The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919, which removed the legal bar on women being admitted as barristers in England and Wales, received the Royal Assent on 23 December 1919. This photograph of some of the past and present women members of Essex Court Chambers was taken to mark the 100th anniversary of that landmark event. […]

The Legal 500 have announced the winners of their forthcoming UK Bar Awards 2020, recognising Essex Court Chambers as Commercial Litigation Set of the Year. Lucas Bastin will collect the award for International Arbitration Junior of the Year. The awards ceremony will take place on 27 February 2020. The full shortlist is available to view […]

As part of the celebrations marking the centenary of the admission of women to the Bar, the members of Essex Court Chambers are proud to share a short video produced by the ‘First 100 Years’ project about one of our extremely distinguished former members of chambers, Dame Rosalyn Higgins GBE QC. In 1986, Dame Rosalyn […]

On Tuesday 26 November, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in the case of Minister of Finance (Inc) & anr v International Petroleum Investment Company & anr [2019] EWCA Civ 2080, allowing the Appellants’ appeal. The case arises out of the well-known 1 MDB scandal, concerning allegations that a multi-billion dollar fraud was carried […]

The Legal 500 have announced the shortlist for their UK Bar Awards 2020, recognising the best law firms, chambers, barristers, in-house lawyers, business leaders and general counsel operating within the UK market. Essex Court have received the following nominations: COMMERCIAL LITIGATION: Set of the year INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION: Set of the year SHIPPING: Set of the […]

Tim Akkouh and Freddie Popplewell have published the following article on Freezing Cryptocurrencies, in the wake of the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent Legal Statement on Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts. The article analyses the legal basis for freezing cryptocurrencies, the practicalities of drafting such a freezing order, and the scope for tracing cryptocurrencies. The article can […]

Stephen Houseman QC has been appointed a Deputy High Court Judge with effect from Monday 11 November 2019. He was appointed by the Lord Chief Justice, The Right Honourable Lord Burnett of Maldon, pursuant to section 9(4) of the Senior Courts Act 1981, for a term of four years. He will sit in both the […]

Essex Court Chambers are pleased to announce that Professor Dapo Akande, Professor of Public International Law in the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University, has accepted an invitation to join Chambers in 2020 in order to develop his practice as adviser and advocate in public international law disputes before international and domestic courts and […]

Essex Court Chambers is delighted to announce a collaborative programme of events directed at issues of diversity in recruitment to the commercial Bar. Together with Brick Court Chambers, Fountain Court Chambers and One Essex Court, we are hosting an event in Oxford on 12 November under the headline, “A career as a commercial barrister: a […]

In the cases of Mrs A Webster v The United States of America, Cases 3327693/2017 and 3302985/2018, Employment Tribunal Judgment (2019) and Miss C Wright v The United States of America, Case 3303862/2018, Employment Tribunal Judgment (2019), a UK Employment Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) ruled that the common law doctrine of State immunity applied such that […]

Essex Court Chambers is pleased to announce that Paul Davies, Professor of Commercial Law at University College London, has accepted an invitation to join Chambers in 2020 in order to develop an expert advisory and advocacy practice at the Bar in combination with his academic work. Professor Davies has already established an unrivalled reputation as […]

On Wednesday 30 October 2019, the full report on Phase 1 of the Public Inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower was published. The Phase 1 report establishes what happened on the night of the 14 June 2017. Richard Millett QC is leading counsel to the Inquiry. Phase 2 of the Inquiry, which will examine […]