3VB Recruits Expert Insolvency Barristers, Jamie Riley QC and James McWilliams
3 Verulam Buildings has today announced that leading commercial litigation and insolvency barristers Jamie Riley QC and James McWilliams have joined them from Littleton Chambers.
In a joint statement, Heads of Chambers Ewan McQuater QC and Adrian Beltrami QC said “We are delighted to be welcoming Jamie and James to 3VB. It is great to attract barristers of their quality – Jamie, having just taken silk this year, and James as a junior of obvious and strong potential – in addition to the excellent lateral hires we made in 2018 and earlier. As well as their talent in commercial dispute resolution in general, as recognised by the legal directories, they will also particularly enhance our existing substantial practice in insolvency and restructuring.”
Jamie Riley QC said “We have greatly enjoyed our time at Littleton Chambers and we would like to thank our colleagues there for all their friendship and support. We now look forward to joining 3VB, which is a perfect fit for the areas in which we practice. 3VB is a heavyweight commercial chambers, which allows us to continue expanding and developing our work in the areas of commercial dispute resolution, fraud, insolvency and banking, both domestically and internationally.”
3VB was named as The Legal 500’s Insolvency Set of the Year for 2018 and Commercial Litigation Set of the Year for 2019; 3VB was also chosen as the Legal Business Chambers of the Year for 2019 and is shortlisted as Chambers of the Year in The Lawyer Awards 2019, to be announced later this month.
Jamie Riley QC (1995, QC 2019) is a highly respected commercial litigator whose experience covers all types of commercial disputes. His practice encompasses contractual disputes, insolvency and corporate restructuring, fraud and asset tracing, company disputes involving claims against directors and between shareholders, banking and financial services. Jamie is regularly involved in cases which have international elements giving rise to jurisdictional issues. His practice is mainly based in the Chancery Division and the Commercial Court in London and he has also appeared before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. He appeared as lead advocate for the Respondent before the Supreme Court in Bailey v Angove’s Pty Ltd, an important case clarifying the law of both agency and constructive trusts. Further afield, Jamie has been involved in various proceedings in foreign jurisdictions, in particular, the Caribbean, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Jamie has regularly been recommended as a leading practitioner by the legal directories for Commercial Litigation and Insolvency gaining praise for his excellent legal skills, strong advocacy and client friendly manner.
James McWilliams (2011) has a broad commercial practice which regularly sees him instructed in high-value commercial disputes and arbitrations. The legal directories have ranked him as one of the top ten commercial juniors under eight years’ call at the Bar for three consecutive years. His experience includes business agreements and contractual disputes of all kinds, civil fraud, banking and financial services related litigation, company, partnership and insolvency matters, fiduciaries and professional negligence. Much of his work has an international element, involving multiple jurisdictions or questions as to the appropriate choice of law or jurisdiction.
In 2018, 3VB recruited as “lateral hires” Hodge Malek QC, Hefin Rees QC, Saima Hanif, Farhaz Khan, Yash Bheeroo, James Potts and Cleon Catsambis, with Jane Davies Evans, Philip Hinks and Mark Wassouf also joining in recent years. 3VB has also recruited eight tenants from pupillage in the last three years and, in the 2019 QC appointments round, had three barristers taking silk: Peter de Verneuil Smith QC, Nicholas Craig QC and Christopher Harris QC.
