London-headquartered Twenty Essex has named David Lewis KC as its next co-head of chambers.
Lewis replaces Charles Kimmins KC following the conclusion of Kimmins’ four-year tenure and will serve alongside Philip Edey KC, who has held the co-head role since July 2022.
Lewis, who became a silk in 2014, has a wide-ranging practice in litigation and international arbitration. His areas include energy, natural resources, shipping, commodities and civil fraud. He has extensive experience in injunctive relief, especially freezing and anti-suit injunctions.
He is called or registered in the British Virgin Islands, the Singapore International Commercial Court and the Dubai International Finance Courts, and appears regularly in overseas arbitration hearings.
Edey, meanwhile, is a leading commercial barrister who was appointed Queen’s Counsel (now KC) in 2009. He has a wide-ranging practice, particularly in civil fraud, banking and finance, insurance, international arbitration and the complex jurisdictional and conflict of laws issues that such claims frequently involve.
In a joint statement, Lewis and Edey said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work together as co-heads. Chambers continues to enjoy growth and a strong reputation we are intent on sustaining, in collaboration with our fellow tenants and brilliant employee team, whilst supporting the reforms large and small that will ensure Twenty Essex remains a leading commercial set for the years ahead.”
The duo added: “We would also like to pay tribute to Charlie’s immense contribution over the past four years, and thank him for the time and commitment he has given to leading chambers through a period of considerable change, whilst maintaining his unimpeachable standards and typical good humour in the conduct of his day job.”
During Kimmins’ tenure, the set’s bench of silks has grown by 10, including international and honorary appointments. Simon Milnes KC and Luke Pearce KC were appointed in England and Wales in 2022 and 2023, respectively, with Anglo-Italian legal expert, Lord Verdirame KC, being appointed as a non-affiliated peer to the House of Lords in 2022.
Albert Dinelli KC was appointed KC in Victoria, Australia, alongside his existing 2014 silk appointment, while Sir Michael Wood was also made an honorary silk.
Three silks were appointed in 2024: Josephine Davies KC, Oliver Caplin KC and Daniel Kalderimis KC (New Zealand). Davies and Caplin were sworn in in March 2024, while Kalderimis’s New Zealand appointment was announced later that year.
Two silks were made up in 2025: Angharad Parry KC and Nakul Dewan SA KC, who is also a Senior Advocate in India, and one in 2026, when Professor Philippa Webb took silk.
In addition, it has expanded its Singapore annex with the arrival of Jonathon Redwood SC and full-time arbitrator Sarah Grimmer in 2022 and Kevin Lee in 2023, while in London it added Rishab Gupta in 2022 from Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, and Baiju Vasani in 2023. Thomas Wong also added his Hong Kong Bar practice from Denis Chang’s Chambers to London following pupillage. Previously, he was a commercial litigator at Hogan Lovells and Clifford Chance.
It has expanded its arbitrator panel with Philippa Charles, formerly of Stewarts, and Audley Sheppard KC, a full-time arbitrator after 37 years at Clifford Chance, where he was co-head of international arbitration.
Judge Joan Donoghue, a 2025 LIDW keynote speaker and former ICJ judge and president, joined as an arbitrator, along with counsel and arbitrator Professor Payam Akhavan.
Other appointments include Stephen Du, who transferred from 7 King’s Bench Walk with an established commercial, insurance, shipping and arbitration practice, while Clementine Makower joined in January this year after returning to the commercial Bar from Nordisk Defence Club in Oslo, having previously practised at 4 Pump Court.
Recent cases of note for the set include the long-running Russian Aviation litigation, in which Kimmins appeared, and two UK Supreme Court cases, including the MSC Flaminia ([2025] UKSC 14) and King Crude Carriers SA v Ridgebury November LLC ([2025] UKSC 39), which set out new law on the meaning of ‘deemed fulfilment’ in ship sale contracts. This year it also acted on two cases regarding immunity from suit, including Infrastructure Services Luxembourg v Kingdom of Spain.
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