taken on some very large and complex coverage disputes.'
Clara Benn
‘It is striking that, when everyone is focussed on what only seems like the main issue in a case, she will often produce a masterly analysis of the actual essential issue which determines the case.’
Stephen Du
He is very clever, fast thinking, clear and to the point, helpful and kind. And on top of this he is modest and he is open for ideas other than his.'
Gavin Geary
Sandra Healy
‘Intelligent, accurate advice.'
Alexander MacDonald
Benjamin Parker
'Very user friendly and collaborative. Clear and well-presented arguments as an advocate.'
Adam Turner
‘He is very clever, extremely thoughtful, and a pleasure to work with. An excellent advocate.'
Frederick Alliott
‘Clever, approachable and easy to work with.'
Jocelin Gale
'He is, even by the standards of a top barrister set, exceptionally bright and hard working. A definite star performer.'
Tim Jenns
‘Tim is extremely bright and able. He has a very sharp mind and will think outside the box.'
Sarah Martin
Sarah is an extremely capable lawyer and very easy to work with.'
Jason Robinson
'Jason is a strong advocate, he quickly identifies the relevant points, he is able to explain complex matters and law in a comprehensible way and is very commercially minded. He provides particularly strong advice on contractual disputes.'
Jessica Sutherland
‘Jessica is able to get on top of the detail of a case quickly. She is commercially astute and approaches cases in a tactical and insightful way.’
Sushma Ananda
‘Sushma is very user-friendly and capable. She is very thorough and has a good incisive mind.’
Philip Aspin
‘Philip is a very able lawyer with an enviable intellect who works incredibly hard.'
John Bignall
'Bright, calm, commercial and a pleasure to work with. Very clear written work.'
Emma Hilliard
Charles Holroyd
‘Pragmatic, to the point, compelling advocate, superb lawyer.’
Elizabeth Lindesay
‘Liz is extremely hard working and very thorough in her approach. She is reliable and writes well. A very good junior counsel.'
Ralph Morley
'Ralph is extremely intelligent, very personable and creative in his legal thinking.'
Andrew Pearson
‘Extremely easy to work with, hard-working, swift in responding, ability to take an overview and a born advocate.’
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.
