London’s 7 King’s Bench Walk (7KBW) has announced that Greg Leyden will retire from his position as senior clerk after 42 years of service. Eddie Johns and Gary Rose will become joint senior clerks from next month.
The set said Leyden had played a central role in its growth and establishing its reputation as a leading commercial set. It said it was “immensely grateful to Greg for his outstanding contribution over four decades”.
Leyden said: “I’m passing the baton to Ed and Gary with chambers in rude health, and, most importantly, as a happy place, which benefits members, staff and clients alike.”
He added: “There have been many highlights over my time as senior clerk, but gaining industry award recognition has been a real pleasure, reflecting our achievements,” with 7KBW being recognised as ‘Set of the Year’ at the Legal 500 Bar Awards earlier this week.
Following his retirement as senior clerk, Leyden will remain as a consultant until spring 2027, supporting an orderly transition to the new leadership team. Leyden’s retirement means promotion for Johns and Rose, with the set calling them “exceptional clerks with a deep understanding of our members, clients and markets”.
That mirrors Leyden’s own double act with Bernie Hyatt as joint senior clerk, who retired in 2021. The new duo will be supported by a senior clerking team consisting of Joe Clayton, Declan Gray, Zoe Hamilton and Macie Allen, together with the arbitrators’ clerks, Sean Hulbert and Jack Collins and the junior clerks. The team was named ‘Clerking Team of the Year’ at last year’s Legal 500 Bar Awards.
Asked if he had a particular highlight from practice, Leyden told GLP: “If I had to single out one case, it would be my pride in the clerking by our teams of all those members involved in the Russian Aviation litigation, which enabled so many members to contribute, without conflicts, from all sides to what has been, and remains, a hugely important case.”
Nearly 30 members, including head of chambers, Gavin Kealey KC, were instructed in the Russian Aviation litigation, one of the largest insurance disputes in the Commercial Court. It involved a series of multi-billion-dollar claims across multiple jurisdictions by aircraft lessors against their insurers, with two separate strands – one regarding lessor policies and another, reinsurance litigation, regarding operators’ liability.
The lessor litigation decided whether aircraft detained in Russia were permanently lost and whether the loss was attributable to war risk or an all-risk insured policy, with claims running into the billions.
Notable arrivals during Leyden’s tenure as senior clerk included former Twenty Essex senior clerk Brian Lee, who joined as practice management director in 2015 before leaving for Grant Thornton in 2020 and then retiring last year.
Lee was later replaced by Emily Morris, director of marketing and business development, from Atkin Chambers in 2023, who has improved the set’s profile across key relationships and industry sectors, while working closely with Leyden, Johns and Rose. Morris was a founding board member of London International Disputes Week.
Other key arrivals included former judicial members such as Sir Clive Freedman and Sir Julian Flaux, alongside former Supreme Court judge Lord Mance and New South Wales Appeal Court judge Tony Meagher SC, while leading offshore barrister Peter Ferrer joined earlier this year.
The set has also secured multiple elevations to silk during Leyden’s tenure, with Michael Ryan KC and Jason Robinson KC appointed in the past two years, and a steady stream of promotions since 2006’s appointments round, when six silks were elevated. Two of those silks – Mr Justice Bright and Mr Justice Picken – were later appointed to the High Court bench.
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