Barristers - Serle Court

Lance Ashworth KC

Call: 1987
Silk: 2006

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.

John Machell KC

Call: 1993
Silk: 2012

Hugh Norbury KC

Call: 1995
Silk: 2012

Jonathan Adkin KC

Call: 1997
Silk: 2013

Rupert Reed KC

Call: 1996
Silk: 2014

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).

Matthew Morrison KC

Call: 2004
Silk: 2025

Rob Mundy KC has a wide-ranging commercial practice and has particular expertise in company, commercial fraud, contract and insolvency disputes. He is often instructed in high-value, complex litigation. He has been consistently recommended in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500.

Rob is an experienced trial advocate who enjoys oral advocacy and cross-examination, particularly in document-heavy and forensically complex cases. He is described in the 2027 Chambers UK Bar Guide as “thoughtful, considered and remarkably unflappable, even in high-pressure situations” and as having a “formidable reputation”. He is often instructed to advise on strategy from the outset of a dispute, being described in Legal 2027 as “an excellent lawyer and strategist, and a delight to work with”.

Rob took silk in 2025. He is a practising mediator and also sits as a Recorder of the County Court.

Robert Mundy KC

Call: 2008
Silk: 2025

Lara Kuehl is a commercial and chancery junior specialising in high-value disputes in England and Wales and offshore. Her practice encompasses commercial litigation and arbitration, company law, restructuring and insolvency, property litigation and civil fraud.

Lara is ranked across five practice areas: Commercial Litigation, Commercial Chancery, Insolvency and Restructuring, Company and Property Litigation, in Chambers UK, Chambers Global, Legal 500 and Lexology UK Bar.

Highly regarded for her advocacy, Lara acts as lead or sole counsel in most cases, frequently appearing unled against senior juniors and KCs. She is equally experienced as junior counsel alongside senior barristers from within and outside chambers in complex domestic and international disputes.

Alongside her private practice, Lara undertakes work for the UK Government. She is a member of the Attorney General’s B Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown, representing the Government in commercial, property, company and insolvency matters.

Before transferring to the English Bar, Lara practised as a solicitor in the London commercial disputes teams at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP. From 2013 to 2015, she practised as a Cayman Islands attorney in the Dispute Resolution and Insolvency group at Maples and Calder, gaining offshore experience.