THE LEGAL 500
LONDON BAR OVERVIEW
2007 - 7 King's Bench Walk defines excellence in terms of shipping, insurance and reinsurance advice and any proper definition of successful insurance-led advocacy would be incomplete without mentioning them. Superbly clerked, albeit smaller in size than some rival sets, with a magnificent roster of silks, both new and established, the excellent financial and legal performance of chambers offer an alternative to the larger sets for handling complex commercial disputes, making it one of the Bar’s true elite. Of the silks, perhaps Jonathan Gaisman QC edges his peers in exemplifying the values and quality of chambers; at the junior level Sioban Healy stands out.
2006 - 7 King's Bench Walk is by no means just a shipping set, but has also built a pre-eminent name for insurance and reinsurance advice and advocacy. Although substantially smaller than other top commercial sets, its earnings and appearances on the most complex professional negligence and general commercial disputes, makes it one of the Bar's true elite, appearing in disputes such as the Metro litigation.
COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION
2007 - In April 2007 7 King's Bench Walk were pleased to announce that Julian Flaux QC had been appointed as a High Court Judge. The set however still fields a number of experienced arbitration practitioners, including Dominic Kendrick QC who sits as an arbitrator and has acted as an expert on English law in foreign tribunals, Gavin Kealey QC who has a truly international practice, shipping specialist Timothy Brenton QC and new silk Robert Bright QC who has recently acted in reinsurance and maritime arbitrations. New entry David Edwards QC also took silk in 2006. He specializes in insurance and reinsurance arbitrations. Sioban Healy frequently acts as counsel in insurance/reinsurance and maritime arbitrations and has sat as an arbitrator in several reinsurance disputes. Stephen J Phillips has a good deal of experience in international arbitration. New to this section this year, Richard Waller has acted on numerous shipping and reinsurance arbitrations.
COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
2007 - 7 King's Bench Walk has had much to celebrate in the last 12 months. Julian Flaux QC was appointed a High Court Judge in the Spring of 2007, while in 2006 commercial litigators Robert Bright QC and Richard Southern QC took silk. Other silks in chambers that deserve recognition include Gavin Kealey QC who represented successful shareholders before the Privy Council in an inaugural sitting in Nassau, and the ‘dedicated advocate’ that is Jonathan Gaisman QC and international commercial law expert Alistair Schaff QC. Both Stephen Hofmeyr QC and Christopher Butcher QC are held in high regard by the market. Of the juniors, insurance specialist S.J.Phillips is recommended, as is new entrant to the table this year, Rebecca Sabben-Clare who is ‘commercial, very accessible and a clear thinker’.
2006 - At 7 King's Bench Walk, 'clever and able'
COMMODITIES
2007 - 7 King's Bench Walk is known for its outstanding shipping and insurance work, complemented by significant commodity disputes. Highly experienced Alistair Schaff QC comes recommended, as do Timothy Brenton QC and ‘user-friendly, reliable, effective and robust’ Robert Bright QC, who took silk in 2006. Solicitor-turned-barrister Sioban Healy is described as ‘very bright and with a good knowledge of commodities’, complementing her shipping and insurance practice. Charles Priday is credited with a huge amount of commodities work and is much sought after. Charles Holroyd’s GAFTA experience and Peter MacDonald Eggers ’ growing commodities workload as part of his international trade and shipping practice are further reasons to recommend the set.
2006 - 7 King's Bench Walk has a good name in shipping and insurance, and consequently lends itself easily to commodities disputes.
ENERGY
2007 - 7 King's Bench Walk leverages off its market-leading insurance and shipping practices to garner quality energy instructions, with a particular emphasis on offshore construction and oil-exploration disputes. A ‘lawyer who thinks on his feet’, Alistair Schaff QC represented the successful insurers in the Enterprise Oil v Strand case, while Timothy Brenton QC’s experience covers drill ship disputes, insurance claims involving offshore units and disputes involving damage to offshore equipment. In 2006 Simon Picken QC made silk and has recently been involved in substantial oil rig construction litigation. Junior David Allen is highlighted by sources as a ‘pragmatic advocate’.
2006 - 7 King's Bench Walk's energy work is allied to its market-leading insurance and shipping practices. Several members of chambers, including
INSURANCE AND REINSURANCE
2007 - 7 King's Bench Walk is a well-respected presence in the market, winning praise from peers and clients alike. Julian Flaux’s departure to the High Court bench leaves Gavin Kealey QC the leading name, representing the Rugby Football Union in its dispute with the Premiership clubs. Timothy Brenton QC is noted for his marine insurance expertise, particularly in connection with war risks, while David Bailey QC worked with Kealey on the well-documented Lumbermans v Bovis action in the Commercial Court. Dominic Kendrick QC has been involved in insurance litigation over the years, including the Commercial Union v NRG, Skandia v NRG case, which arose out of the Exxon Valdez.
2006 - 7 King's Bench Walk impresses solicitors with the 'broadest range of silks and juniors' and continues to win the praise of the largest number of firms. Chief among the leaders is 'user-friendly and extremely bright'
PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE
2007 - Tenants of 7 King's Bench Walk regularly act for a number of major insurers, often handling large professional negligence claims. Jonathan Gaisman QC and James Brocklebank have previously acted on such prominent cases as Equitable Life v Ernst & Young. Gaisman is highly rated by solicitors for ‘being extremely good in conference...an excellent court manner and ....having the respect of the court’. The set’s raft of newly made up silks like Stephen Kenny QC and strong juniors like Sioban Healy all form part of a strong offering in the field.
2006 - Best known for insurance work, 7 King's Bench Walk often gets involved in large professional negligence claims. For instance Dominic Kendrick QC acted for the claimants in Man v Freightliner, while Jonathan Gaisman QC was Ernst & Young's joint lead counsel in the Equitable Life negligence action.
SHIPPING
2007 - 7 King's Bench Walk has an array of talent at the commercial Bar, augmented by an unprecedented six new silks joining the established reputations of ‘well-known shipping silks and juniors’. Some have queried the overall impact of the scale of this endorsement of excellence on chambers, although the loss of the ‘excellent’ and ‘very popular’ Julian Flaux QC to the High Court provides an opportunity for new silks to achieve the standard set by the ‘universally respected’ Flaux and his successor, Gavin Kealey QC. The set’s reputation in shipping is closely allied to a premier insurance practice, and increasingly for commercial litigation also. Alistair Schaff QC is ‘now firmly established as a leading silk in this area’ and, with a broad practice in dry shipping and arbitration, is described as ‘hands-on’, ‘very popular’ and ‘excellent’. Schaff and Timothy Brenton QC both feature in our top tier of silks. Brenton’s shipping work on cases like The ‘Kamilla’, lies alongside a top-class arbitration practice, as well as experience in Admiralty disputes. The strength in depth has, however, just got deeper at silk level; and alongside established silks Jonathan Gaisman QC (described as ‘a terrific silk’ ‘to hear him speak is to hear greatness’ ‘a very impressive advocate’), Christopher Butcher QC and Stephen Hofmeyr QC, the set has new silks to take it forward even further than before. Stephen Kenny QC, Richard Southern QC, Robert Bright QC (praised for his ‘effective style’, who has an excellent arbitration practice and is a ‘well thought young silk’), David Edwards QC (‘a very impressive and diligent young silk’), and David Bailey QC equally ‘very popular and commercial’. At the junior level Charles Priday is ‘silk quality’ and Sioban Healy has made a big impression in shipping work; ‘she must be close to silk’ said solicitors and peers alike repeatedly- she is rightly promoted to the first rank. Richard Waller, and Stephen J Phillips (‘very talented, aggressive, but approachable’) also feature.
2006 - Although they don't come cheap, 7 King's Bench Walk has some of the brightest and best at the commercial Bar. The set's reputation in shipping is closely allied to its premier insurance practice.
