Call: 1969
Silk: 1990
Call: 1975
Silk: 1993
Call: 1992
Silk: 2008
John Machell KC has a broad commercial chancery practice, with particular experience in large-scale litigation involving trusts, fiduciary/director duties, and fraud, particularly with an international dimension.
John is regarded as one of the leading partnership and LLP silks and has experience of a wide range of both contentious and non-contentious matters across the whole range of business sectors. A large part of his work involves issues arising from the use of partnerships and LLPs in hedge fund and private equity structures; in international commercial group structures; and as part of wealth planning strategies.
A substantial part of John’s practice is offshore, and he has appeared in the courts of Grand Cayman, the British Virgin Islands, and Bermuda on several occasions in recent years.
Call: 1993
Silk: 2012
Call: 1997
Silk: 2013
Call: 1996
Silk: 2014
Call: 1995
Silk: 2020
Matthew Morrison KC has a broad commercial chancery practice, with particular expertise in civil fraud, company and partnership disputes, and insolvency litigation.
Described by Chambers UK 2027 as an “outstanding barrister” who is “technically brilliant, fantastic with clients and someone whose cross-examination is exceptional”, Matthew regularly appears in the High Court and Court of Appeal and has acted in proceedings before the Grand Court and Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (BVI), the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, the Isle of Man High Court of Justice and the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts. He also has significant experience assisting advocates before the Royal Courts of Jersey and Guernsey. He is generally admitted to the BVI Bar and is currently admitted ad hoc on a number of matters in the Cayman Islands.
Matthew is an established legal author. He has written widely read PLC practice notes on minority shareholder remedies and edits chapters on directors’ duties and disqualification, and insolvency, in Gore-Browne, Butterworths Corporate Law Service, Tolley’s Company Law Service and Tolley’s Company Law Handbook; and on unfair prejudice, misfeasance and disqualification in the Law of Limited Liability Partnerships (Whittaker and Machell (6th ed.), 2026).
Call: 2004
Silk: 2025
Jonathan Upton KC is recognised for his work in high-value commercial disputes, real estate litigation and asset recovery. His expertise across these interconnected fields makes him “the perfect package for complex and hard-fought” litigation.
His work is both domestic and international, with many cases involving fraud and trusts. Jonathan is regularly instructed in complex, high-value and urgent applications, including freezing injunctions, proprietary injunctions and asset disclosure orders. Commentators note that “he has an unwavering ability to get to the commercial crux of a matter extremely quickly” and that “Jonathan is both technically brilliant and a creative advocate.”
Recent instructions include acting in a substantial Commercial Court group action involving over 200 claimants and allegations of fraud, conspiracy and non est factum; advising on the recovery of debts in the context of the Russian sanctions and OFSI licensing regime; and challenging a Letter of Request issued by the Supreme Court of New York to the Royal Court of Jersey in connection with the Williams F1 Racing Team v Schwarz litigation in the US.
Jonathan is noted for being “incredibly approachable and helpful. You can just pick up the phone and talk to him” and “an absolute pleasure to work with.”
Call: 2004
Silk: 2026
The Barristers’ Register maintained by the Bar Standards Board is available here. View our Terms of Work.