Jen Coyne joins Monckton Chambers

Members of Chambers are delighted to announce that Jen Coyne has joined Monckton Chambers as of today, 27 March 2024.

Jen’s practice includes Procurement & Public law, Employment law (both commercial/business protection and statutory), and, increasingly, disputes involving an international element. As well as fitting into larger teams, she is experienced in leading litigation and appearing as sole counsel in the Court of Appeal, High Court, EAT and the Tribunals. Jen is also appointed to the Attorney General’s C Panel of Counsel.

Jen is recommended in the leading directories, in which clients have described her as:

  • An absolutely excellent barrister” – Chambers & Partners.
  • An invaluable source of support in complex employment litigation matters, particularly involving whistle-blowing and data protection issues” – Chambers & Partners.
  • She is very thorough with her preparation, very collaborative and very bright. Her command of complex or large brief is extremely good, particularly given her relative lack of seniority. Her advocacy is also excellent, and it is always clear that she is well prepared – very much in demand” – Legal 500.
  • Jen achieves great results in tricky and novel cases. She is very thoroughly prepared and is calm and consistent. The results spoke for themselves in a judgment which exceeded our expectations” – Chambers & Partners.
  • Jen is very agile and easy to work with. Her submissions are top quality. Underestimate her at your peril” – Chambers & Partners.
  • Highly intelligent with sound judgement. Very thorough and well-structured work” – Legal 500.
  • Great to work with. Excellent attention to the detail. Extremely bright. Pragmatic and sensible”; “Hugely bright” – Legal 500.

Philip Moser KC and Tim Ward KC, Joint Heads of Chambers, welcomes Jen to Chambers: ” We are delighted that Jen Coyne has joined Monckton Chambers. Jen will not only bring her procurement and public law expertise to Monckton, which is extremely welcome, she will also strengthen our commercial offering across the board.”

Jen says, “It is a privilege to make Monckton Chambers my new professional home. I’ve greatly enjoyed working with Members to date, in the National Lottery litigation. I look forward to continuing to do so within Chambers, assisting clients to fight their most important, complex cases, and further developing my practice in line with Chambers’ many strengths”.

To view Jen’s’ full profile, please click here.

Three New Silks: Brendan McGurk, Philip Woolfe and Ewan West

The members and staff of Monckton Chambers warmly congratulate Brendan McGurk, Philip Woolfe and Ewan West on ‘taking silk’ today.

Members will be sworn-in along with other new KCs, at the official King’s Counsel Appointments Ceremony at Westminster.

Brendan is a leading junior with a wealth of experience in Commercial, Public law and Regulatory disputes. He is recommended in Legal Directories in the fields of Administrative & Public, Public Procurement, Tax, Life Sciences regulatory, Competition, EU and Animal Law. “His capacity to understand and get to grips with complex issues is really very impressive.”

Philip is an EU law specialist with a particular focus on Competition Law and Telecommunications. He also has experience in Public Procurement, Commercial Litigation and Indirect Tax. He is a recommended for Competition/European Law and Telecommunications Law in Chambers and Partners, which has described him as “an absolutely fantastic junior who is extremely bright and knowledgeable about telecoms” and as having “a great work ethic and is very hands-on.” He was shortlisted by Chambers and Partners for Competition Junior of the Year in 2023.

Ewan has a wide-ranging and well-established practice spanning all of Chambers’ main areas of activity, including public procurement, competition, commercial, tax and duties, EU law and EU relations law, regulatory law (especially telecommunications and utilities), information rights, administrative and public law and sports law. He is recommended in Legal Directories in the fields of Public Procurement and Administrative Law. “He has got a really good strategic brain and his written work is first class.”

The full list of KC appointments, announced on the 19 January, can be viewed on the KCA website.

Brendan McGurk features in The Lawyer’s top 10 appeals of 2024

The Lawyer has highlighted 10 disputes set to be heard in both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in 2024. Monckton Chambers’ Brendan McGurk is instructed in the following case:

The Humane League (Appellants) v the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) (Respondents)

Brendan is instructed on behalf of the Appellant by Advocates for Animals’ director Edie Bowles.

Subscribers to The Lawyer can read the full article here.

 

The Lawyer Hot 100 2024 – Daniel Beard KC recognised

Every year, The Lawyer Hot 100 recognises a diverse mix of legal professionals who have been the standout lawyers in the UK over the previous twelve months. This year, Monckton Chambers has one member amongst the 11 “Hot 100” barristers listed – Daniel Beard KC.

Daniel Beard KC is described as follows:

With clients including Apple, Microsoft, and Sony demanding his attention, Monckton Chambers’ Daniel Beard KC is among the most in-demand silks at the Inns of Court. Whether it’s dealing with a growing volume of class actions, or challenging competition authority decisions, Beard is reshaping the boundaries of competition law both at home and abroad. Along with his regular appearances in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, he is widely regarded as a leading figure in the EU Court of Justice and General Court in Luxembourg.

An intellectual heavyweight, Beard is a passionate advocate who can present the most complex matters in neat, persuasive arguments that satisfy the demands of both clients and courts. The tech giants will face increased regulatory scrutiny from around the globe in 2024. For these clients, securing Beard as barrister is equivalent to gold-plating any required defence, potentially protecting billions in revenue.

Subscribers to The Lawyer can read the full article and details of the hundred here.

Luke Kelly has joined Monckton Chambers

Members of Chambers are delighted to announce that Luke Kelly has joined Monckton Chambers as of today, Monday 22nd January 2024.

Luke has 13 years of experience practising at the Bar in South Africa. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in July 2022.

Luke has experience and expertise in the fields of competition law, public law, and general commercial law. He has appeared in a number of prominent cases in courts and tribunals in South Africa and Namibia.

He is the lead author and editor of Principles of Competition Law in South Africa (Oxford University Press), and co-author and editor of Class Action Litigation in South Africa (Juta).

Philip Moser KC, Joint Head of Chambers, welcomes Luke to Chambers, Members of Monckton Chambers are delighted to welcome Luke Kelly, a leading competition lawyer and principal author of the leading text on competition law in South Africa. Luke will reinforce and enhance the burgeoning Monckton competition practice, augmenting the existing litigation team. Friendly and approachable as well as erudite, we know he will be popular with clients.”

Luke says, “I am very excited to have joined Monckton Chambers. Its members are involved in a remarkable array of interesting and high-profile work domestically and abroad. I have been humbled by the warm welcome that I have received from members, and I look forward to learning from them, and working hard to contribute to the set’s outstanding reputation.” 

 To view Luke’s full profile, please click here.

Monckton Announces Three New Silks

Monckton Chambers is very pleased to announce the appointment of Brendan McGurkPhilip Woolfe and Ewan West to King’s Counsel.

The official swearing-in ceremony will take place on Monday 18 March at Westminster.

The joint Heads of Monckton Chambers Tim Ward KC and Philip Moser KC commented: “We are delighted with the three appointments, which reflect the candidates’ hard work and standing across five of Monckton Chambers’ principal practice areas: Competition, Commercial, Public Law, VAT and Procurement.”

The members and staff of Chambers warmly congratulate Brendan, Philip and Ewan on their new appointments.

The full list of KC appointments, announced on the 19 January, can be viewed on the KCA website.

Monckton Chambers becomes an Advocate Pro Bono Patron

Monckton Chambers is delighted to become an Advocate Silver Circle Pro Bono Patron. 

Advocate is the Bar’s national pro bono charity that makes it possible for barristers to balance a dedicated practice and make a significant contribution to the community, making access to justice available to all.

In addition to this patronage, our members already frequently donate their time and expertise to those who may otherwise be unable to obtain legal aid and who cannot afford to pay for legal advice and representation.

We are proud and committed to champion this worthwhile cause, and to support Advocate to continue to provide this important service.

 

You can read more about the work of Advocate here.

Tim Ward KC Honoured by President of Iceland

Tim Ward KC has been awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Falcon by the President of Iceland. The Order “may be conferred on Icelandic or foreign individuals for achievements to the benefit of the Icelandic people”. It is the highest honour the Icelandic State can bestow on individuals. The award recognised his role in the successful defence of Iceland in the “Icesave” case before the EFTA Court.  Following the collapse of the entire Icelandic banking system in 2008, British and Dutch investors lost access to their deposits in the  privately owned Icesave bank. The British and Dutch Governments compensated individual investors and sought recovery from the Icelandic state. Proposals for repayment were rejected by the Icelandic people in two referenda. The EFTA Surveillance Authority brought infringement proceedings, arguing that under the terms of a deposit guarantee directive, the Icelandic State was obliged to ensure that the sums guaranteed were paid out. In effect the State must be the guarantor of last resort. Given the size of the bank failure, as compared to the Icelandic economy, this would  have been equivalent to a burden of tens of thousands of Euros on each Icelandic family. The Court rejected that argument, holding there was no such obligation under the Directive, at least in a case of systemic bank failure. There have since been repayments from the estate of the collapsed bank.

Professor Holger Hestermeyer invited to give oral evidence to the House of Lords International Agreements Committee

Professor Holger Hestermeyer was invited to give oral evidence to the House of Lords International Agreements Committee on UK accession to Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on 5 December 2023.

The CPTPP is one of the UK’s most significant free trade agreements, of relevance for business with countries like Australia, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Vietnam. In most cases the agreement operates in parallel with already existing bilateral Free Trade Agreements, raising complex legal questions. In addition, the agreement is of strategic importance in the Indo-Pacific region and in the current world trading system.

Professor Hestermeyer is a leading expert in the law of world trade. A recording of the meeting can be viewed here.

 

George Peretz KC announced winner of the Lexology Client Choice Award 2024, UK Competition.

George Peretz KC has been announced the winner of the Lexology Client Choice Award 2024 for UK Competition law.

Established in 2005, Client Choice recognizes those that stand apart for the excellent client care they provide and the quality of their service. The criteria for this recognition focus on an ability to add real value to clients’ business above and beyond the other players in the market.

All at Monckton Chambers congratulate George on this recognition. You can read more on the Lexology website here.