Banking & Finance

Joe Smouha KC is a highly accomplished banking silk with additional expertise in the civil fraud arena. He handles a wide range of financial disputes for major banks and is an accomplished advocate in international arbitrations. Active both domestically and internationally, he has appeared in courts in the BVI and the Cayman Islands.

"Trial advocate par excellence, Joe can manage, identify and address all of the angles in complex trial scenarios. He is who you want at the front of a complex trial. He's right at the top of his game."

"Joe is a class act. He is very good and very strategic."

"He very quickly comes to focus on the detailed points and is very responsive."

James Willan KC is an extremely capable and intelligent barrister with the ability to handle the most complex and intricate of issues. Besides banking disputes, he is accomplished in representing clients in civil fraud, offshore and arbitration proceedings. He acts primarily for banks and financial institutions, and consistently garners praise for the power of his analysis and his work ethic.

"James is an absolute star. He is very hard-working and bright, with a brilliant future ahead of him. He's a ferocious cross-examiner, as well."

"One of the brightest guys at the Bar, James is super efficient with very good judgement. He's a very nice man and works very well with the team."

Ciaran Keller is a noted junior with experience in representing private businesses, private equity funds and banks in matters involving Quincecare duty claims, sovereign debt and insolvency.

"Ciaran Keller is absolutely excellent. He's super responsive and very smart, works well in a team and is extremely efficient."

"Ciaran's analysis is always very strong and very valuable."

"He's excellent, he is one of the best juniors out there. He's super smart, very practical, and very efficient. He gets things done quickly and smoothly on time."

Emily Wood KC is an accomplished barrister adept in handling matters involving LIBOR manipulation, swaps issues and sale disputes. She regularly acts for a range of major financial organisations, along with business networks and private equity firms.

"She is extremely clever and a fantastic strategic barrister. She is very user-friendly, and you can put her in front of clients and they love her."

"She's outstandingly good."

John Robb has vast experience in handling cross-border matters involving negligence, contract disputes and insolvency aspects. Clients include large banks, sovereign wealth funds and brokers.

"John Robb is really charming, bright, academic and responsive. He's someone we look to work with because he's fantastic."

Louise Hutton KC has worked in substantial and high-profile matters for a range of clients, including banks and administrators. Her experience includes issues of fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty, and she is skilled at acting in arbitration proceedings.

"Louise is excellent. She is on top of the detail – she's very client-focused and good at thinking about the case from the client's perspective and thinking commercially."

Richard Millett KC is a capable practitioner with a range of banking and finance, general commercial and arbitration matters under his belt. He has experience of acting for major banking groups in complex disputes.

"He is the strongest advocate I know. He has a beautiful rhetoric style and is brilliant at dealing with tricky questions from the bench."

"He is very efficient and responds to emails quickly."

James Sheehan KC regularly acts in high-stakes financial litigation matters involving well-known banking and investment fund players.

"James is absolutely exceptional. He is super bright and just seems to know everything about everything."

"James is excellent. He's a very good drafter, extremely user-friendly, and very easy to work with."

"He's very user-friendly and very commercial, with a very charming and lovely light-touch advocacy style."