£1m-a-year QC defects to rival set

David Oliver QC, one of the "million-pound-a-year club" barristers, is leaving 13 Old Square to join premier company set Erskine Chambers.

Oliver, who has been a tenant at 13 Old Square - where his father also practised - throughout his career will join Erskine Chambers on 1 October.

The loss of Oliver will be a major blow to the set. He is one of the leading barristers in no fewer than four specialist areas - administrative and public law, chancery, company and financial services.

Richard Sykes QC, head of Erskine Chambers, which now has seven silks, says: "His experience complements the extensive expertise in company law already available in Chambers."

Oliver has acted for Guinness in connection with the distillers' takeover, Price Waterhouse on claims arising after the collapse of BCCI, Macmillan Inc and Swiss Bank in connection with the Maxwell saga, Granada on the financing of BSB and BSkyB, and, most recently, on the move offshore by members of the UK betting industry.

John Moore, senior clerk at 13 Old Square, would say only that Oliver's departure was by "mutual agreement".

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