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Financial Services Regulation

1
3 Verulam Buildings
Blackstone Chambers
Fountain Court Chambers
2
Gough Square Chambers
Henderson Chambers
Outer Temple Chambers

Leading Silks

1
Alex Bailin KC – Matrix Chambers ‘Alex is a great team leader, able to work effectively, delegating when necessary.'
Monica Carss-Frisk KC –Blackstone Chambers
Sarah Clarke KC – Serjeants’ Inn Chambers ‘She is a superb practitioner. Committed, dedicated and skilful, with a fine analytical approach to every problem. She inspires confidence and is highly impressive.'
Richard Coleman KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Super knowledgeable and very effective at conveying to a court his detailed knowledge and understanding of a complex area.'
Andrew George KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘A top-class advocate, persuasive and engaging.  Great with clients and able to distil complex legal issues in a way lay clients can understand.'
Andrew Green KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘A formidable advocate. His measured, charming, and effective cross-examination makes him a go-to for cases where witness evidence is key.'
Richard Handyside KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Absolutely first-rate. He’s charm personified, and a lovely and persuasive advocate.'
Javan Herberg KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘A true titan of the financial services bar, he is a standout.'
Richard Lissack KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Richard comes into his own when delivering his oral advocacy, which is elegant and persuasive. The courtroom comes alive when he speaks, and he garners the respect of the judge and counterparts alike.'
Bankim Thanki KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Bankim is one of the elite band of super silks. You bring him in for C-suite matters when you need a blockbuster reputation and the most fearsome intellect to back it up.  He's in a tiny band of counsel at the absolute top of the pile.'
2
Michael Blair KC –3 Verulam Buildings 
James Counsell KC –Outer Temple Chambers 'Calm in court against the confidence of judges, quickly good with clients, and able intellectually, very good silk for these sorts of cases.'
Ben Jaffey KC –Blackstone Chambers 
Farhaz Khan KC –3 Verulam Buildings
Jonathan Kirk KC –Gough Square Chambers ‘The most likeable of all silks. Clients love his style and his knack for cutting through very technical arguments to get to what will matter when considering the aims of financial services regulation. His advocacy style verges on entertaining and stands out extremely well to get the most key points across.'
Hodge Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Hodge is the go-to silk at the English Bar for financial services cases. He is widely regarded as one of the leading barristers of his generation. He is a powerhouse advocate who commands the respect of judges and his peers.'
James McClelland KC – Brick Court Chambers 'A very skilful advocate, very measured, matter-of-fact delivery that builds to the inescapable conclusion that his position is correct. Leaves no stone unturned in anticipating the other side’s arguments and ensuring that your position is as strong as possible.’
Nicholas Medcroft KC –Fountain Court Chambers
Leigh-Ann Mulcahy KC – Fountain Court Chambers ‘Leigh-Ann is a truly special barrister. Her incredible intellect is matched by her flawless judgement. She is a peerless advocate, inspiring confidence in the court and client alike. She is an excellent leader of a team, deploying diverse talents to the greatest effect.’
Rory Phillips KC  –3 Verulam Buildings
Patricia Robertson KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Patricia has a clear and strategic mind. Her depth of experience enables her to think many steps ahead during a case.'
Sharif Shivji KC –4 Stone Buildings 'Sharif is an accessible team player who rolls his sleeves up, gets involved in the case and provides fantastic strategic advice on complex cases.'
James Strachan KC –39 Essex Chambers ‘Powerful advocate.'
Ben Strong KC –One Essex Court
Nick Vineall KC – 4 Pump Court 'Nick is an exceptional commercial silk. He has the ability to distil complex issues into a concise, compelling argument. In person, he is warm and genial and a pleasure to work alongside.'
Ian Wilson KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Ian has a calm, authoritative manner which inspires confidence in his advice. He is incredibly bright and a pleasure to deal with. He is excellent with clients and his written and oral advocacy are of the highest order.'
3
Robin Barclay KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Robin is excellent with clients. Delivers polished and to-the-point advice of the highest standard. A pleasure to work with and extremely able.'
Jonathan Crow KC –4 Stone Buildings 'Jonathan is excellent and cutting through complex issues and formulating the most persuasive arguments.'
Mark Fell KC –Radcliffe Chambers
Catherine Gibaud KC – 3 Verulam Buildings
Saima Hanif KC – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Saima is the go-to counsel for the most difficult and contentious sanctions work. She is the clear leader in the field, with a huge depth of experience. She is at the cutting edge of the law and always ahead of law and practice.'
Timothy Howe KC –Fountain Court Chambers 'Tim is phenomenally hard-working and responsive, he gives you the impression you are his only client.  He relishes getting into the details.'
Henry King KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Henry is a superb silk with a meticulous attention to detail and a thorough understanding of finance, derived from his background as a chartered accountant. He is a smooth and polished advocate, confident on his feet and respected by judges and opponents. He leaves no stone unturned to help his clients succeed. Highly in demand and easy to work with.’
Ali Malek KC –3 Verulam Buildings
Andrew Mitchell KC –Fountain Court Chambers ‘He is a market leader in this field, having acted in most of the key cases.  He quickly earns the trust of the client with his relaxed but assured style and wins the trust of the bench with his superb written and oral advocacy.'
Hanif Mussa KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘Hanif is tremendously practical and effective at developing case strategies that work for clients.'
Toby Riley-Smith KC –Henderson Chambers Toby has an excellent way with judges - unassuming and hugely persuasive.
Tom Weitzman KC –3 Verulam Buildings 

2024 Silks

Oliver Assersohn KC –XXIV Old Buildings ‘Oliver is approachable and friendly. He is excellent on market abuse and financial crime.’
Shail Patel KC –4 New Square

2025 Silks

Rupert Allen KC  –Fountain Court Chambers
Oliver Powell KC –Outer Temple Chambers

Leading Juniors

1
Ruth Bala – 4 Pump Court ‘She provides highly technical and detailed advice.’
Daniel Burgess –Blackstone Chambers ‘Daniel's advocacy is first class. He is technically very gifted and more than holds his own against more senior opposition.'
Eleanor Davison –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Eleanor is highly intelligent and extremely hard-working. She gets to the core of the issues quickly and has excellent judgement about what points will work and those that are unlikely to land.'
Charlotte Eborall –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Charlotte is incredibly easy to work with. She has excellent attention to detail and the ability to give sensible, commercial advice.'
Philip Hinks –3 Verulam Buildings ‘A junior with great knowledge of FSMA applications. He is very responsive and hard-working.'
Paul Luckhurst –Blackstone Chambers
Jason Mansell –QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘Jason is the stand-out technical expert you would want on your side on every case when you are taking on the FCA. His experience is absolutely stellar and his knowledge is encyclopaedic. When others throw in the towel, he will find a way through. A true street fighter.’
Charles Marquand –4 Stone Buildings ‘Charles provides insightful and practical advice.'
Fred Philpott –Gough Square Chambers 
Simon Popplewell –Gough Square Chambers ‘Simon is a walking encyclopedia for financial services regulation.’
James Potts – 3 Verulam Buildings 'He is persuasive, clear, and very calm under pressure.'
Simon Pritchard –Blackstone Chambers ‘Simon is very experienced, with great knowledge of how the FCA thinks. He is a safe pair of hands.'
James Purchas –4 Pump Court ‘A junior operating at the level of a silk.'
Robert Purves –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Robert's advice is always clear and concise.'
Ajay Ratan –Blackstone Chambers ‘A junior with very strong analytical skills, and he is very responsive and client-friendly.'
Adam Temple –3 Verulam Buildings ‘Adam is an incredible all-round talent. He is extremely clever and astonishingly diligent. His eye for detail is matched by his appreciation of the bigger picture. He makes the best points really count.'
Michael Uberoi  – XXIV Old Buildings ‘A very personable and robust junior.’
2
Harry Adamson –Blackstone Chambers
William Day – 3 Verulam Buildings ‘An absolute intellectual powerhouse.’
William Hibbert –Henderson Chambers ‘William is a star - his advice is clear and concise, and he’s extremely knowledgeable, meaning no stone is left unturned.’
Rebecca Loveridge –Fountain Court Chambers ‘Rebecca is excellent at providing incisive advice.'
Iain MacDonald –Gough Square Chambers 'He is a very confident barrister.'
Andrew Maguire –Littleton Chambers 'Andrew is an excellent strategist with a rare talent for making the complicated uncomplicated.'
Stephen Neville –Gough Square Chambers ‘A responsive and pragmatic advocate.'
Elizabeth Ovey –Radcliffe Chambers 'A very detail-oriented barrister.'
James Ross –Gough Square Chambers
Leonora Sagan  – Fountain Court Chambers ‘She builds great rapport with clients.’
Thomas Samuels – Henderson Chambers 'He is formidable in court and very well prepared. He always develops a good rapport with the judge.'
Theodor van Sante –3 Verulam Buildings 'Theo has a brilliant mind for detail. He is a creative thinker which augments his excellent understanding of the commercial and regulatory arena.'
David Simpson –3 Verulam Buildings
Justina Stewart –Outer Temple Chambers
Kate Urell –Gough Square Chambers 'Kate is friendly and approachable, but at the same time fiercely focused on the relevant and important; she's efficient, knowledgeable and helpful. She appears to have the priceless gift of reading the judge.'
3
Tom Asquith –4 New Square 'Unflustered and methodical, Tom is not afraid to tell the client as it is.'
Clare Baker  – Outer Temple Chambers 'She is very bright and articulate.'
Chloë Bell – 3 Verulam Buildings 'She is very thorough and well prepared, with a rigorous approach that judges appreciate.'
Daniel Brayley –Gough Square Chambers 'Daniel has a wealth of knowledge in his field, and is always happy to share his insights and offer up any tactical solutions which may assist the client.'
Cleon Catsambis –3 Verulam Buildings
Nazeer Chowdhury –Henderson Chambers
Lee Finch  – Gough Square Chambers 'Lee is a true financial services expert and he is extremely thorough in his advice.'
Kathryn Hughes –QEB Hollis Whiteman
Jas Jandu – 3 Hare Court 'A proactive junior who is able to distill a large volume of regulatory material and multi-jurisdictional considerations into practical, client-facing guidance.'
Robin Kingham – Gough Square Chambers 'He has a wealth of knowledge in his field.'
Stephen Kosmin –11KBW 'A user-friendly barrister.'
Robin Lööf – Fountain Court Chambers 'A truly superb junior for financial services: immensely hard-working, enormously knowledgeable and a delight to work with. Top class.'
Sophie Mallinckrodt –3 Verulam Buildings
Teniola Onabanjo – 3 Verulam Buildings
Suzanne Rab   - Matrix Chambers
Emily Saunderson –Quadrant Chambers
Julia Smith –Henderson Chambers 'She is a very commercial junior.'
Alastair Tomson –4 Stone Buildings

Rising Stars

Ava Mayer – Blackstone Chambers 'Ava is destined for great things. Intelligent, communicative, a team player, all over the detail and great with clients.'
Henry Reid – Outer Temple Chambers 'He has a tremendous energy and ability to get immersed in the detail of a case. He is excellent at rolling up his sleeves and getting involved in the technical issues as required.'

Financial services and fintech regulation in London Bar

Blackstone Chambers


The members of Blackstone Chambers have extensive experience handling regulatory and litigation for a wide variety of regulatory authorities, corporations and individuals. Key areas of practice for the set include, market authorisations, listing rules, market abuse as well as insider trading. Monica Carss-Frisk KC led Celia Rooney, who was instructed by the Finance and Leasing Association in Close Brothers and FirstRand v Hopcraft & Johnson & Ors, in respect of its proposed intervention in the impending Supreme Court regarding motor finance commission payments. Javan Herberg KC led Daniel Burgess in BlueCrest v FCA where the Court of Appeal overturned the Upper Tribunal decision striking out the FCA’s £700m redress requirement.

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Fountain Court Chambers


Fountain Court Chambers’ fintech and financial regulatory practice complements its banking and finance provision, and entails strong international capabilities as well as key work in regulatory investigations and enforcement actions. Bankim Thanki KC  is acting on behalf of the former CEO and CFO of Metro Bank, which is facing an FCA investigation into alleged breaches of listing rules around Metro’s Q3 trading update in October 2018.  Eleanor Davison assisting the same regulator in relation to the collapse of London Capital and Finance. Richard Lissack KC is assisting Seganti Capital Management, which Hong Kong’s SFC accuses of insider dealing in criminal proceedings.

Referenzen

‚Alex Taylor is everything you look for in a senior clerk.‘

‚Sian Huckett stands out.‘

‚Efficient clerking team.‘





3 Verulam Buildings


3 Verulam Buildings provides a range of contentious and non-contentious assistance to financial institutions, their clients and regulators. Philip Hinks  is involved in Legal & General v Glencore plc, a case concerning claims under s.90 and s.90A of FSMA regarding the mining giant's prospectuses. Ian Wilson KC continues to act in Farol & others v Clydesdale Bank plc & National Australia Bank Ltd, leading Richard Hanke  and opposing Andrew Onslow KC and Lisa Lacob  in the case, which concerns break clauses on early repayments in fixed-rate business loans. Charlotte Eborall  is involved in NMC Opco Ltd v Noor Bank PJSC, concerning s.251 ADGM Insolvency Regulations (equivalent to s213 Insolvency Act 1986) for the bank’s alleged participation in the NMC Health scandal.

Referenzen

‚Harry Freeman is always responsive, very pragmatic and easy to deal with.‘

‚Fantastic clerking room on all fronts.‘

‚Highly efficient and helpful clerks who are straightforward and easy to deal with.‘





Gough Square Chambers


Best-known for its work in consumer financial services, Gough Square Chambers is well-regarded in this area, being frequently instructed by government bodies including HM Treasury, the FCA, and the FSCS. Jonathan Kirk KC  is leading Sabrina Goodchild  in a judicial review of the decision of the regulators to cap international interchange fees for credit card payments made to UK merchants by EEA cardholders not present at the time of the transaction.

Referenzen

‚Bob Weekes is a stalwart who needs no introduction.‘

‚The clerks are excellent, especially Jack Bradshaw who attends to issues extremely quickly.‘

‚Jack Bradshaw is very efficient and ensures matters run smoothly from start to finish.‘





Henderson Chambers


With a long-standing reputation in advising on FCA regulatory matters, Henderson Chambers’ offering is bolstered by the set’s strength in consumer and finance law. Thomas Samuels was instructed on McGowan v Bricker & Bricker concerning declarations of enforceability under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and Consumer Credit Act 1974. William Hibbert continues to demonstrate strength in consumer finance matters.

Referenzen

‚The clerks are very responsive.‘

‚There is strength in depth at Henderson Chambers.‘





Outer Temple Chambers


Outer Temple Chambers handles a range of specialist financial services work – from non-contentious guidance through to appearing before the RDC, Upper Tribunal, and other financial regulators, as well as the courts. 2025 silk Oliver Powell KC  is routinely called upon to advise banks and financial institutions on complex and discrete points of law concerning AML and sanctions.

Referenzen

‚The clerks really are excellent. Nicholas Levett and Dave Lovitt have been particularly helpful, dealing with matters promptly.‘