Corporate law specialist Erskine Chambers has welcomed company and insolvency law barrister Blair Leahy KC to the set from Twenty Essex.
With more than two decades at the Bar, Leahy has established a leading practice spanning company law, restructuring and insolvency, fraud and offshore litigation.
Her work has included significant cases before the English and Welsh courts, as well as proceedings before courts and tribunals in a range of international jurisdictions.
In addition to being an experienced Chancery barrister, Leahy is also an offshore practitioner admitted to the Bar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.
Leahy left Twenty Essex after joining the set as a lateral arrival in 2012 from South Square, where she was called in 2001. She joined alongside Stephen Atherton KC, moving from one of the commercial Chancery Bar’s heavyweight sets to a mainstream commercial set. Both Atherton, who took silk in 2006, and Leahy, who took silk in 2019, had previously spent their entire careers at South Square.
They broadened Twenty Essex’s traditional commercial litigation and arbitration practice by adding offshore, insolvency and restructuring expertise. She also brought advocacy experience in Hong Kong, Singapore, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Dubai, as well as in what is now the Business and Property Division in London. She also accepts appointments as an arbitrator.
Martin Moore KC, head of chambers, said: “We are delighted to welcome Blair to Chambers. Her practice fits naturally within our existing areas of expertise and will add to our strength and depth. We very much look forward to working with Blair and to the contribution she will make to Chambers and the work we undertake.”
Leahy said: “Erskine has an outstanding reputation for company and insolvency law. As these issues increasingly sit at the heart of major commercial disputes, I’m very excited to now be working alongside such an exceptional group of barristers.”
Leahy’s arrival follows the elevation of Ben Griffiths KC to silk in this year’s silk appointments round, adding bench strength to the set’s silk roster alongside established figures including Moore and former Bar Council chair Michael Todd KC.
Leahy is the set’s only female silk, after Ceri Bryant KC left to join the clergy following ordination in Cambridge in 2021 and Racquel Agnello KC was appointed Insolvency and Companies Court judge in 2025.
While established figures like David Chivers KC and Mary Stokes have taken door tenancy status, it has also seen new tenants arrive, including Alistair Ahmed – a former solicitor at Weil – who like Leahy works in core areas such as company law, commercial litigation, offshore litigation and restructuring and insolvency.
Meanwhile, Alex Calder and Michael Shillingford now head the set’s clerks’ room, following Phil Reeves’ retirement after a three-year term as senior clerk and a 16-year tenure at New Square Chambers.
The set recently achieved a notable victory in the Saxon Wood Supreme Court litigation, in which Edward Davies KC and Jack Rivett appeared for the successful respondents, instructed by Genevieve Quierin at Stephenson Harwood.
Leahy’s departure from Twenty Essex follows Gordon Nardell KC’s August move to Michelmores, while former head of chambers Chris Hancock KC became a full-time arbitrator this autumn, joining Michael Coburn KC and Karen Maxwell in that status, while three former pupils accepted tenancy in September.
It also welcomed Phillipa Webb KC as a newly appointed silk in March, after welcoming Stephen Du and Clementine Makower to the set in December 2025. The set elected David Lewis KC as its new co-head of chambers in July.
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