Expansive 20 Essex St brings in South Square silk to bolster push into insolvency work

20 Essex Street has taken on respected South Square silk Stephen Atherton QC and counsel Blair Leahy as the chambers looks to expand into new areas of work.

Atherton and Leahy, who will join 20 Essex Street on 16 January this year, have both spent the entirety of their careers at South Square, with the exception of a six-month pupillage at 7 King's Bench Walk for Atherton.

Atherton, whose practice focuses on insolvency and restructuring, has taken advisory roles relating to a raft of high-profile corporate collapses in recent years, including Lehman Brothers, Northern Rock and ITV Digital. He was awarded QC status in 2006.

Leahy, who also focuses on insolvency law, was called to the Bar in 2001. Key roles she has taken include acting for the BCCI liquidators in their fraudulent trading claims against Bank of India and State Bank of India.

20 Essex Street head of chambers Iain Milligan QC (pictured) said: "Stephen and Blair will give chambers the capability to expand into areas where all 
too often we have had to refer the work elsewhere. It is a genuine pleasure to have individuals of this 
calibre join us."

Both Atherton and Leahy cited a broader commercial platform as the reason behind the moves, although their departures are unrelated.

The news comes after the recent departure of South Square silk Stuart Isaacs QC to Berwin Leighton Paisner in November last year – a move that marked a first step towards a full in-house advocacy offering for clients at the UK top 15 law firm.

20 Essex Street has traditionally been one of the more progressive sets at the Bar in terms of its international platform, with a fully staffed office in Singapore in addition to its London base.

The 50-tenant chambers is set to relocate counsel Ben Olbourne to its Singapore office in March this year as its second barrister in the region. The set also has members in Paris, Sydney and Hong Kong.

Related: BLP hires silk to launch 'instruction to trial' in-house advocacy service.