Dispute Resolution: Commercial Chancery

An instructing solicitor describes Serle Court as "exceptional across the board." The set houses an enviable bench of senior and junior barristers, and is regularly called upon to undertake the most complex cases in the market. Examples include Equity Real Estate (Bracknell) Ltd v Patel & Ors, a multi-million pound claim in the Chancery Division by five SPVs who are the alleged victims of a complex property fraud. Members have also appeared in Wong v Grand View, an action in the Supreme Court of Bermuda concerning the validity of five purpose trusts worth over USD15 billion. This is thought to be the largest contentious trust litigation ever.

"The clerks are always responsive and proactive."

"Fine clerks who have a great relationship with the listing office and court - they can make magical things happen. Nick Hockney and Charlie Payne are really user-friendly and good at what they do."

"They are user friendly and willing to be flexible in how they approach matters."

Elizabeth Jones KC "A real leader, in every sense, she's always on top of her brief and excellent to work with." "Simply the most authoritative and precise barrister you could wish to meet, she has fabulous presence in court and inspires huge confidence in the client." "The one you want in your corner. She takes no prisoners."

Philip Jones KC "Has a very gentle, avuncular style but is a really piercing, highly forensic advocate when it comes to it."

Philip Marshall KC "Really experienced and brings a lot of knowledge to bear." "He comes up with imaginative solutions to difficult problems." "Philip is a force of nature and has an outstanding reputation."

Adil Mohamedbhai "Really bright and very user friendly, he works incredibly hard and turns stuff around overnight." "Very responsive, hugely hardworking and someone who gets into the detail, he masters documents more quickly and better than the other side. He offers diligence and great understanding alongside responsiveness." "Easy to work with and very responsive, he's commercially minded and very strategic and pragmatic in his approach. Great with clients, he uses commercial language with them rather than legal jargon. He's very good on his feet, very persuasive, and a barrister who fights really hard for his client."

Dakis Hagen KC "He's extremely pleasant to work with and clients love him." "Absolutely brilliant and extremely well respected. Everyone  wants to instruct him."

Daniel Lightman KC "A barrister who does creative, clever work, he always seeks to find solutions to issues." "An excellent draftsman with exceptional attention to detail, he has unrivalled technical expertise in his chosen fields. Commercially aware and very astute, he's a team player whom it's a pleasure to work with." "A man with a brilliant mind, who is really knowledgeable in his field."

David Drake "A super nice guy and one of the smartest people around. He has a big brain and is excellent for tricky cases."

Hugh Norbury KC "Pleasant, calm and considered." "He really knows his stuff, has a really good manner with everyone he encounters, and is very well respected."

James Weale "Very bright, very responsive and someone who has the technical aspects spot on. His drafting skills impress." "Academically strong, user friendly and a barrister who will bend over backwards for his clients. He's all over the detail in a case and is both a good drafter and a good advocate, who is very well respected." "Incredibly hard working and a purveyor of excellent advocacy."

John Machell KC "A subject matter expert in a number of areas and an excellent advocate, he's very client friendly and someone who can package technical advice in a commercial, pragmatic way." "He's very down to earth, hardworking and concise in his analysis."

Jonathan Adkin KC "Extremely practical and can read different judges really well as he instinctively understands the way they think. He's absolutely unflappable when facing an aggressive courtroom, proving extremely persuasive, calm and forceful in his submissions." "A very impressive barrister with great gravitas in court."

Rupert Reed KC "He is very willing to roll up his sleeves and good at distilling complex issues into simple concepts."

David Blayney KC "He's a very bright chap, who produces good written work."

Dominic Dowley KC "A fantastic advocate who can absorb a lot of detail." "A great opponent, who is even-handed and extremely fair minded."

Gareth Tilley "He has superior analytical skills, he is excellent at client management, and he produces written work that is first class." "Very responsive, very clever and very clear with clients. He's always happy to get stuck into a case and really delves into the detail."

James Mather "Accessible and a good team player, he is able to communicate difficult concepts well."

Justin Higgo KC "He's got a really easy manner in court and is liked by judges."

Lance Ashworth KC "Brilliant with the clients and has excellent judgement of how the courts will look at an issue. He's also great fun to work with and gives very astute and reliable advice." "Responsive and someone who rolls his sleeves up, he's fantastic with clients." "A very able communicator, who has a brain the size of a planet. Down to earth and able to relate to the client, he provides a superb service."

Matthew Morrison "Very well prepared in his approach to matters, succinct in his delivery and someone who had a very good manner with the judge. He was responsive (including out of hours) and was very forensic in his approach."

Paul Adams "His strengths are very much on the detail and his written work is excellent. Very charming, extremely bright and quite unassuming, he reassures clients that they are in the right hands." "So clever and a good commercial thinker, he's all over the  bigger picture and totally gets the client's sensitivities and nuances. He's also really creative in finding solutions."

Simon Hattan "He's very good analytically and good at coming up with arguments even in the most difficult cases."

Giles Richardson KC "He's very commercial in his approach, very approachable and someone you can pick up the phone to." "He's massively intelligent and has always been extremely user-friendly."

Sophie Holcombe "She's really responsive, her drafting is really good, and she's incredibly thorough. Really likeable, she makes it easy to pick up the phone and ask her questions."

Timothy Collingwood KC "Very experienced in this kind of law, he's very personable and comes across very well with judges." "Clever and articulate in court but with a light touch, he gets the judge on side and knows the law inside out."

Oliver Jones "Technically excellent, commercially minded, and a lawyer who produces high quality drafting in really short time. He's lovely to deal with and very much part of our team." "Excellent to work with; his ability to absorb information and produce written submissions of the highest quality in record time is hugely impressive. Seemingly never flustered, he is also fantastic on his feet." "Pragmatic, commercial and very communicative, you can get an immediate response, even despite time differences."

Dan McCourt Fritz "He's very punchy and all over the detail."