David Craig QC (together with Michael Furness QC and Emily McKehnie) acted for the BBC in the Court of Appeal against an appeal brought by John Bradbury in respect of the BBC’s decision to cap at 1% the amount of any pay rise that would count as pensionable pay under the BBC’s defined benefit (final salary) […]

Members of Essex Court Chambers are deeply saddened to announce that Sir Anthony Colman passed away peacefully in hospital on 28 July 2017. Sir Anthony joined Essex Court Chambers in 1962. He served as High Court judge of the commercial court from 1992 to 2007, and was Presiding judge from 2006 to 2007. He was […]

The High Court has clarified the meaning of s.127 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 in Ministry of Justice v The Prison Officers’ Association [2017] EWHC 1839 (QB) which was handed down on 19 July 2017, holding that conduct proscribed by the section includes the withdrawal of “voluntary services”. On 27 February […]

The Court of Appeal has clarified the test for severance in Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2017] EWCA Civ 1054 which was handed down this morning. The Respondent financial services recruitment agency had obtained an injunction to enforce a non-competition covenant. On appeal the Appellant contended that the covenant caught a shareholding and was therefore […]

The Divisional Court has dismissed a legal challenge brought by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) against the licensing of military equipment to Saudi Arabia for use in the conflict in Yemen. CAAT contended that open source reporting indicated that the Saudi-led Coalition had committed serious violations of International Humanitarian Law in Yemen and that […]

Richard Millett QC has been appointed as leading counsel to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, assisted by Bernard Richmond QC and Kate Grange QC. The Inquiry, an independent public inquiry into the fire in Grenfell Tower, North Kensington, is chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick. The purpose of the Inquiry is to examine the circumstances leading up […]

Jeffrey Gruder QC will give a lecture to the British Insurance Law Association on Friday 21st July at 1pm entitled: Arbitrating Insurance and Reinsurance Disputes: “Transparent and Impartial?”. Many insurance and reinsurance disputes are decided in arbitration. Jeffrey will discuss whether there are any problems arising from privacy, lack of transparency and possible justifiable doubts […]

The London Chamber of Arbitration has recently announced a newly formed panel of arbitrators, consisting of 19 former members of the judiciary and current senior practitioners. The highly experienced panel includes two members of Essex Court Chambers, Roderick Cordara QC and David Scorey QC. The LCCI is London’s largest independent networking and business support organisation. […]

The Members of Essex Court Chambers are delighted to announce the appointment of David Foxton QC as their new Head of Chambers from 1st July 2017. After completing a full four year term as Co-Heads, Richard Jacobs QC and Graham Dunning QC are stepping down. Both will continue in full time practice. David Foxton was […]

The Members of Essex Court Chambers are pleased to announce that James Willan has been appointed directly to the Attorney General’s ‘A’ Panel of Counsel to the Crown. James Willan is widely recognised as one of the leading juniors at the Commercial Bar. He is the only junior to hold top-tier (Band 1) rankings from […]

Following a close and high-calibre final between students of Newcastle and Liverpool John Moores University, Daniel Boal and Joseph Beeney, representing Newcastle University, were presented with the Silver Mace and £1,000 each, as winners of this year’s Essex Court Chambers/English Speaking Union National Mooting Competition, held on 20th June. It is the first time that […]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) handed down its Judgment on 15 June 2017 in the case that was brought by Ukraine’s national oil and gas company, Naftogaz, against the United Kingdom. The case arose from litigation between Merchant International Company Limited (“MIC”) and Naftogaz. MIC successfully sued Naftogaz in the Ukrainian courts and […]