Every year, The Times identifies the ten young British barristers they believe are destined for the top of the profession.

This year, Essex Court Chambers’ Edmund King was one of the ten selected. This is what they say about him:

"After 28 years as senior clerk at Essex Court, David Grief has seen a lot of talented young lawyers come and go, including some who ended up as law lords. So when he describes Edmund King as “clearly a star", it counts for something. From King’s first pupillage interview, Grief recalls, "It was clear that he had the X-factor; that he would be a ferocious advocate, someone you would want to go into the trenches with you.” King, 33, has a broad commercial practice, including acting for a Russian oligarch and representing several hedge funds specialising in distressed bonds in claims worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Born in Lincolnshire, King cites his mother, who died when he was 13, as his inspiration. She was the first person in his family to go to university and “taught me the value of hard work, and to never give up," he says. King read philosophy and French for a couple of terms at Balliol College, Oxford, before switching to law, and went on to do a master’s degree at Harvard. He has two children, a boy and a girl: "Spending time with them leaves little time for anything else," he says."