We are pleased to have achieved six set rankings, including four in Tier 1, along with 137 individual rankings across 12 practice areas in the Legal 500 UK Bar Guide 2026.
We extend our sincere thanks to our clients for their invaluable feedback. Congratulations to everyone featured in this year’s guide.
A selection of this feedback is included below:
Construction
Possessing a ‘strong depth of excellent barristers’, Keating Chambers continue to cover high-value and complex construction disputes across the UK and the world, handling fire safety claims at all levels of the English and Welsh courts and significant international arbitrations concerning infrastructure projects. Alexander Nissen KC and Tom Owen KC appeared in the Supreme Court in Augusta 2008 LLP v Abbey Healthcare, while Simon Hargreaves KC and David Sheard also appeared in the Supreme Court representing the contractors in BDW Trading Limited v URS Corporation Ltd. The set remain active on cases arising out of the Grenfell Tower fire with Simon Hughes KC and James Frampton acting for the contractor and Jonathan Selby KC and Tom Coulson representing the housebuilder in Martlet Homes v Mulalley & Co which examines liability over fire safety defects in the external walls of high-rise towers. Richard Coplin KC took silk in March 2025.
Energy
Keating Chambers is ‘a go-to set for construction resource and support’. Among them is Veronique Buehrlen KC acts for the defendant in Tullow Ghana Ltd v Vallourec Oil & Gas France, a $400m claim for allegedly defective piping installed in water injection wells in the Jubilee field off the coast of Ghana. David Thomas KC is another senior silk with a longstanding reputation in energy disputes, including a recent UK case concerning biomass plants, and international disputes over solar power components. Paul Buckingham KC continues to make a name for himself as a new silk, his work for Valero in bringing claims arising from damage to a petroleum pipeline supplying two major UK terminals illustrating his presence in domestic matters. Promising junior Jennie Wild has a broad practice that includes international disputes concerning power station construction, as well as domestic matters, and Paul Bury’s work in a £132m TCC claim concerning a waste-to-energy power plant gives a glimpse into his broad energy practice.
International arbitration: arbitrators
A ‘leading set for construction arbitration’, members of Keating Chambers are regularly appointed in arbitrations across the globe, including those arising in the UK, Europe, the Caribbean and the Middle East. On top of its construction expertise, the set also contains experience in disputes within the infrastructure and energy sectors. Its members are appointed by the ICC, LCIA, LMAA, DIAC and SIAC, among other leading arbitral institutions. Robert Gaitskell KC brings his knowledge gained as a chartered engineer to complex construction disputes involving a broad array of arbitral bodies and rules, including UNCITRAL, ICC and LCIA. A full-time arbitrator and adjudicator, Marcus Taverner KC acts on construction, engineering and energy disputes across the globe. Veronique Buehrlen KC ‘manages cases with skill and deep common sense’, having experience as a Deputy High Court Judge and an arbitrator in institutional and ad hoc arbitrations. Other key names include John Marrin KC, Alexander Nissen KC and Richard Harding KC.
Public procurement
With a strong reputation for acting on both sides of high-profile procurement disputes, Keating Chambers’ members are also regularly instructed by government bodies on an advisory basis. Leading James Frampton, Sarah Hannaford KC acted for Unipart Group Limited in a £4.4bn procurement contract challenge for a logistics partner which carries out procurement of medical suppliers for the NHS. Rhodri Williams KC led Tom Walker in representing Robert Heath Heating Ltd in a claim for breach of duty regarding the award of a contract for domestic heating services. Whilst Simon Taylor acted in Excelerate Technology Limited v West Midlands Ambulance Service HSFT and NHS England on a complex application for disclosure guidance.
International arbitration: counsel
With ‘very strong construction expertise’, Keating Chambers is well-placed to handle major construction arbitrations concerning major energy, transport, shipbuilding and infrastructure projects across the globe, namely Hong Kong, the Middle East, Singapore, South Africa and Australia. David Thomas KC has extensive experience acting as counsel in arbitrations concerning landmark development projects in the Middle East, while Veronique Buehrlen KC has recently acted in a number of major energy arbitrations. The set also has a strong junior bench, including Peter Brogden, whose recent experience includes major construction matters in the ICC, DIFC, LCIA and ADCCAC, Sarah Williams who excels in engineering arbitrations before the ICC and LCIA and Wen Jin Teh, who focuses his arbitration practice on matters in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Professional negligence
Keating Chambers boasts substantial expertise in construction and technology professional negligence cases, crossing over with the set’s leading position in contractual construction disputes. Members of the set routinely advise on construction-related insurance coverage issues as well as cases surrounding defective design, cladding and fire safety. Simon Hargreaves KC and David Sheard are instructed in BDW Trading v AECOM & Environment UK Ltd, URS Corporation LTD and Cameron Taylor Consulting Ltd, a prominent construction case centring on defective structural engineering across several residential developments which went to the Supreme Court in 2024. Jonathan Selby KC led Alice Sims in Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd v Prater Ltd and others, a case which explored issues surrounding building liability orders and how and when they should be heard. Richard Coplin KC took silk in 2025.