- Chambers & Partners UK Bar
With a deep bench of highly ranked individuals, the set boasts some of the strongest practitioners in the market.
About Us
3VB is a leading barristers’ chambers providing specialist advocacy and advisory services worldwide specialising in commercial and financial litigation, dispute resolution, international arbitration and public international law. Chambers’ legal excellence and the quality of service provided to our clients are praised in the leading law directories.
Chambers has been recognised as being “regularly instructed on some of the largest commercial disputes to hit the London and international courts and tribunals” by the Legal 500 and as having a “deep bench of highly ranked individuals, the set boasts some of the strongest practitioners in the market” and have a “market-leading reputation” arising from “its involvement in headline-grabbing commercial cases” by Chambers & Partners. The Joint Heads of Chambers are Ewan McQuater KC and David Quest KC.
Members of Chambers principally practice in the areas of: banking & finance, civil fraud, chancery commercial, commercial dispute resolution, cyber fraud/cryptocurrency and digital assets, energy (including natural resources and infrastructure), financial crime, financial services, group litigation, information technology, insolvency & restructuring, insurance & reinsurance, international arbitration, offshore, media & entertainment (including art & cultural property), professional negligence and public international law. See more information about the areas of practice members specialise in can be found here and the individual profiles of members.
Chambers currently has 98 full-time practitioners. Members of Chambers accept instructions individually or as part of a team, providing specialist advice and advocacy services in contentious and non-contentious matters within their areas of law, both domestically and worldwide. Chambers is not a firm or partnership, rather it operates as a collective of individual barristers who are self-employed sole practitioners. Members of Chambers are frequently retained by opposing sides of a dispute and 3VB has appropriate safeguards and protocols in place to preserve and protect confidentiality.
Members regularly appear before the domestic courts and tribunals, from County Court hearings to complex trials in the High Court and appeals before the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and Privy Council. Members also frequently appear before specialist, disciplinary and ad-hoc tribunals and bodies. Members also appear, as registered practitioners or by way of ad hoc admissions, before Courts in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the Abu Dhabi International Financial Centre (ADGM), the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Cyprus. Members also regularly advise on and appear in arbitration disputes around the world, whether under ad-hoc or specific institutional rules. Those who act as international arbitrators are frequently appointed to arbitral panels with domestic or international arbitral seats.
In addition, 3VB possesses extremely strong credentials in investor-state arbitration and is fast becoming one of the premier sets for public international law matters. Specialist members have wide range experience across all areas of public international law. They are experienced in advising states, corporations and international organisations on their rights and obligations on the international plane. Members appear regularly before international courts and tribunals and in public international law matters in the English courts.
The clerking team is led by the Senior Practice Managers, Stephen Penson and Stuart Pullum, who are recognised by the Legal 500 (2022) as being “charming, efficient and easy to deal with.” The clerking room at 3VB is regarded as one of the best around and the legal directories have recognised 3VB as being “exceptionally strong and well clerked“, having “superb clerking“, which is “very approachable and commercial”, “highly efficient and user-friendly” and generally “very responsive, professional and pleasant”. See information about the Practice Managers and their contact details.
Social Responsibility
At 3VB, we believe in contributing to society, promoting justice, and supporting access to the legal profession. Of course, many individual barristers and staff give their time, enthusiasm and money to help their own favourite causes, but Chambers itself has, as part of its core values, a commitment to contributing to its community.
Local Community
Chambers supports St Mungo’s and Crisis UK and, through our own charity, the 3VB Charitable Trust, Chambers is pleased to assist various other projects and organisations in the local community.
Access to the Legal Profession
3VB takes part in outreach programmes with schools, promoting the profession especially to those groups of society currently under-represented. We also fund a number of academic prizes and a substantial graduate law scholarship.
Justice
- A corporate member of JUSTICE and, now, the only barristers’ chambers to be a member of The JUSTICE60.
- A donor (one of only two chambers listed) to the Bingham Appeal, to establish the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law.
- A Gold Sponsor of the National Bar Pro Bono Centre, through our continuing contributions to the Free Representation Unit and the Bar Pro Bono Unit.
- A regular participant in and supporter of the London Legal Walk.
- A Legal Partner of Advocates for International Development.
- A major sponsor of BAILII.
Equality & Diversity
3VB is committed to equality of opportunity and diversity in the workplace. We strive to ensure that the principle of fair and equal treatment is upheld in all areas of our business, including recruitment of pupils, members and staff and also in the areas of practice development of members of Chambers and promotion of staff.
We recognise the importance of having a workplace that is free from discrimination and we will not tolerate discrimination against clients, members of Chambers, pupils or staff on grounds of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, nationality, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, religion or belief. In particular, we believe that this will help us to recruit and retain members of Chambers and staff of the highest quality from the widest pool of talent.
Chambers has a detailed Equality & Diversity policy which is regularly reviewed. 3VB is committed to assisting all members and staff, male and female, to manage their family responsibilities and to enjoy a rewarding career in Chambers. We have comprehensive maternity & paternity policies which reflect our philosophy in this regard. A copy of the policy is available to view here.
Diversity Data
We are pleased to publish, as required by the Bar Standards Board, diversity data relating to the barristers and staff in Chambers. The latest survey was carried out in 2019 and the resultant data is available below.