Dispute Resolution: Commercial

Fountain Court houses talented commercial litigators at all levels of seniority. Its barristers are regulars in the highest-value and most eye-catching cases of the day, routinely appearing in the Commercial Court, Financial List and Chancery Division. Although best known for their skill in banking and finance cases, they undertake a truly broad sweep of work and have involvement in major matters across the commercial spectrum. Recent examples of significant cases handled include: Dubai Aerospace Enterprise v Various Insurers; Various Merchants v Visa and Mastercard, and Soteria Insurance v IBM United Kingdom.  Commentators state: "Fountain Court Chambers is a good set with a deep bench that can be relied upon for the most complex of matters."

"Alex Taylor, senior clerk, is nice, responsive, accommodating and helpful. Luke Diebelius, team leader, and Sian Huckett, deputy senior clerk, are also great to work with."

"Friendly and responsive even on smaller matters. They always make time for you."

"Alfie Harper, team leader, and the other clerks were very responsive."

"The clerks really make a difference and are a delight to deal with."

"The clerks are very responsive and user friendly. There are clearly good lines of communication between the clerks and counsel and I have never had any issues coordinating with them."

Head of Marketing & Business Development Helen Griffiths "does an excellent job of highlighting the members' expertise and underling their many strengths."

Bankim Thanki KC "Bankim Thanki is frighteningly good. He is very effective at being forceful whilst not coming across as being aggressive." "Bankim Thanki is so calm. He's serene, like a swan on top of the lake. Nothing fazes him and he maintains authority." "Bankim is a real heavyweight who deals with the absolute big ticket cases. His advocacy style is very engaging and every word he says seems to be very deliberate." "He is a delight to work with and so quick to get on top of all the facts."

Alex Barden "Alex is a very experienced junior. His advice on a complex claim, dealing with difficult issues of strategy, was incredibly helpful and vital in assisting the client in reaching a very good resolution." "Alex is excellent and a real fighter." "He offered valuable insight and input when handling our case. I was really impressed with how quickly he got up to speed. "

Anneliese Day KC "Anneliese Day is a brilliant advocate, who is inspiring to the team, down to earth and well-respected by colleagues and clients." "Anneliese is good at thinking on her feet and is a charming advocate."

David Railton KC "David Railton is vastly experienced and has a thoughtful way of dealing with judges." "David Railton is the consummate, well prepared KC. Sometimes silks delegate work to juniors but he really owns the matter and gets into the detail." "David Railton is one of the best defence barristers. He is very thoughtful."

Richard Handyside KC "Richard Handyside is a first class barrister and a very good advocate. He has the ear of the court and is very methodical in terms of how he approaches his preparation and advocacy." "Richard is an understated yet extremely effective advocate, who does not grandstand in court." "Richard Handyside is excellent. He's very easy to work with and hugely client friendly." "A safe pair of hands for difficult, high pressure cases."

Stuart Ritchie KC "Stuart Ritchie is absolutely excellent. He commands respect." "A very impressive performer." "Stuart is a very polished advocate." "Stuart Ritchie is incredibly hard working, brilliant at leading the team and very commercial."

Charles Béar KC "Charles is one of the best legal minds and a truly outstanding silk." "Charles is just super bright. He's one of the smartest KCs at the Bar and one of the best advocates on his feet." "He is particularly effective at cross examination."

Derrick Dale KC "Derrick Dale is a pleasure to work with and hugely persuasive. He is also very good with clients."

Nico Leslie "Nico Leslie is an exceptionally able barrister, whose work is a pleasure to witness." "Simply outstanding." "Nico is intelligent and switched on. He is able to see the commercial picture and will fight your corner." "Nico Leslie is very agile and provides amazingly fast responses to your queries."

Patricia Robertson KC "Patricia is highly intelligent." "Really experienced and good at navigating the client towards what has to be done." "Patricia provided astute legal and commercial advice and managed difficult personalities."

Patrick Goodall KC "Patrick Goodall is absolutely superb. He is excellent on his feet and the barrister you want on your team." "Patrick is user friendly, commercial and pragmatic. He can give a robust view."

Richard Lissack KC "Richard Lissack is excellent on his feet and on top of things." "Richard provides robust views which the clients appreciate."

Rupert Allen "Rupert is a standout junior at the London Bar. He is a brilliant, commercially minded barrister, who is an excellent drafter of pleadings and skeletons." "Rupert is incredibly sharp minded, and readily deals with complex issues. He is a delight to work with." "The issues were mind-blowingly complex but he was able to distil the important aspects so we could work through them and deliver an excellent result for the client." "He is a complete machine. He has the ability to take in all sorts of detail and be on top of the many strands in a case."

Andrew Mitchell KC "Andrew is often involved in complex commercial disputes and can regularly finds a creative solution to difficult questions or problems." "Andrew is a highly experienced advocate. He is particularly strong at managing different personalities and he provides highly commercial advice."

Ben Valentin KC "Ben Valentin is really persuasive in his submissions - he writes beautifully and with brevity." "Very user-friendly and highly intelligent." "Ben is fantastic to work with and amazing with clients as he has an amazing emotional IQ." "Ben Valentin is everything you want in a KC. He is commercial, easy to work with and someone who can adjust his style depending on the judge."

David Murray "David Murray is a superb draftsman. His drafts were precise and compelling without becoming mired in technicalities."

Jeffrey Chapman KC "Jeffrey Chapman is very good and pragmatic when handling complex commercial disputes."

Richard Coleman KC "He is easy to work with, on top of everything and great when conducting a case."

Rosalind Phelps KC "Ros is absolutely first rate. She is exceptionally strong on strategy and has an incredible ability to cut through complex issues. I would go to her with 'bet the business' disputes." "Ros had great strategic oversight of the case and was able to make sure the solicitors and clients were focused on the key points."

Timothy Howe KC "Tim really gets into the detail and is absolutely all over it." "Timothy is a superb legal strategist. He is excellent with clients, very commercial and a real pleasure to work whatever level you're at in the team." "Incredibly quick and thinks outside of the box. Timothy possesses a very active and engaging mind and has an attractive way of looking at legal problems."

Ben Lynch KC "Ben Lynch has a really nice manner both when on his feet in court and in mediation." "A highly responsive, modern barrister who is a great thinker."

Ian Bergson "Ian is incredibly insightful and a pleasure to work with." "Ian Bergson's written work is absolutely top notch. He's on the ball and gives really good back up on matters."

John Taylor KC "John is incredibly bright and powerfully compelling in both his advocacy and drafting style. He combines this with excellent client service. Furthermore, he can also translate difficult legal concepts into a commercial language which clients like and understand." "A very commercial, bright and pragmatic silk." "John Taylor knows details like nobody else. He's so thorough." "John Taylor performs very effectively with clients and at trial."

Laura John KC "Laura is an exceptionally talented silk and a devastatingly effective cross-examiner. She is also extremely commercial and popular with clients."

Natasha Bennett "Natasha Bennett is technically excellent and explains issues very clearly and concisely." "Natasha is personable and effective."

Nik Yeo "Nik Yeo is responsive and makes himself available to clients." "Nik Yeo's written work is precise, clear and incisive. His advice is easily applicable to the circumstances of the case and he understands the commercial context and how his strategy can be practically implemented."

Philip Ahlquist "An excellent strategist and a very clever and diligent barrister." "Philip Ahlquist produces excellent skeletons and is very helpful and responsive."

Richard Power "Richard Power is very hands on and clever." "Richard Power is an excellent senior junior. He takes responsibility and has authority."

Stephen Moriarty KC "Stephen is a powerful advocate. He has an insane amount of experience, is so well prepared and is all over the detail." "Stephen Moriarty is a delight to work with with. He is fiercely bright and great on his feet." "One of the most extraordinary all rounders at the Bar. He is creative, thoughtful, careful and considered. Stephen is someone to turn to for the most complex of cases."

Stephen Rubin KC "Stephen Rubin is a very bright and talented person. Clients trust him."

Tamara Oppenheimer KC "Tamara is very strong on the law and very commercial in her approach. She is also very responsive and user friendly and appreciates the wider commercial aspects at play." "Tamara's knowledge is first rate and she is very effective in court." "Tamara is exceedingly focused and highly analytical. She takes a well rounded approach and provides to the point advice."

Adam Sher "Extraordinarily bright and really good on his feet, he is passionate about what he does."

Alexandra Whelan "Alexandra Whelan is highly responsive, very good at drafting and impressively assured and client-friendly."

Christopher Langley "An excellent senior junior, who is very bright and has a good client manner." "Chris was on top of the legal and commercial issues in the case and produced excellent written submissions and solid commercial advice. He made excellent contributions to the overall strategy of the case." "Christopher Langley is very good at analysing evidence and is very good at the paperwork."

Daniel Edmonds "Daniel Edmonds is very pragmatic and provides good, commercial advice. He turns things around at a remarkable pace." "Daniel Edmonds is dedicated, insightful and highly knowledgeable. He is an absolute pleasure to work with." "Daniel is extremely courteous and personable, as well as being very efficient and collaborative. He works well with the team."

Edward Levey KC "Edward Levey's written and oral advocacy are great. He is also very good at putting forward the client's interest without being too overbearing." "Edward is pleasant to work with. He has an attacking mindset and is always looking for solutions."

James Cutress KC "James Cutress is extremely bright. His ability to see issues is second to none." "James is very considered and open to thoughts from others."

Paul Casey "Paul Casey is smart, tremendously nice and brilliant on every level. When he produces work it arrives quickly."

Adam Zellick KC "Adam Zellick provides great opinions and his advocacy is great too. He works well with judges," "Adam is thoughtful, brave and someone who has the right instincts and judgement."

Alexander Milner KC "Alexander Milner knew the case inside out. He is very analytical and insanely bright." "Alexander is a sound drafter whose work is done well and accurately."

Michael McLaren KC "Michael McLaren's ability is a given; what I appreciate is that he is user-friendly and easy to work with, especially during the more demanding phases of the litigation cycle." "Michael is incredibly accessible and incredibly experienced. He is brilliant in court and brilliant with clients." "Michael is very tenacious, hard working and responsive."

Max Evans "Max Evans is simply outstanding." "Max is very careful and considered. The written material he produces is very good - he has a clear, concise drafting style."

James Duffy KC "James Duffy is easy to work with and clear and authoritative in his advice and advocacy." "James picked up the right points and argued them well in court."

Simon Atrill KC "Simon Atrill is very practical and commercial. He is strong on the law and is capable of seeing commercial angles  and being flexible in his approach." "Simon writes beautifully and his advocacy is very fluent and persuasive. Clients love him because he is a really good team player."