The Bar - London Bar
2
Insolvency
3 Verulam Buildings is known for its members having ‘great gravitas and reputation for contentious insolvency work,’ with the set often involved in multi-jurisdictional insolvency disputes. In Lehman Brothers Holdings plc, Adrian Beltrami KC was instructed to represent the insolvent bank in ongoing waterfall disputes about the distribution of surpluses within the Lehman estate. Ewan McQuater KC was involved in NMC Healthcare Limited v Dubai Islamic Bank, the Middle East’s largest ongoing insolvency, where he led a counsel team in defending the interests of a Dubai Islamic Bank and Noor Bank in litigation concerning the collapse of the health company, alleged to be caused by fraud on the part of the company’s chairman. Looking at the juniors, Philip Hinks is noted for his work inHarrington Trading Company Ltd v Mehta, in which he acted for seven companies in liquidation and their joint liquidators in their claim that the proceeds of US$1bn of loans of gold bullion were misappropriated and laundered through a global network of companies.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The clerks at 3VB are without exception professional and accommodating. Steve Penson, Stuart Pullum and Lucy Burrows lead by example. When problems arise they are faced head on. Fee negotiations are usually fair and transparent. It is also good to see a woman in a senior position.
- 'Excellent clerks - very responsive and knowledgeable.'
- 'Efficient.'
- 'The clerks are good. Responsive and commercial.'
- 'Incredible strength in depth when it comes to counsel with financial services experience.'
- '3VB has genuine strength in depth. Their tendency to recruit former solicitors means that a number of their baby juniors have experience that others lack. Their ability to cover a wide range of commercial and financial services work makes them one of our first choice sets.'
- 'Great gravitas and reputation for contentious insolvency work.'
- 'Generally a strong set for insolvency work.'
Silks
Leading Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsem*nt from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Adrian Beltrami
‘He is sharp, pragmatic, constructive and commercial and a pleasure to work with. His advocacy is intelligent and measured and he commands the respect of the bench.'
Ewan Mcquater
'Very intelligent, thorough, focused on winning and an excellent advocate.'
Matthew Hardwick
'Matthew's strength is his ability to dive into a complex case and very quickly identify the key issues and what matters the judge would like want parties to address. He is extremely sharp and hardworking, as well as patience in trying to explain the issues to client.'
Andrew Sutcliffe
‘Andrew is incredibly bright, user-friendly, hard-working, completely unflappable and also a delight to have on the team. He has a unique charm when on his feet and presents his cases with charisma, clarity and eloquence. Andrew is also a real champion of those working with and around him and inspires others to pull together and work hard.’
Ian Wilson
‘Ian is a class act. He presents clearly and commercially to clients, who take great confidence from his counsel. An excellent advocate for banking appeals.’
Jamie Riley KC
‘Commercial, responsive and sensible and a powerful advocate.’
Juniors
Leading Juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
Philip Hinks
'Phil is practical and thorough. He gets gets to the nub of the problem quickly and comes up with sensible solutions. He is approachable and always happy to discuss and explain the reasoning he has used to come up with his proposed solutions.'
William Day
‘Will is definitely one of the rising stars of the commercial Chancery field. His greatest strength is his considerable intellect, which is combined with evident confidence and enthusiasm. Like many of the very best barristers, his oral and written skills are equally strong.’
Angharad Start
'She is a powerful litigator, has an excellent commercial skills and a keen legal brain. He advocacy is measured and attractive.'
James McWilliams
‘James is particularly good for claims where there is a cross-over with insolvency and fraud because of his experience with both. He has good judgement, is good on the law and is a fine advocate.’
Leading Juniors
Rising stars at the Bar are defined as barristers between four and eight years’ call who are seen as up-and-coming members of the Bar in their respective practice areas by clients and peers alike. They will already be instructed in high-profile, complex, and high-value contentious and non-contentious matters, working with and opposite more experienced leading counsel.
Philip Hinks
'Phil is practical and thorough. He gets gets to the nub of the problem quickly and comes up with sensible solutions. He is approachable and always happy to discuss and explain the reasoning he has used to come up with his proposed solutions.'
William Day
‘Will is definitely one of the rising stars of the commercial Chancery field. His greatest strength is his considerable intellect, which is combined with evident confidence and enthusiasm. Like many of the very best barristers, his oral and written skills are equally strong.’
Angharad Start
'She is a powerful litigator, has an excellent commercial skills and a keen legal brain. He advocacy is measured and attractive.'
James McWilliams
‘James is particularly good for claims where there is a cross-over with insolvency and fraud because of his experience with both. He has good judgement, is good on the law and is a fine advocate.’
