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IT And Telecoms: Projects And Services

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4 Pump Court
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8 New Square
Three New Square
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11 South Square
Atkin Chambers
Twenty Essex

Leading Silks

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Lawrence Akka KC – Twenty Essex ‘Lawrence is an extremely intelligent advocate, with an excellent command not only of the law but of the technology behind IT systems also.’
Guy Burkill KC – Three New Square
Alex Charlton KC – 4 Pump Court ‘Alex is one of the pillars of the English IT Bar; a polished advocate with a genuine gift for reducing complex issues to intelligible soundbites.’
Philip Roberts KC – One Essex Court ‘Philip is fantastic to work with. An outstanding advocate who is excellent with clients and brilliant in court.'
Michael Silverleaf KC – 11 South Square
Nigel Tozzi KC – 4 Pump Court
Mark Vanhegan KC – 11 South Square
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Michael Douglas KC – 4 Pump Court
James Howells KC – Atkin Chambers ‘James is down-to-earth and has a ferocious work-rate with incredible attention-to-detail, brilliant strategic vision, calmness, deep sector knowledge and interest, and a rolls-up-his-sleeves approach.'
Brian Nicholson KC – 11 South Square
Thomas Raphael KC – Twenty Essex
David Streatfeild-James KC – Atkin Chambers
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Daniel Alexander KC – 8 New Square
Terence Bergin KC – 4 Pump Court
Sarah Ford KC – Brick Court Chambers ‘Sarah is the go-to silk for competition-related FRAND issues. An excellent cross-examiner who knows when to speak up and when to hold back. Good client care skills.'
Thomas Hinchliffe KC – Three New Square 'Thomas has a calm and diligent approach.'
Martin Howe KC – 8 New Square 'Martin has a brilliant mind and it is obvious when he is on his feet that the judges respect him greatly.'
Paul Lowenstein KC – Twenty Essex 'Paul is an impressive advocate with a wide-ranging practice. Highly recommended.'
Robert O’Donoghue KC – Brick Court Chambers ‘Robert is an excellent KC. A go-to for the most complex cases, with written advocacy that is second-to-none and a great presence in court. Robert also has great judgment and is extremely commercial. Simply amazing.'
Roger Stewart KC – 4 New Square ‘Roger is a leader in his field.'
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Sarah Abram KC – Brick Court Chambers ‘Sarah  is a fantastic team leader and team player, whose leadership is instrumental in keeping teams united and motivated throughout cases.’
Douglas Campbell KC – Three New Square
Mark Chacksfield KC – 8 New Square 
Matthew Lavy KC – 4 Pump Court ‘Matthew is an absolute genius. Such a fantastic mind that it could be intimidating were he not so incredibly user-friendly. Absolutely at the top of his game at the moment.’
Ben Lynch KC – Fountain Court Chambers
Lynne McCafferty KC – 4 Pump Court
Benjamin Pilling KC – 4 Pump Court
Nicholas Saunders KC – Brick Court Chambers

2024 Silks

Josephine Davies KC – Twenty Essex ‘Josephine is extremely bright and considers the case from all angles. Josephine is very welcoming of input from all the team such that no stones are left unturned when it comes to putting together the strongest case.’
Tristan Jones KC – Blackstone Chambers

Leading Juniors

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Simon Henderson – 4 Pump Court ‘Simon has given extremely competent and relevant advice – experienced, hands-on, non-judgmental and approachable. Others really enjoy working with him.’
Jaani Riordan –8 New Square ‘Jaani is an excellent advocate. Incredibly thorough and clear, and packs a real punch with technical excellence.'
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Joe Delaney –Three New Square
Daniel Goodkin – 4 Pump Court 'Daniel's written advocacy is first-rate. Daniel understands the technical complexities of complicated cases and his work ethic is extraordinary.'
Michael Hicks – Hogarth Chambers
Iain Munro – 4 Pump Court ‘Iain is very solid junior - outstanding, extremely detailed and methodical and invaluable on a document-heavy case. A very measured and calm approach as an advocate, which judges often appreciate.'
Thomas Ogden – 4 New Square
Jacob Turner – Fountain Court Chambers 'Jacob's advice is effortlessly lucid and delivered at speed, yet never lacking in rigour or practical insight. He has a rare talent for distilling complex technical issues into crystal-clear recommendations. His client manner is elegant and unfailingly pragmatic, and he commands respect from juniors and silks alike.'
Nik Yeo – Fountain Court Chambers
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Patrick Clarke – Atkin Chambers ‘Patrick is a pleasure to work with as he sees the issues clearly, is unflappable and is loved by clients, with a real depth of expertise and experience in IT disputes.'
Miles Copeland – Three New Square
Jonathan Hill – 8 New Square ‘Jonathan is one of the best juniors in the area. Extremely bright, responsive and charming. Clients also appreciate his thoughtful and commercial advice.'
Rebecca Keating – 4 Pump Court ‘Rebecca is a superb junior. Her advocacy, both on her feet and on paper, is precise, measured, and effective – Rebecca is genuinely excellent.’
Daniel Khoo – 4 Pump Court ‘Daniel is highly intelligent, has a great drafting style, is easy to work with and a good advocate – able to hold his own against a KC.’
Michael Lazarus – 3 Verulam Buildings
Richard Osborne – 4 Pump Court
Gideon Shirazi – 4 Pump Court ‘Gideon is the go-to barrister for any IT or outsourcing dispute; brilliant at getting to the nub of any issue and always provides sensible, commercial and pragmatic advice.’ 
Quentin Tannock – 4 Pump Court ‘Quentin is an excellent advocate with great drafting skills and excellent and current industry knowledge, which is very helpful.’
Guy Tritton – Hogarth Chambers
Laura Wright – 4 Pump Court ‘Laura is well-suited to handle technically complex computer science cases; Laura is responsive, has strong attention-to-detail and handles the expert witness side effectively.'

IT and telecoms: projects and services in London Bar

4 Pump Court


4 Pump Court is a set with a strong reputation for its capabilities, handling cases at the cutting edge of tech development. It is well-regarded for its ‘excellent bench-strength at all levels’ and its caseload includes complex disputes regarding cybersecurity, complex software and hardware issues, crypto, blockchain and AI. Daniel Goodkin is acting for the claimant in Entertainment App Limited v Patel & Others, a case which involved a £500m claim related to the assignment and development of a tech platform intended aggregate property listings; the claim alleges a failure by the defendant to deliver the agreed software before its intended commercial launch. Simon Henderson has notably been representing the Post Office in the high-profile Horizon System Group Litigation concerning the Horizon scandal. Rebecca Keating is representing The Nissan Authorised Dealerships in the Pan-NOx Emissions Litigation wherein claimants allege vehicle software manipulated emissions control.

Les références

‘Superb – sets the benchmark for effective clerking. Billy Griffiths is a superb clerk.’

‘4 Pump Court’s clerking sets the benchmark against which I judge other sets. Billy Griffiths is particularly good.’

‘Very good – Billy Griffiths is particularly user-friendly, being engaged, proactive and can-do.’

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8 New Square


8 New Square‘s barristers are noted as being ‘at the top of their game’. The set’s key recent cases include Jaani Riordan‘s representation of Microsoft in JJH Enterprise (t/a ValueLicensing) v Microsoft Corp & Ors wherein abuse of dominance in alleged owing to imposition of restrictive licence terms prohibiting resale of second-hand software licenses, with a trial anticipated for 2026. Mark Chacksfield KC‘s specialism in this area is at the intersection of patents and IT, an example of such work being the representation of the defendant in Lenovo Group Ltd v InterDigital Technology Corp, wherein it was put to the test whether a so-called FRAND interim licence could be declared in respect of patents declared as essential to telecoms standards; The Court of Appeal affirmed that limitation periods do not apply to the determination of FRAND terms for past sales and that interest is payable on the determined royalty.

Les références

‘Extremely thoughtful and accommodating clerking.’

‘Martin Williams is an elite clerk.’

‘Very good clerking.’

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Three New Square


The set at Three New Square has experience representing well-known clients in cases relating to telecoms and FRAND work in particular, an example being Joe Delaney‘s acting for the defendant in Tesla v InterDigital in respect of patents that cover the use of 5G technology in Tesla’s cars. Further recent work includes Tom Hinchliffe KC‘s acting for Lenovo in InterDigital v Lenovo in relation to its multi-mullion dollar FRAND dispute.

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11 South Square


The team at 11 South Square has a particular specialism in IP related IT disputes. Recent work across the team includes Brian Nicholson KC‘s acting for the appellant in Emotional Perception v Comptroller General of Patents which is set to take place at the Supreme Court in 2025, and regards the patentability of AI inventions, in this case of a neural network-based tool for recommending songs based on their emotional similarity others; the Court of Appeal decided the tool did not make the necessary technical contribution required to obtain patent protection. Mark Vanhegan KC is notably acting for the defendant in IBM v LzLabs GmbH, in which a company has been accused of stealing and copying trade secrets from the American tech giant claimant.

Principaux dossiers














Atkin Chambers


The ‘top quality’ set at Atkin Chambers is formed of barristers with capabilities handling business-critical system-related disputes and contractual disputes. James Howells KC is representing the claimant in Capita Life and Pensions Regulated Services Limited v Pearl Group Management Services in a dispute regarding claims of payment for insurance administration support IT services and related contract termination issues. Patrick Clarke  is led by Howells in the aforementioned, as well as in his representation of Capita in Capita Life and Pensions Regulated Services Limited v Phoenix Group Management Services Limited, a case involving a £50m dispute concerning the transfer of IT services, awaiting trial. 

Les références

‘David Barnes and Justin Wilson are absolute Rolls Royce clerks.’

‘Rick Bulaitis is approachable and commercial.’

‘A good overall service.’

Principaux dossiers














Twenty Essex


Twenty Essex‘s set is equipped to act for various well-known clients in telecoms and IT disputes. Lawrence Akka KC‘s recent case list includes representing the BBC in BBC v Arqiva Limited, in a claim for £20m service credits arising out the alleged significant failure of the Bilsdale Digital TV radio transmission mast, leading to national broadcast outages. Josephine Davies KC is notably acting for Ericsson in Motorola v Ericsson; the case forms an important part of the dispute between Ericsson and Lenovo about the price for a global patent cross licence to various telecoms standard essential patents.

Les références

‘Super clerks room. Excellent support.’

‘Availability is excellent.’