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Contact with chambers should be made through the Practice Management Team. They are happy to discuss client requirements and provide further information on such matters as the expertise and experience of individual members, fees, working practices and languages spoken. We have members able to work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Chinese (Mandarin).

Outside working hours, a member of our team is always available to be contacted on matters of an urgent nature. Contact should be made using the Chambers main number or email.

For our Singapore office, for client enquiries please contact our Head of Business Development for Asia Pacific, Katie-Beth Jones, and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out of office hours calls will automatically be diverted to our practice management team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

enquires@20essex.uk
t: +44 20 8133 3810

Singapore

28 Maxwell Road
#02-03 Maxwell Chambers Suites
Singapore 069120

enquires@20essex.uk
t: +45 36988379

Contact

Contact with chambers should be made through the Practice Management Team. They are happy to discuss client requirements and provide further information on such matters as the expertise and experience of individual members, fees, working practices and languages spoken. We have members able to work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Chinese (Mandarin).

Outside working hours, a member of our team is always available to be contacted on matters of an urgent nature. Contact should be made using the Chambers main number or email.

For our Singapore office, for client enquiries please contact our Head of Business Development for Asia Pacific, Katie-Beth Jones, and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out of office hours calls will automatically be diverted to our practice management team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

enquires@20essex.uk
t: +44 20 8133 3810

Singapore

28 Maxwell Road
#02-03 Maxwell Chambers Suites
Singapore 069120

enquires@20essex.uk
t: +45 36988379

Stephen Atherton KC

Stephen Atherton KC

Silk: 2006 Call: 1989 (England and Wales); 2009 (Bar of the Eastern Caribbean)

Stephen’s practice comprises international and domestic corporate insolvency and restructuring, company law, civil aspects of international and domestic commercial fraud, personal insolvency, banking, general offshore and international commercial litigation, and international and domestic asset tracing.

He has considerable experience in commercial litigation, civil fraud and contentious insolvency proceedings in the UK, Hong Kong, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Jersey, Guernsey, Samoa, the Turks and Caicos Islands, St Kitts and Nevis, and the Isle of Man.

Stephen is admitted to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean (BVI). He is also called to the Bars of Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Isle of Man, Samoa, and St Kitts and Nevis for specific cases. Stephen has rights of audience in Brunei Darussalam for specific cases.

He was named as Insolvency/Corporate Restructuring Silk of the year at the Chambers Bar Awards 2014.

Stephen has also provided expert evidence on English, Bermuda, BVI and Cayman Islands law for use in foreign proceedings, including proceedings in Singapore, South Africa, Hong Kong, New Hampshire, Washington DC and the Netherlands.

Download a full version of Stephen’s CV.

 

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Stephen is a very experienced silk in this field, with an affable and personable manner with judges.

Chambers UK Bar 2024

Stephen provides a rare combination of hard work, intellect and commerciality. He is a calm and reassuring presence on a file and works extremely well with instructing solicitors. He is the go-to barrister for complex Cayman commercial litigation.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2024

Technically excellent and perfectly suited for big-ticket work, Stephen is brilliant at explaining very complicated legal concepts to lawyers and clients.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2024

Stephen is a real details man who gets stuck in.

Chambers UK Bar 2024

An incredible advocate and a savvy advisor. Stephen is one of the best silks on the market for fraud work.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2024

Stephen is a pre-eminent barrister in this area.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2024

Stephen is a captivating advocate. He is also extremely hardworking and great to work with.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2024

A very good strategist who is great to work with. He builds confidence in clients. He's a consummate professional.

Chambers UK Bar 2023

Able to explain the law in a very straightforward and simple way, both orally and in writing.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

Has a wide-ranging offshore practice that takes in work in Singapore, the Caribbean and the Channel Islands. He is also frequently called upon to advise on insolvency matters in Hong Kong.

Chambers UK Bar 2023

What sets him apart is that he is able to explain the law in a very straightforward and simple way (both orally and in writing) which my clients (who are not familiar with common law insolvency law) can easily understand.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

very straightforward and pragmatic but what sets him apart is that he is so diligent. He is so careful and on top of everything

Chambers UK Bar 2023

Clearly an expert on insolvency. But what sets him apart is that he is able to explain the law in a very straightforward and simple way – both orally and in writing – which lay clients can easily understand.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

He is very good for particular types of cases that require an aggressive strategy and approach

Chambers UK Bar 2023

Stephen really knows insolvency law inside out and is able to provide expert, comprehensive advice on very short notice. Moreover, he is able to provide this advice in a clear and layman friendly manner

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

Stephen is clearly an expert on insolvency.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

A formidable opponent and a force to be reckoned with.

Chambers UK Bar 2022

He has a no-nonsense approach and is combative and well-regarded Offshore.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2022

He is very adaptable and responsive, and a pleasure to work with.

Chambers UK Bar 2022

A very experienced senior fraud and insolvency silk. His advice is very clear and well thought out. An excellent strategist and an extremely fine and strong advocate.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2022

He has a wealth of experience in fraud matters that he brings to any case and he presents his views in a very clear fashion.

Chambers UK Bar 2022

A heavyweight silk, who is at the top of his game, commanding the respect of the court and opponents alike.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2022

Stephen is a consummate professional who is commercial and willing to roll his sleeves up.

Chambers UK Bar 2022

A very practical and insightful leader who instils huge amounts of confidence in the team.

Chambers UK Bar 2022

An impressive silk, spanning a number of areas of practice, and a persuasive advocate who jumps in and gets to grips with the issues.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2021

Very pragmatic, no-nonsense and down to earth. He's very effective in court.

Chambers UK Bar 2021

On the go-to list of counsel in the restructuring and insolvency arena.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2021

He is very commercial and clients like him.

Chambers UK Bar 2021

A safe pair of hands for offshore insolvency work.

Chambers UK Bar 2021

Held in high regard by clients.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2021

A very straightforward and very effective advocate.

Chambers UK Bar 2021

He's technically good and is able to convey his knowledge in a client-friendly fashion.

Chambers UK Bar 2021

He's very popular with clients and is very easy to deal with.

Chambers UK Bar 2020

Stephen's advocacy is persuasive and rigorous – he combines perception and humour in a very effective way.

Chambers UK Bar 2020

He is great with lawyers, judges and clients – he has the ability to explain the same point to multiple different people, which is a rare skill in a barrister. His technical judgement is superb and he is super commercial, as well as being really easy to deal with.

Chambers UK Bar 2020

"Sound judgement, user-friendly and a first-rate trial advocate"

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020

He's no-nonsense but technically very good, and he's quite happy to get stuck in and make points that other people wouldn't.

Chambers UK Bar 2020

A punchy draftsman and an excellent advocate with a light touch that can prove very effective.

The Legal 500 2019

He's brilliant. A sensible man and a safe pair of hands, who is very down-to-earth.

Chambers UK Bar 2018

Sound judgement, user-friendly and a first-rate trial advocate.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020

An excellent all-rounder.

Chambers UK Bar 2020

Really nice to work with, he's great in court and really impressive all round.

Chambers UK Bar 2018

He continues to be unafraid to give unequivocal answers to questions posed where other counsel might hedge their bets – he is invaluable when the client wants clear guidance as to what to do.

Chambers UK Bar 2018

He's very thorough and not afraid to give an opinion so you know where you are.

Chambers Global & UK Bar 2018

He is a tremendously robust advocate.

Chambers Global & UK Bar 2018

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