London-based Essex Court Chambers has announced that all six members of its affiliate in Singapore will leave and launch a new group practice. The departures came after the prominent set was hit by Chinese sanctions after writing a legal opinion accusing Beijing of committing genocide against the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.

Essex Court Chambers Duxton was set up in 2017 by V.K. Rajah SC, former attorney general of Singapore, and three other locally based advocates. They were joined by Essex Court member Toby Landau QC (Landau no longer appears on the London set's website) and in 2018 former Baker McKenzie global head of arbitration Chan Leng Sun SC.