As part of our centenary celebrations in 2021, Charles Hollander QC wrote the history of chambers, A Hundred Years of Brick Court, available at the bottom of this page.

Brick Court was founded by William Jowitt, later Lord Chancellor, when he took rooms in 1 Brick Court in 1921. Chambers' rise to prominence was notable in the 1970s as shipping and international trade litigation increased exponentially. Notable members of chambers included Robert Alexander QC (later Lord Alexander of Weedon) and Nicholas Phillips QC (later Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the first President of the Supreme Court) who were widely regarded as among the most consummate and able lawyers of that period. Under the watchful eye of the renowned senior clerk, (Ronald) Burley, Brick Court became one of the leading commercial chambers in London. Burley became senior clerk at the age of 25 after WW2, a position he held for more than 40 years, and chambers owes as much to him for its meteoric rise as to its stellar members.

Rather than limit practice only to these areas, members of chambers' advocacy skills were also turned to defamation, media, sports and tax as well as to disputes between some of the most colourful businessmen of the day, Robert Maxwell and Tiny Rowland.

The 1980s and 1990s saw City deregulation and the rise of EEC (now EU) Law, the consequences of which practitioners embraced. City disputes such as Lloyd's reconstruction and renewal, BCCI and British and Commonwealth were undertaken by Brick Court barristers. In EU Law members of chambers began to change the legal landscape with Factortame and the B&Q Sunday Trading litigation. Our combined expertise in EU, public/constitutional law and commercial law equips us particularly well to negotiate the legal issues thrown up by Brexit. 

One of the factors in our continued pre-eminence is our ability to recruit the most able and talented lawyers of their generation. We pride ourselves on a rigorous and testing pupillage period to ensure that not only are we delivering excellent legal skills, but by individuals who excel in advocacy and are responsive to the needs of modern clients.