Highly regarded for their expertise in financial and commercial disputes, clients in particular praise 4 Stone Buildings for its members' ‘excellent insolvency and shareholder dispute related experience’. Sharif Shivji KC and Richard Hill KC - the set's new co-heads of chambers - are both experienced practitioners in the region, with the former leading Albert Sampson and Hossein Sharafi on the Bank Sarasin Alpen insolvency case in the DIFC regarding the alleged misappropriation of the business by the directors and shareholders and further fraud claims. Hill continues to act for the claimants in the Sawhney v Credit Suisse AG litigation in the DIFC related to the alleged misselling of investments. Members of the chambers are also present in cases before the ADGM, namely Andrew Rose and Karl Anderson, who have recently acted in a financial services dispute and an insurance claim respectively. Ben Lashmar and Ryan Tunkel are the set's new joint senior clerks as of April 2025; David Goddard continues with the set as a consultant.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘I would particularly commend Ben Lashmar for his attention to detail and proactive approach in scheduling and case management. He has been very helpful, ensuring that we had adequate support and that all documents were handled promptly.
- ‘Ben Lashmar is stellar!’
- ‘Outstanding clerking team. Very responsive, helpful and commercial.’
- ‘The clerks certainly punch higher than their weight class. Throughout the years I have seen the clerks grow in this chamber and rightly so and with confidence I can say that the chambers have a keen eye for talent.’
- ‘The service provided chambers has consistently been of an exceptionally high standard. The clerks' room is particularly efficient, demonstrating a high level of professionalism and attentiveness.’
- ‘The clerks show great skill in managing barristers availability and coordinating with our team to ensure that all case deadlines are met, even when tight.’
- ‘A great Chancery set with excellent insolvency and shareholder dispute related experience and bandwidth.’
- ‘Great in financial matters, and very experienced in a broad range of Middle East disputes in general, whether arbitration or DIFC.’
- ‘The chambers have been great to deal with, we had nothing but positive relationships fostered and comfort throughout the dealings with the chamber.’
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.
Sharif Shivji KC
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.
Alastair Tomson
Edward Crossley
Zara McGlone
Andrew Rose
Albert Sampson
Joseph Wigley
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.