Winner: Wilberforce Chambers
All six shortlisted chambers defied the gloomy predictions about the future of the Bar by reporting strong growth over several years. Essex Court Chambers has recruited shrewdly to supplement its strength in commercial law with successful forays into the fields of employment, public international and arbitration, while its track record for recruiting and nurturing talent was underlined by the appointment of no fewer than five QCs from its ranks in the last Silk round. At the junior end, the set’s sponsorship of the ESU Essex Court Mooting Competition has proved a useful weapon in the war for talent. Three Verulam Buildings has been shrewdly building a financial services practice off the back of the recruitment of former Financial Services Authority general counsel Michael Blair QC. As well as securing secondments to the FSA, the set has also supplied a secondee to the Qatar Financial Commission.
