Legal 500 EMEA 2023 highlights Atkin Chambers’ strength in depth in the region
Awards
Atkin Chambers has been recognised as a Tier 1 set for construction by the new The Legal 500 EMEA 2023 (UK […]
12th Apr 2023
“An excellent advocate and a superb thinker who is unyielding under pressure."
“She did a really excellent job…making the opposition look ordinary.”
Chambers and Partners UK Bar 2023 and Asia-Pacific 2022
Serena Cheng KC’s practice focuses on technically and legally complex energy, engineering and infrastructure disputes. She is an experienced trial advocate who has represented a wide range of clients around the world, with a particular emphasis on the Far East and Middle East.
Serena is ranked in seven categories across the current editions of Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500. She is cited for international arbitration, energy and infrastructure, construction, and professional negligence, in the UK, Middle East and Asia Pacific editions of the directories.
Long-commended for her advocacy, Serena’s clients recommend her this year as “a very gifted advocate whose style and approach reflect the very highest standards of the Bar”; “an excellent advocate and a superb thinker who is unyielding under pressure“; “she did a really excellent job, getting to grips with the technical matters with fantastic attention to detail and making the opposition look ordinary”; ‘Able to grasp complex technical issues and very capably draw the applicable legal principles in, to provide comprehensive, exhaustive and accurate advice. A very strong advocate who deals with tribunals with consummate professionalism.’
In 2022, Serena was nominated as Construction and Energy Silk of the Year at The Legal 500 UK Bar Awards, after only five years as leading counsel.
Previous recommendations include:
“A brilliant advocate, subtle and measured. There is an almost hypnotic quality to her oral advocacy.” (International Arbitration, Legal 500, 2022),
“An absolute first-rate advocate who reads tribunals very well and astutely formulates arguments for very effective and persuasive delivery.” (Energy, Legal 500, 2022),
“A very skilled and effective counsel with a good understanding of how to persuade a technical tribunal.” (Construction, Legal 500 2022).
“An impressive and intelligent silk with a huge depth of knowledge.” “A very impressive barrister”. (Chambers & Partners – UK Bar 2022, Construction).
“An excellent advocate who commands the confidence of a tribunal with her clear delivery and felicity of expression.” “Able to grasp technical and engineering issues at lightning speed” and “to articulate complex technical issues in simple and clear language“. (Chambers & Partners – Asia Pacific 2021, International Arbitration).
“A stellar advocate. Very user friendly. Gets into the detail of complex matters with impressive speed and leaves no stone unturned”. “An impressive strategist with brilliant drafting and advisory skills, she is quick to impress”. “She is tactically great and gets to grips with complex issues quickly”. (Legal 500 – London Bar 2021, Energy, Construction and Professional Negligence).
“Bold decision maker, sticks to her guns, technically excellent, calm, confident and considered, and an excellent people person.” “A tenacious advocate, and very strong on the advisory side.” (Legal 500 2019, Construction, Energy and also International Arbitration).
Lane End Developments Construction Ltd. v. Kingstone Civil Engineering Ltd: Kingstone Civil Engineering Ltd. v. Lane End Developments Construction Ltd. [2020] 1 BLR Plus 41, Construction Law Reporter 7 September 2020, CILL 4 October 2020
Blackpool Borough Council v. Volkerfitzpatrick Ltd. & (1) Range Roofing and Cladding Ltd & (2) RPS Planning and Development Ltd & (3) Caunton Engineering Ltd [2020] BLR 340, [2020] TCLR 4
Malcolm Charles Contracts Ltd v. Crispin & Zhang [2016] 1 All ER (Comm) 9, 159 Con LR 185
Eurocom Ltd v Siemens PLC [2015] BLR 1, 157 Con LR 120
University of Brighton v Dovehouse Interiors Ltd [2014] BLR 432, 153 Con LR 147
Hillcrest Homes Ltd v Beresford & Curbishley Ltd [2014] 153 Con LR 179
Doosan Babcock Ltd v Comercializadora de Equipos y Materiales MABE LDA [2014] BLR 33
Westshield Civil Engineering Ltd v. Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd [2013] 28 EG 85, 150 Con LR 225
Walter Lilley & Co v Mackay and DMW Developments Ltd [2012] BLR 503 and [2012] BLR 249, 143 Con LR 79 and 141 Con LR 102
Carillion Construction Ltd v Stephen Andrew Smith [2012] Bus LR D61, 141 Con LR 117
Straw Realisations (No1) v Shaftsbury House (Developments) Ltd [2011] BLR 47, 133 Con LR 82
Price v. Carter (t/a Ian Carter Building Contractors) [2010] EWHC 1451 (TCC), cited in Sutton, Gill and Gearing, Russell on Arbitration, 24th Edition (Sweet & Maxwell, 2015) and Merkin and Flannery, Arbitration Act 1996, 5th Edition (Informa Law, 2014)
Workspace Management v YJL London Limited [2009] BLR 497, [2009] 3 EGLR 11, [2009] 42 EG 178
Braes of Doune Wind Farm (Scotland) Ltd v Alfred McAlpine Business Services Ltd [2008] 2 All ER (Comm) 493, [2008] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 608, [2008] BLR 321, [2008] Bus LR D137
Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey Southern Counties v Barnes & Elliott [2006] All ER (Comm) 735, [2006] BLR 377, 110 Con LR 169
Baker & Davies Plc v Leslie Wilkes Associates [2005] 3 All ER 603, [2005] BLR 425, 101 Con LR 82, [2006] PNLR 3
1999-2000: Inns of Court School of Law (Outstanding in Advocacy)
1996-1999: LLB (Hons), King’s College London
Serena is a member of COMBAR, LCLCBA and the SCL. She served on TECBAR’s Management Committee between c. 2010 and 2017.
She tutors advocacy for Lincoln’s Inn and was, for 15 years, a governor of a Leathersellers’ school in South East London.
“Able to grasp complex technical issues and very capably draw the applicable legal principles in, to provide comprehensive, exhaustive and accurate advice. A very strong advocate who deals with tribunals with consummate professionalism.”
Construction, Energy and Infrastructure, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2023
“Serena is a very calming and authoritative presence while being very intelligent, extremely thorough and hard-working.”
“She’s an excellent advocate and a superb thinker who is unyielding under pressure.”
“Her advocacy is really impressive, very calm and shows great attention to detail.”
Construction, Chambers UK Bar 2023
“She’s an excellent advocate and a superb thinker who is unyielding under pressure.”
International Arbitration, Chambers Asia Pacific 2023
“Her key strength is her analysis of the law.’
‘Energy, The Legal 500 2023
‘Strong analysis of the law.’
International Arbitration: Counsel, The Legal 500 2023
“She is very clever, meticulous and is excellent with details and foreshadowing issues.”
Construction, Asia Pacific. The Legal 500 2023
“Serena provides calm, logical and precise analysis.”
Construction, Middle East, The Legal 500 2023
“She’s an excellent advocate and a superb thinker who is unyielding under pressure”; “her advocacy is really impressive, very calm and shows great attention to detail”; “Serena is a very calming and authoritative presence while being very intelligent, extremely thorough and hard-working”.
Construction, Chambers and Partners, UK Bar 2023
“a very gifted advocate whose style and approach reflect the very highest standards of the Bar”; “she did a really excellent job, getting to grips with the technical matters with fantastic attention to detail and making the opposition look ordinary”.
International Arbitration, the Bar, Chambers and Partners, Asia Pacific 2022
“She is very clever, meticulous and is excellent with details and foreshadowing issues.”
Construction, Energy and Infrastructure, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022
“Serena is obviously a very skilled and effective counsel with a good understanding of how to persuade a technical tribunal.”
Construction, The Legal 500 2022
“An absolute first-rate advocate who reads tribunals very well and astutely formulates arguments for very effective and persuasive delivery.”
Energy, The Legal 500 2022
“Serena is a very skilled counsel, who quickly gets on top of her brief.”
Professional Negligence, The Legal 500 2022
“A brilliant advocate, subtle and measured. There is an almost hypnotic quality to her oral advocacy.”
International Arbitration, The Legal 500 2022
”Conscientious and technically very knowledgeable in construction contracts.”
Construction, Asia Pacific. The Legal 500 2022
“She has a no-nonsense approach and is very user-friendly – her drafting is clear and straightforward.”’
Construction, Middle East, The Legal 500 2022
“An impressive and intelligent silk with a huge depth of knowledge.” “A very impressive barrister”.
Construction – UK, Chambers Global 2022
“She is an excellent advocate who commands the confidence of a tribunal with her clear delivery and felicity of expression.” “Able to grasp technical and engineering issues at lightning speed” and “to articulate complex technical issues in simple and clear language”. Another source emphasises her flair for producing “very sharp and witty soundbites” of the kind which “stay with the tribunal for a long time.”
International Arbitration, Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific 2021.
“She is very impressive. Her written opinion really cut though the complicated detail and gave a convincing argument.”
Construction, Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2021
“A stellar advocate. Very user friendly. Gets into the detail of complex matters with impressive speed and leaves no stone unturned.”
Construction, The Legal 500 2021
“An impressive strategist with brilliant drafting and advisory skills, she is quick to impress.”
Energy, The Legal 500 2021
“She is tactically great and gets to grips with complex issues quickly.”
Professional Negligence, The Legal 500 2021
“She took control of the adjudication and impressed our clients with her ability to immediately home in on the key issues.” “Tenacious advocates and very good at advising clients.”
Construction, Chambers & Partners UK Bar and Global 2020
“Very tenacious and meticulous in cross examination.”
Construction, The Legal 500 2020
“She has a strong practice in high-value and complex disputes, both domestically and internationally”
Energy, The Legal 500 2020
“She gets to grips with highly technical engineering issues quickly.”
Construction, Energy & Infrastructure The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2020
The above are a selection of recent client endorsements from the leading legal directories, both UK and internationally. For a complete list of endorsements, please contact the practice management team at Atkin Chambers.