5RB the ‘go-to set’ in Legal 500

Legal 500’s 2020 edition of the directory has the following praise for Chambers:

Defamation and privacy – Leading sets – ranked: tier 1

“The ‘fantastic’ 5RB continues to be the ‘go-to set for media litigation’, offering ‘an extremely efficient service’ and ‘the top barristers in the field’ when it comes to defamation and privacy issues. Members of chambers are regularly instructed by famous individuals, the media, corporate bodies and public authorities alike. In a recent example, Adrienne Page QC and Godwin Busuttil represented the claimant in Bruno Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd & Evening Standard Ltd, a Supreme Court appeal related to the serious harm requirement of the Defamation Act 2013. Before taking silk in 2020, Adam Speker QC appeared as sole counsel for the media appellants in Simon v Lyder & Another, a case concerning reference innuendoes in libel. David Sherborne and Kate Wilson have been part of the legal team acting for Johnny Depp in the Hollywood star’s highly publicised libel action against News Group Newspapers, publishers of The Sun; the paper has been represented by Adam Wolanski QC and Clara Hamer. Rising stars Ben Gallop and John Stables bring great experience to the set and clients via their previous roles at the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and Ofcom, respectively.

Data protection – Leading sets – ranked: tier 2

“Leveraging its ‘unparalleled knowledge of defamation and reputation management issues’, 5RB is ‘a go-to set for data privacy matters and a pre-eminent media set’. With particular strength at the junior level, recent highlights include Jonathan Barnes, who ‘has no equal in the junior Bar’, acting for various Morrisons employees in the Supreme Court against Morrisons relating to the unauthorised publication of their payroll information on the internet; Jonathan Scherbel-Ball acting for the defendant in Cooper v National Crime Agency relating to the processing of personal data following the claimant’s dismissal; and Clara Hamer defending Bloomberg in ZXC v Bloomberg, a case analysing the media’s right to disclose information about suspects in criminal investigations. Key silks include Andrew Caldecott QC and Justin Rushbrooke QC, and the ‘completely unflappable’ Aidan Eardley is regularly instructed by media organisations.”

Media and entertainment – Leading sets – ranked: tier 3

“The market leader in defamation and privacy, 5RB is also a ‘go-to set for media litigation’ and ‘the leading chambers for other media risks’. Chambers also takes on pre-publication and pre-broadcast work as well as cases related to reporting restrictions and regulatory multimedia, broadcasting and telecommunications issues. David Sherborne is the set’s leading junior in this area, while the set was strengthened following Christina Michalos QC’s elevation to silk in 2019.”

Clerks:

• “Excellent – hugely responsive and very user friendly. Jamie and Antony head up a first class team.
• Excellent – the Clerks always to the extra mile to support.
• Excellent service, friendly and professional, responsive.
• Great. Andrew Love and Jamie Clack are particular stars.
• I am generally impressed with the clerks’ room. Andrew Love has been a great attribute to chambers. In more recent years, Jamie Clack and Antony Braeger have been our main points of contact, and they have been approachable, accommodating and responsive. They are all a friendly and enjoyable team to deal with.
• I think the service across the board is fantastic. The people skills of Jamie, Antony and Sam are up there with the best in our field.
• Jamie Clack in particular offers fantastic service.
• Some of the best clerks around. Knowledgeable, flexible, personal able and always understand our needs.
• Strong clerking team. Andrew Love is the Head Clerk and is very good. Personable but also very well organised. They are responsive and frank about their team’s availability which is great.
• The clerks are all excellent,  very helpful and efficient and I think the operational slickness of 5RB is largely due to them.
• The clerks are second to none. They are flexible and happy to negotiate commercial terms that are suitable for the particular client. They are extremely responsive and masters at negotiating the Court system. They are also great fun and very personable.
• The clerks at 5RB always go above and beyond what is required of them. Jamie Clack is particularly adept at meeting solicitor and client expectations and maintaining the excellent standard of service for which 5RB is renowned.
• The clerks have always been extremely helpful and responsive. They are clear on counsels’ availability, provide accurate fee notes promptly and have always gone the extra mile to help progress the case.
• The clerks room are great. Their relationship with the Court Clerks makes life much easier. They couldn’t be more helpful.
• The quality of the clerking is very strong. Efficient, friendly, approachable, and flexible on fees. Andrew Love, Antony Braeger, and Jamie Clack deserve special mention.
• Very positive. Friendly, helpful. Andrew Love is a particular favourite and Karen Rock Monnick in their marketing team is also great.”