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‘a set that fields incredibly committed individuals'

 

 

 

 

 

 Chambers & Partners 2009

Legal 500 2007

Legal 500 ranked Wilberforce Chambers as a leading set for:

Individually ranked for: 

Leading Sets: Commercial Chancery

Wilberforce Chambers possesses a concentration of silk talent that is already celebrated at the Chancery Bar.  However, this great strength at senior level should be increasingly no less worthy of mention than the growing ranks of talented juniors, ably clerked by the highly respected Declan Redmond.  The set is strong in property work, trusts and probate, with a well-recognised offshore dispute resolution capability.  Pensions is another standout area: it has been the top set for many years and remains well ahead of the market.  Company law has shown improvement this year and both IP and professional negligence proceed apace. Michael Tennet QC and James Ayliffe are two individuals who exemplify a progressive trend that will continue.

Leading Sets: Banking & finance

Leading Silks: Terence Mowschenson QC,

Wilberforce Chambers has a growing banking capability. The intellectual skills of Terence Mowschenson QC have long had a following; John Martin QC ranks alongside new silk Michael Tennet QC for regulatory expertise; and James Ayliffe is judged by peers in other sets to be ‘extremely good' and fought a tough fight on Hayden-Baillie v Bank Julius Baer.

Leading Sets: Charities

Leading Silks:   Michael Furness QC, Edward Nugee QC

Wilberforce Chambers has two highly experienced silks: Michael Furness QC, who has an extensive advisory practice covering both national and international charity work; and Edward Nugee QC, who regularly advises Church Commissioners for England and Oxbridge colleges.  Chambers also benefits from a first-class clerking team led by Declan Redmond.  

Leading Sets: Commercial litigation

Leading Silks: Terence Mowschenson QC, Jules Sher QC, John Wardell QC,  Michael Bloch QC

Leading Juniors:  James Ayliffe, Tom Lowe, Joanna Smith, Julian Greenhill

Top Chancery set Wilberforce Chambers handles increasingly more commercial litigation ‘efficiently and professionally'.  Jules Sher QC, Terence Mowschenson QC and John Wardell QC continue to have very busy practices and are highly regarded by instructing solicitors.  Clerking is also well regarded for the experience brought by Declan Redmond.  Christopher Nugee QC and Michael Bloch QC are also highly regarded for their appellate and commercial and IP matters respectively. 

Senior juniors James Ayliffe, Thomas Lowe and Joanna Smith are gaining impressive reputations in the market.  They are joined in this section this year by Julian Greenhill who has experience of dealing with a variety of different commercial contractual disputes.

Leading Sets: Company

Leading Silks: Terence Mowschenson QC, Jules Sher QC,  John Wardell QC

Leading Juniors:  James Ayliffe, Thomas Lowe, Nikki Singla

Wilberforce Chambers ‘provides extremely good barristers' and ‘are competitors with the sets around and above them'.  Noted company lawyers include John Wardell QC, the experienced and erudite Terence Mowschenson QC, who is an authority on company law issues, acting on sensitive corporate restructurings and takeovers with discretion, and head of chambers, Jules Sher QC, who acted on a major, multimillion-dollar corporate arbitration.  At the junior end, Thomas Lowe has maintained a busy practice alongside the very well liked James Ayliffe, who is seen as ‘very good and effective'.  New entrant Nikki Singla has a sound practice in resolving acrimonious shareholder disputes and is an able communicator and litigator for any size of case.

Leading Sets:  Energy

Leading Silks:  Christopher Nugee QC, Jules Sher QC

At Wilberforce Chambers Christopher Nugee QC is an ‘impressive and persuasive advocate', while Jules Sher QC is recommended for his ‘strong depth of oil and gas experience'.

Fraud: Civil

Leading Silks: Ian Croxford QC,

Leading Juniors: Gabriel Fadipe

Ian Croxford QC of Wilberforce Chambers is nominated to the top tier of silks through the strength and feedback from peers at both senior and junior level; his work on Zambia v Meer Care & Desai and Ors was seen as indicative of demanding work in one of the more celebrated fraud trails of 2007.

Health and safety

Leading Silks: Ian Croxford QC

Insolvency

Leading Silks: Terence Mowschenson QC

Intellectual Property

Leading Juniors: Alan Bryson, Anna Carboni

Wilberforce Chambers has two juniors who were both IP partners at ‘Magic Circle' firms of solicitors before being called to the Bar, and are also accredited mediators. 

Anna Carboni was head of the London IP practice and a member of the international board at Linklaters LLP, where she qualified as a solicitor-advocate before moving to the Bar.  Alan Bryson was a partner at Clifford Chance where he was formerly head of IP in the Far-East.  They are both known for ‘soft' IP work, though Carboni in particular also has a science background and experience in patents.  Carboni - who solicitors say is ‘very good for trade marks' - acted for the defendants in Indicii Salus Ltd v Chandrasekaran and Others, a case which raised allegations of breach of copyright and in which Carboni handled some interlocutory advocacy herself, although led by silks including, initially, chambers' commercial silk Michael Bloch QC, who is also active in the field of IP.  Many solicitors rate Bloch very highly for IP and praise his advocacy skills.  They also say that Carboni and Bryson are strong in ‘specialist legal knowledge and skill in producing skeleton arguments' and ‘understand the difficulties facing solicitors and produce their work in a user-friendly fashion'.

Leading Sets: Pensions

Leading Silks: Brian Green QC, Robert Ham QC, Christopher Nugee QC, Michael Furness QC, Michael Tennet QC, Jules Sher QC

Leading Juniors: Paul Newman, Jonathan Evans, Caroline Furze, James Ayliffe, Emily Campbell, Jonathan Hilliard, Thomas Seymour, Joanna Smith

With the greatest concentration of pensions expertise to be found at the Bar, clients and competitors continue to recognise Wilberforce Chambers' leading position and its ‘strength in depth'.  It's not unknown for a case to include Wilberforce QCs and juniors on both sides - heard by an ex-Wilberforce Chambers judge. 

For his handling of cases such as Steria v Hutchison, Brian Green QC's clients ‘value his high intellect', his ability to be ‘pithy and direct', whilst remaining ‘fantastically user friendly'.  Similar qualities have moved Robert Ham QC to the top tier this year. Ham is ‘very laid back and user friendly' ‘delightful, approachable and responsive to urgent situations' and ‘committed and unflappable'.   Christopher Nugee QC is ‘clever - the right man for complex technical points', shown in cases like AON Trust Corporation Ltd v KPMG and others.   Special mention should be made to new silk Michael Tennet QC, whose reputation, even as a junior, exceeded that of many QCs.  Tennet is ‘practical, and extremely clever with a very clear mind' exhibiting ‘sound judgement and excellent commercial advice'.  Jules Sher QC and Michael Furness QC are ‘experienced and knowledgeable'. 

Of the juniors, Paul Newman is ‘very clever, very positive, best junior counsel', offering ‘good commercial advice and popular with clients'.  Jonathan Evans is praised as ‘the coming man', though as such is also described as ‘swamped'.  Caroline Furze has shown herself to be ‘a constructive junior'.  Emily Campbell, James Ayliffe, Joanna Smith, Jonathan Hilliard and Thomas Seymour all maintain the chambers' reputation for ‘knowledgeable', ‘capable' and ‘bright' pensions counsel.

Planning

Leading Silks: Michael Barnes QC, Jonathan Karas QC

Wilberforce Chambers offers the skills of village green expert, the ‘extremely bright' Jonathan Karas QC who offers both property and planning advice.

Leading Sets: Private client: trusts and probate

Leading Silks: Michael Furness QC, Brian Green QC, Edward Nugee QC, Robert Ham QC; David Lowe QC

Leading Juniors: Judith Bryant, John Child, Emily Campbell,Daniel Hochberg, Mark Studer

Wilberforce Chambers is an impressive traditional Chancery set with a high proportion of able silks who are capable of advising on trusts and estates work at the highest level, especially offshore matters. Pensions and intestacy work complement the set's trusts and estates offering. 

Brian Green QC is in great demand for major disputes - including those that are international - and is highly rated by solicitors for being ‘highly approachable, measured and wise'.  The highly experienced Edward Nugee QC has a strong advisory practice, and is very much the elder statesman at the Bar.  Michael Furness QC and David Lowe QC both has strong trusts and estates practices within broader Chancery practices. 

At the junior level, Judith Bryant is popular with solicitors, for giving ‘clear advice' and for being ‘very user friendly; in 2006 a slew of cases including Goodman v Goodman; the contested rectification of a will.  John Child has a very flourishing offshore practice that covers both advisory and contentious work.  Emily Campbell moves up a tier this year, in response to positive feedback from solicitors, who consider her to be ‘erudite, approachable, very hard working and very knowledgeable'. Daniel Hochberg and Mark Studer are also recommended by leading clients.

Leading Sets:  Professional negligence

Leading Silks: John Wardell QC, Jonathan Seitler QC, Ian Croxford QC, Jules Sher QC, Michael Furness QC, Christopher Nugee QC,

Leading Juniors: James Ayliffe, Joanna  Smith, Thomas Lowe, Paul Newman, Joanne Wicks

Wilberforce Chambers has outstanding expertise in pensions, trusts and property and attracts a wide range of instructions.  John Wardell QC is in high demand in part because ‘he is equally intellectual and commercial as well as being client friendly, user friendly and versatile' and also due to his ‘excellent cross-examination skills'.  Recent work include Sweetman v Russell Jones & Walker and Royal Bank of Scotland v Chaffe Street.  Other star silks include the ‘urbane and intelligent' Jonathan Seitler QC (who also possesses growing mediation experience) and Ian Croxford QC.  Juniors James Ayliffe and Joanna Smith come particularly highly recommended.  The two recently acted for City solicitors in GP 2002 v Close Brothers & ors and Williams Grand Prix Engineering and McLaren International v Baker & McKenzie and Linklaters, respectively.  The set is also notable for the quality of clerking ably steered by Institute of Barristers Clerks Chairman, Declan Redmond.

Leading Sets: Property litigation

Leading Silks: Michael Barnes QC, Jonathan Seitler QC, John Furber QC, Jonathan Karas QC, John Martin QC, Christopher Nugee QC, Michael Tennet QC

Leading Juniors: Joanne Wicks, Daniel Hochberg, Jonathan Evans, Caroline Furze, Martin Hutchings, Paul Newman, Rupert Reed, Tiffany Scott

Wilberforce Chambers' top QCs have extended their reputations.  The ‘very smooth' Jonathan Seitler QC continues to catch the eye, and the likeable barrister has extended his property qualifications by also developing an enviable mediation practice. ‘An excellent fighter, a first-class tactician and is highly responsive and commercial' who ‘is the  man most likely to equal Dowding's reputation at the top' said one; ‘no mean opponent' said another.  He appeared in Cobbe v Yeoman's Row on proprietary estoppel and in White v Riverside Housing Association which he argued against Michael Barnes QC.  John Furber QC and John Martin QC are also recommended, for advisory work and development cases respectively, while Christopher Nugee QC is also rated.  The ‘very good' Jonathan Karas QC is seen as someone who ‘takes a clear view, and can deal with tough issues', as a specialist in property matters, acting as amicus in R(Sinclair Gardens Investments) (Kensington) Ltd) v Lands Tribunal, and performing sensitive advisory work diligently.  The set also has a number of recommended juniors.  The' approachable' Joanne Wicks is ‘an incredible fighter' and is rightly promoted; ‘she gets to the bottom of things', ‘effective, unflappable advocacy', ‘proactive' with ‘a very good court manner'.  Daniel Hochberg is ‘very good on complex property matters'; also noted is new entrant Tiffany Scott. The quality of her instructions and range of recent experience marks the arrival of someone set for success.

Sport

Leading Silks:  David Phillips QC

Wilberforce Chambers' David Phillips QC advised the Turkish Grand Prix in relation to its FIA disciplinary hearing.