Chambers are a feature of the English legal landscape which have few parallels in other countries. There are just over 400 Chambers, which come in various different shapes and sizes. There are the mega-sets which are large, which commodify the work of many of their barristers, and which often charge lower fees and have lower overheads. Being a barrister at one of those sets can feel like being a cog in a machine, with strategy and career development being largely decided by Chambers’ directors or senior clerks. There are the Magic Circle sets, mid-sized sets that dominate the legal directories in their chosen fields, and which attract many of the best cases in those areas. And then there are the smaller sets. Small sets come in two kinds: some coalesce around the personality of a charismatic leader, others are boutiques which specialise in a specific area of law. The tax sets and intellectual property sets are examples of boutique sets which have been long-established in the market.

Forum Chambers is a rare example of a new boutique set of Chambers which has established a successful reputation in the fiercely competitive arena of commercial law. Forum Chambers was founded in 2015 by 5 barristers and a clerk who broke away from one of the mega-sets. In May 2025, Forum Chambers celebrated its tenth anniversary. Over that decade, Forum has grown to a dozen barristers. It has members ranked in both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 across five areas: banking and financial services, commercial litigation, cryptocurrency, insolvency and professional negligence. Its barristers are familiar faces in the Chancery Division and Court of Appeal and even in the Supreme Court, where David McIlroy appeared on behalf of Which? The Consumer Association in Philipp v Barclays Bank [2023] UKSC 25, [2024] AC 346. Since its establishment, Paul O’Doherty has acted for the liquidators of various companies against Gavin Woodhouse (Northern Powerhouse Developments Ltd v Woodhouse [2023] EWHC 3124 (Ch) and for high net worth investors against Coutts & Co. (O’Hare v Coutts and Co. [2016] EWHC 2224 (Ch)). Members of Forum Chambers have acted in groundbreaking cryptocurrency litigation (David McIlroy in AA v Persons Unknown [2019] EWHC 3556 (Comm), [2020] 4 WLR 35), in leading APP cases (Ruhi Sethi-Smith in Santander UK Plc v CCP Graduate School Ltd [2025] EWHC 667 (KB), and in high profile unlawful means conspiracy claims (Philip Currie in Domestic & General Group Ltd v Premier Protect Holdings Ltd (in liquidation) [2024] EWHC 2654 (QB)) as well as across the range of commercial law (see, for example, Lloyd Maynard in RAC Motoring Services v First Choice Recovery Group [2022] EWHC 3401 (KB)) and insolvency disputes, where members of Chambers are familiar faces in the lists.

From the outset, Forum Chambers branded itself as offering specialist legal advice in commercial law. This specialism was linked to four other features of the new set that enabled it to offer exceptional service to its target clients.

First, Forum Chambers has always had a focus on meeting the needs of its solicitors. It has attracted work that would have gone to one of the Magic Circle sets because it has provided a personalised service. Many of its members have had experience working for a firm of solicitors or in another jurisdiction. They understand what solicitors need from barristers. Being responsive, being available, working as part of the team are all key to how the barristers at Forum Chambers operate.

Second, barristers at Forum Chambers build their approach to litigation around the needs of its clients. Those clients are typically businesses or individuals who are part of group actions for which strategic advice is essential. Forum barristers are not just mouthpieces who make submissions at specific hearings, they are integral to the team deciding the strategy for the litigation as a whole. In this way, they help clients achieve the optimal results.

Third, the team at Forum Chambers have always understood both the cost and the price of litigation. Acting for businesses, for insolvency practitioners, or on group action cases, the question of how litigation is going to be afforded is key. Forum Chambers has cultivated good relationships with litigation funders and ATE insurers and its barristers are prepared to enter into CFAs and DBAs in appropriate cases in order to ensure that deserving cases can be brought. Its barristers understand what needs to be done to get cases funded in the first place. But litigation not only has a cost, it also has a price. Litigation takes an emotional toll on individuals and distracts businesses from the activities which generate a profit. The barristers at Forum Chambers are mindful of this dimension when advising on litigation strategy.

Finally, Forum’s collaborative approach to working with solicitors and working with clients is supported by the collaborative culture within the set itself. Forum Chambers was founded by barristers who thought it bizarre that members of Chambers often think of one another primarily as rivals rather than part of the same team. Long term mentoring, joint marketing, internal CPD and team days are all ways in which the barristers at Forum Chambers support one another. Barristers at Forum Chambers are never fighting over slices of a small pie; the attitude is always there is a bigger pie to be won.

Forum Chambers has always capitalised on thinking outside the box. The barristers it has recruited include those who first qualified as solicitors, or in another jurisdiction, or who had the aptitude but no previous experience of commercial law. Nathan Webb was a pupil at a defamation set but is now ranked in the directories for insolvency law. Clyde Darrell did white collar crime but is now ranked in the directories for cryptocurrency and banking & finance. Michael Phillis and Benjamin Fitzmaurice both first qualified in Australia; Iain Shipley in South Africa; Ali Murphy in the Cayman Islands. Ruhi Sethi-Smith and Simon Arnold both gained invaluable experience as solicitors. Recruiting outside the box has been one of the ways in which Forum Chambers has built up a diverse and inclusive team, in which talent from all quarters is fostered and supported.

At the heart of Forum’s success is the relationship between the barristers and the clerks. Forum’s senior clerk for the first five years, Patrick Webber, established its reputation in the marketplace. When Patrick Webber left, Forum promoted Conor Fagan, who became one of the youngest senior clerks at the Bar. Conor Fagan fully deserves his stellar standing for winning work, matching the client to the right barrister, and ensuring that service standards do not slip. He has now been joined by Ben Noonan, recruited from powerhouse commercial set 7BW.

All of this adds up to a set of Chambers which is specialist, strategic, commercial, and collaborative. After a decade of success which has seen Forum Chambers go from a standing start to become firmly established as a boutique commercial set, its members are looking at new horizons. Those horizons include arbitration and litigation in Ireland, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Dubai, Gibraltar, Singapore and beyond. Commercial disputes over the next decade will continue to be international in scope, and will require barristers familiar with group actions, cryptoassets, ESG issues, financial regulation, and insolvency. At a time when all the talk is about how artificial intelligence will transform the legal services sector, Forum Chambers is a reminder that the personal touch remains a key to success.