The Legal 500 Series, now in its 32nd year, recognises the very best law firms, chambers, silks, in-house lawyers, business leaders and general counsel operating within the UK market through its annual awards.

Based on months of research, which includes 70,000 interviews with in-house counsel, law firms and sets, the shortlist for the 2020 awards has just been announced.

Monckton Chambers and its members have been nominated for awards in three of the practice areas: EU & Competition, Public Law and Tax. The Set is nominated for all three practice areas and six members are shortlisted for individual awards:

EU and Competition

• Set of the Year
• Silk of the Year: Philip Moser QC
• Junior of the Year: Anneli Howard and Ben Lask

Public Law

• Set of the Year
• Silk of the Year: Ian Wise QC

Tax

• Set of the Year
• Silk of the Year: Melanie Hall QC
• Junior of the Year: Raymond Hill

The winners of will be announced on the Legal 500 website in the first week of December and invited to attend a ceremony on the 27th February 2020.

On the 23rd November, the European Lawyers’ Union (U.A.E.) made Professor Carl Baudenbacher an honorary member. This is the first time that this status has been bestowed on a non-EU lawyer.

The European Lawyers’ Union (U.A.E.) brings together the practicing lawyers in all the Member States of the European Union, with the primary aim of promoting the professional practice of law in Europe, as well as furthering the practice of European Union Law and of the European Convention on Human Rights.

At last night’s awards ceremony at The London Hilton on Park Lane, Monckton Chambers members came away with two awards – Melanie Hall QC won Silk of the Year for Tax and Rob Williams won Competition Junior of the Year.

The awards are based on research for the 2020 edition of Chambers UK Bar. These awards reflect a set’s pre-eminence in key practice areas. They also reflect notable achievements over the past 12 months including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service.

 

The recently launched Chambers Bar UK 2020 ranks 53 individual Monckton barristers across 18 practice areas with many appearing in multiple categories.

Monckton Chambers is one of the most highly ranked sets in the UK as it has been recommended in eleven practice areas; in five of these, Monckton is recognised as a “Band One” leading set:

• Competition
• European Law
• Telecommunications
• Public Procurement
• Indirect Tax

The Set has also been ranked in a further six categories:

• Administrative and Public Law
• Civil Liberties & Human Rights
• Data Protection
• Sports Law
• Environment
• Community Care

Individual members were also recognised as “Leading Individuals” in a further seven categories:

• Aviation
• Commercial Dispute Resolution – London and North East
• Education
• Immigration
• Local Government
• Public International Law
• Crime: International Criminal Law

This is how the researchers summarised the set:

A “first-choice set” for competition and EU law, Monckton Chambers also earns top-tier rankings for its indirect tax and telecommunications expertise. It is also widely considered one of “the leading public procurement disputes chambers.” The set houses an enviable bench of competition and EU experts including Daniel Beard QC, who is described by market sources as “a leading competition silk with profound knowledge of competition law issues, case law and procedure.” Top-ranked Gerry Facenna QC has quickly risen the rankings owing to his “really pragmatic approach” to EU law. Anneli Howard, whom a solicitor describes as “one of the leading juniors of her generation,” has the distinction of being ranked in the highest tier for both disciplines. The set is regularly called on by public bodies and international corporations to act in cases which address the most pressing issues of the day. The “premier competition silk” Jon Turner QC has recently represented household names including National Grid and British Airways. On behalf of Chris Leslie MP and Tom Brake MP, members successfully argued at the CJEU that the UK’s notice under Article 50 is unilaterally revocable. Monckton Chambers’ “excellent barristers” are also recognised this year for their work in community care, administrative and public law, civil liberties and human rights, data protection, environment and sports law.

For further details on how Monckton Chambers performed, visit the Chambers and Partners website.

Monckton Chambers is delighted to announce that Will Perry and Alfred Artley have accepted invitations to join Chambers following successful completion of pupillage.

Will is a graduate of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford with a first in History. In January 2020, he will take up a role as a judicial assistant in the High Court (Administrative Court).

Alfred graduated from Merton College,Oxford with a first in Literae Humaniores. Prior to coming to the bar, he spent four years teaching Classics at Winchester College.

Will and Alfred became tenants on 1st October 2019 having experienced a broad range of practice areas as part of pupillage.

Legal Week has announced the shortlist for The British Legal Awards 2019 and Monckton Chambers is one of seven sets nominated for Chambers of the Year. The 29 category winners will be selected by an independent judging panel which includes senior business lawyers from major banks and corporates, as well as former private practice leaders and the awards will be presented at a ceremony in London on Thursday 21st November 2019, hosted by Legal Week in association with The City of London Law Society.

For the full list of this year’s finalists, click here.

In the recently launched Legal 500 UK Bar 2020, 47 individual barristers from Monckton Chambers are listed across 19 practice areas with many recommended in multiple categories.

Monckton Chambers has been recommended, as a TOP-TIER set in the following five practice areas:

• Competition
• EU law
• Telecoms (regulatory)
• Public procurement
• Tax – VAT

The Set has also been ranked in a further four areas:

• Administrative and public law (including local government)
• Civil liberties and human rights (including actions against the police)
• Data protection
• Sport

Individual members were also recognised as “Leading Individuals” in:

• Aviation
• Construction
• Education
• Environment
• Immigration (including business immigration)
• International arbitration: counsel
• International Crime & Extradition
• Professional negligence
• Public international law
• Social housing

The annual legal directory further described the Set as follows:

Although known as a ‘leading set’ for EU, competition, and public procurement law instructions, thanks to having ‘excellent strength in depth across the spectrum’, Monckton Chambers ‘also has barristers who can turn their hand to more esoteric public law challenges’. Chambers is also a ‘go-to’ for civil liberties and human rights work. ‘Barristers have always made themselves available on a pro bono basis, including at the highest level, and consistently produced work of the highest quality.’ Robert Palmer, Ronit Kreisberger, and Valentina Sloane took silk in 2019. Meanwhile, in other news, Steven Gee QC joined chambers after five years at boutique litigation firm Joseph Hage Aaronson LLP, while Ben Emmerson QC arrived from Matrix Chambers. Senior clerk David Hockney and his deputy, John Keegan, ‘run a great clerking team’ that is ‘a cut above all other sets’. The clerks are ‘responsive to requests for assistance; open to considering varied arrangements for instruction, and thoroughly 21st century in their use of technology and means of communications’. First junior Steven Duffett is ‘highly effective in a hands-on and task-focused way’.

See full Monckton Chambers’ rankings here.

Professor Panos Koutrakos has been awarded a Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law by the European Commission. The Chair is accompanied by a financial award which, in the course of the next three years, will fund a range of activities, including the organisation of seminars and conferences on the role of the EU in the world and the relationship between EU and international law.

It is the third time in his career that this prestigious Chair has been awarded to Professor Koutrakos. The award decision recognises him as ‘an excellent scholar’ whose ‘expertise in the field of the law of the EU’s external relations is of special importance in the context of post-Brexit relations’.

Professor Koutrakos is a leading authority on EU law, who has written and advised in a wide range of issues, including trade and internal market law and, in particular, in those areas where EU law meets international law. He recently gave a lecture at the Legal Conference 2019 organised by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt on the relevance of EU law to investment arbitration (read here).

The shortlists for Chambers UK Bar Awards 2019 have been announced and Monckton Chambers and its members are up for multiple awards across two categories.

Monckton Chambers is nominated for the Set award for Competition with Paul Harris QC in the final three for Silk of the Year and Rob Williams for Junior of the Year for the same category.

Monckton is also in the running for the Set award for Tax with Melanie Hall QC shortlisted in the final three for Silk of the Year in the category.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Thursday, 31st October 2019.at The London Hilton on Park Lane.

The aim of the awards is to recognise, reward and celebrate both sets’ and individual barristers’ pre–eminence in key practice areas. The awards are based on the research for the 2020 edition of Chambers Bar and reflect notable achievements over the past 12 months including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service.

The members of Monckton Chambers are pleased to announce that in the recent round of Attorney General Panel appointments, Ewan West has been elevated to the A Panel and Imogen Proud has been appointed to the C Panel.

In addition Raymond Hill, Andrew Macnab and Peter Mantle have all been successful with renewed A Panel applications.

All appointments commence from 2nd September for five years.

The Attorney General maintains four advisory panels of junior counsel to undertake civil and EU work for all government departments. There are three London panels (an A panel for senior juniors, a B panel for middle juniors, a C panel for junior juniors) and a regional panel. In addition there are three Public International Law Panels.

In total 21 members of Monckton Chambers are on the AG’s panels:

A Panel: Raymond Hill, Anneli Howard, Alan Bates, Ben Lask, Andrew Macnab, Peter Mantle, Brendan McGurk, Rob Williams, Ewan West

B Panel: Eric Metcalfe, Azeem Suterwalla, Fiona Banks

C Panel: Anneliese Blackwood, Tarlochan Lall, Julianne Kerr Morrison, Conor McCarthy, Michael Armitage, Jack Williams, Imogen Proud

Public International Law B Panel: Anneli Howard, Thomas Sebastian

Public International Law C Panel: Nikolaus Grubeck