Chambers Review
Provided by Chambers
Dispute Resolution: Commercial - UK
What the Team is Known For
Brick Court lays claim to some of the leading practitioners in the market. Its barristers are regularly involved in the most high-value and high-profile matters. Recent highlights for members have included: Municipio de Mariana and others v BHP Group (UK) Ltd and another, a large group action seeking compensation for losses caused by the Fundão dam collapse; IBM UK v LzLabs, a breach of contract dispute; and Le Patourel v BT, a £1.2 billion class action concerning overcharges for BT telephone landlines. One source comments: “The set has an outstanding depth and breadth of expertise for all types of commercial disputes and barristers with all levels of experience.”
Tony Burgess and Paul Dennison are the senior clerks.
Strengths
The Brick Court clerks are my favourite clerks to work with. They are extremely commercial and genuinely trying to align with your approach to the client. They are also very responsive.
Despite being very much in demand, they make you feel like their most important client.
The clerking team is incredibly helpful and responsive. Deputy Senior Clerk Luke Carvalho is really good, and has been for a long, long time. He is able to make sure you always get the right person.
Paul Dennison is a go-to senior clerk, who is very upfront and solution-orientated. I'd go to him with any problem.
Senior clerk Tony Burgess is super-approachable and always available, while Deputy Senior Clerk Jo Francis is very supportive. She's great at putting together a team and introducing you to barristers.
Notable practitioners
Helen can do anything she turns her hands to.
Helen gets into the detail very quickly, is authoritative and has a real read for how judges will react to something in court. She will always give a firm view that you can rely on.
She is a superb and very authoritative advocate.
Helen is undoubtedly excellent, easy to work with and highly user-friendly.
He is amazing at cross-examining.
He is a stellar name at the Commercial Bar.
Mark is a pre-eminent figure at the Commercial Bar. He is a go-to for complex legal appeals and he has a mind with an ingrained instinct to get to the point quickly.
Mark is known as being the best at the Bar for oral advocacy. When things come up off the cuff, he is just a natural.
Simon is absolutely outstanding. He has a very nice client manner and is very hard-working.
Simon is so down to earth. He is kind to every member of the team, from partners down to junior associates, and he displays an excellent rapport with the courts.
Simon is a superstar of the Bar. He's immensely clever and creative in a way you just don't see with other barristers.
Tim is someone you look to for finely tuned expert and strategic advice. He is a great commercial barrister – one of the best.
Tim demonstrates a good tactical understanding of when to apply pressure and when not to.
Tim is a very strong performer in court who combines a strategic and analytical approach to cases with a collaborative and friendly manner.
Tom is an incredibly powerful advocate, who is very hard-working. He is absolutely top-drawer.
Tom Adam is very good, aggressive when he needs to be and someone who leaves no stone unturned. He thinks through absolutely everything.
Tom is a great leader and an outstanding advocate.
Tom is absolutely outstanding. He is a really smart litigator and a very smart strategist.
Vernon's a very good advocate with a nice manner. The court likes him.
He's an excellent and formidable commercial litigator.
Extremely intelligent and very hard-working, he'll pour everything into a case.
Intelligent, with a strong grasp of both the law and commercial considerations.
Ben has a great brain and a tremendous work ethic.
Totally energetic and enthusiastic, he's incredibly prodigious and a barrister of high quality.
He's great to collaborate with, and juniors like working with him too.
Incredibly clever and a great team player.
Edward is very commercial, responsive and user-friendly.
He is completely versatile and can turn his hand to a broad range of civil disputes.
She is a rising star.
Very responsive and easy to work with, she provides excellent analysis and advice on points of detail, as well as more generally on matters of strategy.
Smart, reliable and down to earth, Laura is an asset to any team.
Exceptionally diligent and very experienced, Alan is tremendous. He has a very orderly mind and a very precise way of thinking and communicating.
Very thoughtful and careful, he's someone who always gets back to you.
Fionn is a very measured and considered advocate.
A good oral advocate, who's very good in reply and excellent at thinking on his feet.
Harry is simply masterful in every way. He has a unique ability to deliver the most cutting submissions with such guile and charm that it entirely disarms his opponent.
Harry is a very charming advocate who judges have all the time in the world for.
Harry is a softly spoken, eloquent and sophisticated advocate, who has the ear of the court.
Charming and able.
He is calm, measured and very sensible.
Kyle is very bright and very commercially savvy. He does a good job.
Genuinely user-friendly, he can absorb masses of detail and identify the key points you need to deal with. He has fantastic judgement concerning what matters in a case.
A very high-quality, black letter lawyer, who is able to roll up his sleeves and get on with it.
Charm personified, Roger is a very smooth advocate, who is exceptionally quick at turning around papers.
He is super-bright and very hard-working.
A very impressive advocate.
Stephen gets to grips with the details of matters, while retaining a strong commercial and strategic overview. He is a powerful advocate, who also has a very clear and persuasive written style.
His submissions in court are outstanding.
Tom is very hard-working and all over the detail. He also used to be a solicitor, so he gets it.
He is very impressive and provides really clear, commercial advice.
Thomas is an exquisite advocate, who is thorough, always prepared and great at strategy.
I love his manner and his approach to submissions. He instantly brings credibility.
He is extremely bright and very meticulous.
Tony is a great cross-examiner, who is courteous and decisive.
Tony is tenacious and very smart.
He's really smart and hands-on, and gets straight to the point.
His drafting is a delight to read, as it's no-nonsense and cuts to the chase.
Tony is fast growing into one of the most impressive silks at the Bar.
Will is very approachable and he is great at black letter law.
Highly intelligent, professional and client-focused, he is a calm and reassuring presence in court.
Sharp-witted, very easy to deal with, approachable, likeable and responsive.
Charlotte is very hands-on, highly commercial and very technical.
Charlotte is thoughtful and diligent, and has her own opinions, which she's more than happy to share and work through with us.
Ed is excellent – he's very bright, all over the detail, great at coming up with strategies, easy to work with and highly approachable.
A star in the making, Ed is fiercely bright, supremely hard-working and leaves no stone unturned. Punching above his weight, he exudes a quiet confidence that is reassuring.
Fred's sheer intellect is what stands out.
No-one can match him in terms of his legal research skills.
Fred is extremely easy to work with. He's very collaborative and happy to get stuck in and work alongside us.
Fred is whip-smart, diligent and a pleasure to work with. His drafting is as crisp as a morning breeze and he is both clear and measured when on his feet.
Fred is a very strong advocate – judges love hearing from him.
Jasbir is very pragmatic and very client-focused. He is brilliant on his feet and a strong cross-examiner.
Jasbir is an excellent leader, who is very committed to the detail of a case; he really gets plugged in. He is also a committed advocate and persistent cross-examiner.
Jasbir is very clear in his advice and robust on challenging points. He also has an impressive knowledge of the law and presents very well to clients.
He takes a really commercial approach.
Joanne is a star in the making. She is clear in her thinking and her written advocacy is very good.
She is very impressive, very balanced, and someone who gives good advice.
Max is a complete joy to work with. He consistently and flawlessly delivers superior work product and advice on the most complex points possible, and is a wonderful team player.
Max is very intelligent and very numerate. He makes complex financial information digestible for judges.
He is extremely bright and very pleasant to work with.
Max is cerebral and thorough, and displays excellent capability in cross-examination.
Simon is a very strong technical lawyer who likes to think. His advice is extremely well structured, which is to the benefit of his solicitors, clients, the court and even his opponents.
Simon is extremely bright and extremely able.
Sophie is an exceptional all-round talent. She is good with the law, has good forensic nous and strategy, and can package up the presentation in a very effective way.
Sophie writes and thinks really clearly, and she is brilliant.
She will be a future star.
Calm, sensible and measured, Tom takes good points and makes them well.
He is bright, user-friendly and a great team player.
Alec is very detail-focused; he knows every document and his cross-examination skills are ferocious.
A rising star at the Commercial Bar, Andrew is an exceptional draftsman, who is very talented at structuring arguments. His oral advocacy is succinct and persuasive.
Very clinical, very clever and very precise; for difficult cases he's a very good choice.
The way Gerard puts points across is extremely persuasive. He is a consummate performer and he knows the CPR backwards.
Michael has impressive commercial and legal acumen, and is always keen to get to the bottom of the client's drivers.
Michael is a pleasure to work with. He is all over the detail, highly responsive, and totally composed under pressure.
He is personable and provides a brilliant level of service.
Extremely clever, thoughtful, a pleasure to work with and a great team player.
Craig is clever, diligent and commercial.
Geoffrey is very good. He is efficient and faultless in terms of his legal research and analysis skills.
James is hugely knowledgeable and dedicated to the clients’ interests. When presented with a case, he has a tremendous ability to absorb the detail and identify meaningful strategies and arguments.
James is very nice and down to earth. He's co-operative and works well with junior team members.
He is very logical and helpful when presented with a complex set of facts.
James is outstandingly bright, incredibly hard-working and a real pleasure to work with.
Matthew is really bright, highly responsive and a great team player. He also has a high EQ and can handle difficult things sensibly.
Matt is a great asset to have on a team. He is hard-working, he gives effective and clear advice and he's a great pleasure to work with.
Richard is extremely bright and he has stepped up to silk very well. He has a bright future ahead of him.
He is easy to contact, his responses are quick and no question is too trivial for him. I would highly recommend him, especially for complex, high-value disputes.
A good, experienced advocate, who relates well to clients and is an excellent team player.
Sarah is across all the detail of a case and is able to explain key points clearly and concisely. She's very calm under pressure and is a pleasure to work with.
Sarah is really bright and stands out amongst her peers. She has a succinct style and works very collaboratively.
She is very responsive, quick on her feet and swift to make well-thought-out and reasoned decisions.
Her written work is excellent and her client management is also very good.
Aarushi has a good strategic approach and applies that to novel legal points. She has a really good intellect and a fine advocacy style.
A phenomenal up-and-coming barrister – he has a supercharged brain and produces written work of the highest quality.
He's wonderfully bright and exceptionally efficient. Solicitors love him because he's responsive and very user-friendly.
For someone so junior, Jacob is quite exceptional, both legally and in terms of his judgement. He will without doubt be a star of the future.
Approachable and clever, he has a real eye for detail.
Jonathan is really impressive. He has good judgement and is very concise in his advice.
Jonathan is clever, thoughtful and forensic. He has good judgement that belies his year of call.
Tom Wood is outstanding for commercial and banking disputes. As well as brilliant legal skills, he also has experience as a solicitor, which gives him a wonderful insight into how solicitors work.
Tom is very thorough, conscientious and user-friendly.
Tom is a team player, who works hard and gives clear advice.
He is a very impressive junior.
Fred is very clever and skilful. He has a beguiling and understated manner, which is very effective.
Richard is a phenomenal lawyer, who is a brilliant draftsman and a lethal cross-examiner. He is very hard-working and has an outstandingly mature sense of judgement.
Richard is a superb commercial litigator, whose advocacy is absolutely outstanding. His strategic understanding and his tactical ability are both highly impressive, and his written work is fantastic.
Richard is an absolute superstar who is not only on top of the law and the facts, but is also a fierce cross-examiner.
Richard is a highly rated barrister for all types of work. He provides fantastic service.
Richard is the best written advocate that you will find. He combines that with strong oral submissions to the court, and he has an ability to cross-examine expert witnesses that few can match.