St Philips Chambers

Displaying ‘strength in depth and a wide variety of counsel’, St Philips Chambers remains the ’go-to set’ for advice on the full spectrum of serious criminal work. ‘Effective and robust cross-examiner’ Richard Atkins KC recently prosecuted a case involving a gang who, after attacking a rival’s home on consecutive nights, fatally hacked the rival’s father to death with machetes in broad daylight, resulting in convictions for all defendants for conspiracy to murder, two for murder, and one for manslaughter. Rebecca Wade KC, who is known for her ’calm and measured approach in advocacy’, successfully prosecuted a gang involved in the fatal stabbing of a man over an electric bike, raising issues around joint enterprise, loss of control, and property ownership, and concluded with multiple convictions for other defendants and a life sentence with a 25-year minimum term for the principal offender. ‘Excellent criminal barrister’ Tom Walkling KC and Jennifer Josephs KC, who is widely praised for her ’flawlessly prepared, incisive and powerful cross-examination and legal submissions’ took silk in March 2025.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Andrew Rourke, Dan Zouch and Daniel Shriane are reliable, helpful and approachable.'
'Daniel Shriane is exceptional.'
'The clerks are extremely helpful and always do their best to assist where they can. Andrew Rourke can be relied on to sort out any issues that may arise.'
'Hannah Rae is always helpful and approachable, particularly given the difficulties in court listings.'
'St Philips Chambers is the premier set in the circuit.'
'St. Philips is one of the strongest sets.'

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.

Richard Atkins KC

‘Richard's attention to detail is the best. He is on top of his papers and reads every line of the page and, as a result, has a better grasp of the case. His advocacy is detailed, thorough and persuasive.’

Kevin Hegarty KC

Rebecca Wade KC

'Rebecca is an outstanding silk beyond her years in silk. She is calm under pressure and a skilled and devastating cross-examiner.'

2025 Silks

Jennifer Josephs KC

‘Jennifer is a skilful and able advocate. Her advocacy is persuasive and effective in submissions as she is in cross-examination, a top-class performer.’

Tom Walkling KC

‘Tom is an exceptionally talented barrister. He is meticulous in his preparation and thinks well on his feet, responding to matters raised with ease.’

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.

Jonathan Barker

‘Jonathan is a dedicated barrister who works very hard for his clients. He quickly obtains the trust of his lay clients and will temper his style according to the audience. His advocacy is exceptional.’

Ben Close

‘Ben is super bright. He is direct, straightforward, approachable, hard-working and great to deal with.’

William Douglas-Jones

‘William's preparation of cases is meticulous. He is a strong advocate and is robust in his advice but approachable to litigants and clients. He has strong interpersonal and communication skills.’

Ben Williams

‘Ben is a thoroughly well-prepared advocate. His written work is first-class.’

Rajinder Gill

Marcus Harry

'Marcus is always prepared and has a good grasp of his case.'

Amy Jackson

‘Amy's competence is second to none. Her advocacy and client care are excellent, and her thorough preparation means no stone is left unturned.’

Andrew Jackson

‘Andrew is a good operator who can identify the key issues in a case.’

Ben Mills

Carl Templar-Vasey

'Carl can communicate with clients of all intelligence levels, which is second to none. A great advocate and always happy to help.'

Sara Wyeth

'Sara is always very calm and considerate. She can explain difficult issues and advise clients in sensitive cases.'

Catherine Ravenscroft

'Catherine is a promising junior in crime. She is very hard-working, intelligent, an efficient and straightforward advocate.'

Lucinda Wilmott-Lascelles

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.