Members of Chambers have once again been highly ranked by the leading legal directories for 2021.
Chambers and Partners 2021
In the Chambers and Partners UK Bar Guide 2021 members of chambers have been ranked in 22 practice areas and the set has been ranked in 12 practice areas. Essex Court Chambers is also newly ranked in Band 2 for Chancery: Commercial in 2021.
Special mention is given to the following members who have received a ‘Star at the Bar’ ranking: James Willan for Fraud: Civil, Tim Akkouh for Fraud: Civil, Siddharth Dhar for International Arbitration, Toby Landau QC for International Arbitration, Vaughan Lowe QC for Public International Law and Roderick Cordara QC for Tax.
28 members have improved rankings, with a total number of 145 member rankings.
The set is ranked in the following categories in the Chambers and Partners UK Bar Guide 2021:
- Commercial Dispute Resolution: Band 1
Essex Court Chambers is “a premium set for commercial litigation work” that is regularly involved in some of the highest-value domestic and international commercial disputes. The set has a deep pool of experts capable of handling commercial cases arising from many different legal areas, such as banking, civil fraud, energy and shipping, to name but a few. Its barristers are praised by instructing solicitors for having “an impressive range of expertise and top-quality advocacy skills.” - Fraud: Civil: Band 1
“Essex Court Chambers demonstrates “a real depth of expertise in commercial litigation and civil fraud work,” The set houses a strong bench of senior and junior barristers who are experienced in the handling of large fraud cases both in the UK and further afield, and members are regularly instructed to appear in both litigation and arbitrations. Areas of expertise for the team include claims arising from allegations of misrepresentation, misappropriation and conspiracy, and the sets barristers.” - International Arbitration: General Commercial & Insurance: Band 1
“Essex Court Chambers has long enjoyed a reputation as the go-to set for international arbitration. Its barristers are consistently recognised for their truly international practices, receiving instructions from the Middle East, Europe and Africa and acting in some of the most significant and high-value disputes.” - Offshore: Band 1
“Essex Court Chambers offers substantial expertise in a variety of offshore commercial disputes including fraud, shareholder actions, contentious liquidations and complex civil fraud matters. Its barristers act in some of the most high-profile and high-value offshore disputes and have particular experience of acting in the Caribbean, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Channel Islands.” - Public International Law: Band 1
“Pre-eminent public international law set, remaining at the forefront of the most cutting-edge international disputes. The set’s academically accomplished barristers field significant expertise in state-versus-state disputes and BIT arbitration. They frequently appear before the ICJ and all of the other major international courts and tribunals, as well as the UK and European courts. Members are highly adept at handling the full spectrum of PIL issues, often advising governments, international organisations and corporations on land and sea territorial disputes, international trade and investments, and state immunity.” - Chancery: Commercial: Band 2
“A top-quality commercial set and one of the first ports of call for top-tier work.” Barristers are noted for their expert handling of complex and high-profile commercial chancery disputes, with the team offering significant strength in civil fraud and banking litigation.” - Employment: Band 2
“Formidable commercial employment set with substantial experience of litigation in the High Court and above, including on behalf of financial services clients. Members are experts in significant disputes involving restrictive covenants and team moves, remuneration and bonus claims, as well as whistle-blowing and discrimination.” - Energy & Natural Resources: Band 2
“Essex Court Chambers is a heavyweight set which draws upon particular strengths in international arbitration and commercial disputes to represent clients in a range of energy matters. Members are renowned for their strong international practices and are adept at handling cases relating to oil and gas pricing, climate change, insurance matters and construction problems. “When you work with anyone from Essex Court, you know they’re going to be very good.” - Insurance: Band 2
“Capable of handling a breadth of insurance and reinsurance disputes involving the marine, construction, pharmaceutical and energy sectors, among others.” - Shipping & Commodities: Band 2
“Adept across wet and dry shipping matters, members of Essex Court Chambers are regularly sought out by shipbuilders, ship owners, shipyards and insurers for their expert knowledge.” - Tax: Indirect Tax: Band 2
“A widely respected chambers recognised for the strength of its indirect tax expertise. Members here act in cases relating to VAT recovery disputes, judicial reviews, the application of EU VAT law, MTIC fraud, and customs and excise duties, among others.” - Banking & Finance: Band 3
“Essex Court Chambers is an excellent choice for banking law matters and enjoys a strong reputation for its deft handling of high-profile international litigation.”
The Legal 500
In the Legal 500 UK Bar 2021 members of chambers have been ranked in 22 practice areas and the set has been ranked in 12 practice areas. Essex Court Chambers has been newly ranked in Band 2 for Banking & Finance and Band 3 for Offshore in 2021.
Special mention is given to the following members who have received a ranking in the new Legal 500 Rising Star category; Richard Hoyle for Commercial Litigation, Stuart Cribb for Commercial Litigation and Civil Fraud and Naomi Hart for Public International Law.
17 new member rankings brings the total number of Essex Court Chambers member rankings to 171 in the 2021 guide.
The set is ranked in the following categories by the Legal 500 UK Bar 2021:
- Commercial Litigation: Tier 1
Essex Court Chambers is ‘top of the pile’ with ‘fantastic counsel at all levels’ ‘a market-leader when it comes to the production of know-how and has first-class administration’. - Fraud: Civil: Tier 1
The ‘excellent set is teeming with talent at all levels’ and ‘seems to have monopolised the top senior juniors in commercial fraud’, making it ‘the leading fraud set, by a significant margin – they have all the good juniors and most of the good silks’. - International Arbitration: Counsel: Tier 1
Chambers is ‘top of the list for international arbitration’ with a ‘deep bench of excellent barristers’. The set has been a market leader for some time, but hasn’t rested on its laurels, with the arrivals of Alison Macdonald QC and Angeline Welsh from Matrix Chambers and Sean Aughey from 11KBW. - Public International Law: Tier 1
Essex Court Chambers is ‘well known as an excellent PIL set’ and the ‘counsel are consistently of top quality and involved in some of the highest-profile PIL work around’. - Banking and Finance: Tier 2
Essex Court Chambers is ‘always one of our first ports of call’ for banking and finance disputes, and is ‘particularly good on complex cases with an international element’. The chambers stands out for having ‘an absolutely fabulous set of senior juniors’. - Employment: Tier 2
Chambers is ‘a leading commercial set that is also a leader in employment law, not just because of the quality of its advocates but because its employment barristers have cross-over practices into other areas, which give them an edge in contentious and complex employment and employment-related disputes’. - Energy: Tier 2
Essex Court Chambers is ‘at top of the tree with great strength in depth’. - International Arbitration: Arbitrators: Tier 2
Essex Court Chambers is a ‘first-rate international arbitration chambers’ and this reputation extends to its stable of arbitrators. - Shipping: Tier 2
‘A very good and well-respected set’, Essex Court Chambers covers a range of shipping disputes, including those involving shipbuilding, insurance, and charterparties. - Commodities: Tier 3
‘A very user-friendly’ and clients note that ‘you can always find the suitable barrister and there are juniors who are very intelligent and easy to work with’. The set has a long history in the shipping and commodities arena and continues to be involved in high-value arbitrations. - Insurance and Reinsurance: Tier 3
Chambers is ‘a class act and a set full of good counsel’. Its members are experts in insurance disputes, including Bermuda Form arbitrations, but are also recognised in more traditional fields of insurance, such as marine insurance. - Offshore: Tier 3
‘A leading set with an extremely impressive roster’, Essex Court Chambers not only has a reputation for handling elite commercial matters before the English courts but is also active in the British Overseas Territories.
