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Birmingham’s leading sets remain No5 Chambers, which has ‘strength in depth’ in employment, personal injury, planning and environmental matters, as well as ‘friendly and helpful clerks’; and St Philips Chambers, which exhibits impressive strength in commercial, Chancery and criminal matters. Ropewalk Chambers is a strong set within the region, while St Ive’s Chambers’ family team continues to go from strength to strength. 1 High Pavement houses a number of recommended criminal practitioners, and Cornwall Street Chambers has traditional strength in family. KCH Garden Square recently entered into partnership with 7 Harrington Street in Liverpool, adding that set’s team of silks to its members’ list. St Mary’s Chambers retains its strength in family. Kings Chambers is set to open in Birmingham in August 2012, to add to its presence in Manchester and Leeds.

Chancery, commercial, insolvency and banking

St Philips Chambers is ‘without doubt a premiere Chancery, commercial and insolvency set premier’. Avtar Khangure QC is ‘an acknowledged Midlands-based expert in insolvency law’, and insolvency practitioner Matthew Weaver ‘provides a commercial and pragmatic approach’. Mohammed Zaman QC has ‘a knack for uncovering the unexpected’, and James Morgan possesses ‘excellent legal knowledge’. The ‘very intelligent, methodical, thorough and charming’ John Brennan and Edward Pepperall (‘an extremely safe pair of hands’) are also recommended. John Randall QC has an ‘ability to grasp detail’, Andrew Charman is ‘meticulous’ and ‘very user friendly’, and Stephen Eyre is ‘able to quickly assimilate complex issues and instructions’. Also recommended are Sandra Bristoll, IP specialist Aubrey Craig and Duncan Bagshaw. Lance Ashworth QC recently moved to London-based set Serle Court.

At No5 Chambers, Richard Jones QC provides ‘good tactical assurance’ in financial services matters, and property specialist David Taylor is ‘very thorough’. David Mitchell ‘responds effectively to the other side’s argument’, and the ‘extremely effective, clear and reliable’ Nicola Preston has particular expertise in Chancery matters. Glenn Willetts, Mark Anderson QC and David Holloway are also recommended.

St Ive’s Chambers has an ‘excellent range of experience’. Tony Watkin is ‘very user friendly’ and ‘always provides detailed and solid advice’.

Ropewalk Chambers’ Stephen Beresford has a significant commercial and insolvency practice, and Jonathan Owen is recommended for insurance, business and property matters.

KCH Garden Square’s James Howlett is noted for his Chancery work, which includes boundary disputes, easements and restrictive covenants.

Crime

At St Philips Chambers, the newly appointed Andrew Smith QC exhibits ‘a relentless determination to master the details of a case’, and Andrew Lockhart QC is praised for his ‘massively thorough and extremely robust approach’. Ben Mills is ‘excellent with lay clients’ and ‘very strong in court’, and Timothy Green is ‘very knowledgeable’. Kristina Montgomery is an ‘exceptional advocate’ with particular experience in cases with vulnerable witnesses, and David Crigman QC has a heavyweight defence practice. Also recommended are juniors Jonas Hankin and Simon Ward.

No5 Chambers is praised for ‘the depth of its crime team’. Michael Duck QC is a ‘highly skilled and effective advocate’ with a ‘wealth of experience’; Simon Drew QC has a ‘high degree of technical legal knowledge’, with particular experience in white-collar fraud work; and Adrian Keeling QC has a ‘superb client manner’.and Christopher Hotten QC has experience in cases involving non-accidental injury to infants and young children. Alexander Stein specialises in financial and regulatory crime. Recently appointed silk Mark Heywood QC and Sally Hancox are also recommended.

St Ive’s Chambers’ David Jackson and Peter Cooper act in serious murder and serious sexual offence cases.

Citadel Chambers has a strong criminal team, including the ‘able and well-respected’ Rachel Brand QC and head of chambers Andrew Fisher QC. At the junior end, Martin Butterworth is ‘a very strong and persuasive jury advocate’, and Daniel White ‘always provides advice and opinions quickly’.

1 High Pavement’s criminal team includes Greg Dickinson QC, Adrian Reynolds, Richard Thatcher, Michael Auty, Steven Coupland and Mark Achurch.

KCH Garden Square’s Mark Van Der Zwart is recommended for serious sexual offence cases, and ‘his ability in court is second to none’. Michael Cranmer-Brown and Julie Warburton are also recommended.

Employment

No5 Chambers’ employment team is ‘extremely helpful and co-operative’, and ‘the clerking is always second to none’. Team head Richard Hignett is ‘extremely pragmatic and commercial’, Helen Barney ‘works well with witnesses and puts them at ease’, and Adrienne Morgan ‘gives excellent, practical advice’. Russell Bailey’s broad practice includes stress at work and discrimination claims, and Richard Case undertakes employment work for a number of public transport companies. Anthony Korn is ‘easy to get along with’, and Andrew McGrath has ‘huge commitment and determination’. Charles Crow is ‘destined to go to the very top of his profession’.

St Philips Chambers’ Tariq Sadiq who returned to the set from Devereux, has ‘considerable warmth and charm when dealing with witnesses’. Edmund Beever ‘consistently delivers the highest quality of service’, Jonathan Gidney is ‘robust in cross-examination’, and David Maxwell ‘exudes absolute confidence’.

Ropewalk Chambers’ Richard Seabrook has a broad employment practice.

Family

St Ive’s Chambers is ‘the premier family law chambers in the Midlands’. Michael Keehan QC ‘conducts the most incisive and penetrating cross-examinations’, and Jayne Mullen is ‘thorough in her approach’. Nicholas Starks is ‘thorough in his preparation’, Jeremy Weston QC has ‘a gift for reducing the temperature in acrimonious or sensitive cases’, and Nina Bache is ‘highly personable and approachable’. Elizabeth Isaacs ‘fights her corner with determination’, and has particular experience in care proceedings, as do Paul Lopez and Sarah Pritchard. Nicholas Cole, Andrew Day and Timothy Bowe are also recommended.

St Philips Chambers’ Alistair MacDonald QC is ‘the QC of choice for children matters’. Head of the family group Lawrence Messling is ‘hardworking, approachable and very professional’, and Louise McCabe is ‘always fantastically well prepared’. Jonathan Nosworthy is ‘well equipped to rapidly dissect the most complex of financial relief cases’, and head of ancillary relief Vanessa Meachin is ‘a strong advocate who also has a keen eye for settlement opportunities’. Elizabeth McGrath is ‘a recognised leader in the field’, and Leisha Bond ‘will fight for her client’.

No5 Chambers has ‘outstanding expertise in family law in Birmingham’, with Robin Rowland ‘an eminent matrimonial finance barrister’. Ashley Wynne is also recommended for ancillary relief matters, as is the ‘completely unflappable’ Christopher James. Stephanie Brown is also a ‘leading expert in finances’. Lorna Meyer QC and Michele Friel are well known for their children work. Rachel Rowley ‘provides an exceptionally high level of service’, and Victoria Clifford is ‘a rising star’.

Cornwall Street Chambers’ Anthony Lowe has a broad practice covering financial provision, cohabitation and child residence and contact disputes. Bryce Somerville and Amanda Pittaway are both ancillary relief specialists.

St Mary’s Chambers’ Nigel Page specialises in finance claims, and the ‘tenacious and focused’ Maria Mulrennan has expertise in public law children cases. Victoria Hodges has ‘a fantastic approach to client care’ and Jason Reece is a ‘confident, thoroughly prepared advocate’. Beryl Gilead is recommended for children work.

At KCH Garden Square, Pami Dhadli’s ‘approachable manner is extremely popular with clients’.

Harcourt Chambers undertakes a significant amount of work on the Midlands circuit from its bases in Oxford and London, with a particular focus on children law. Jonathan Sampson is an ‘exceptionally good barrister’ with ‘excellent advocacy skills’.

Personal injury and clinical negligence

No5 Chambers retains its ‘already excellent reputation’, with ‘gifted heavyweight’ Paul Bleasdale QC and Chris Bright QC, who specialises in catastrophic head and spinal injury claims, singled out. Also recommended are Satinder Hunjan QC, who is an ‘exceptional advocate prepared to fight difficult cases’; Henry Pitchers, who has ‘exemplary advocacy skills’; and Dr Jonathan Punt, whose ‘medical knowledge is second to none’. Jonathan Jones is ‘tactically astute and very thorough’ and Karl Hirst is ‘an excellent counsel in every respect’. David Tyack is ‘a rising star’ for clinical negligence cases.

St Philips Chambers’ Thomas Rochford is an ‘outstanding advocate whose interpersonal skills are second to none’.

Ropewalk Chambers’ Dominic Nolan QC handles personal injury work involving catastrophic head injuries, as well as clinical negligence cases. Patrick Limb QC is experienced in serious brain damage and catastrophic personal injury cases, and Toby Stewart is a specialist in clinical negligence claims. Tom Panton, Simon Beard and Jason Cox are also recommended.

Planning, public law and regulatory

No5 Chambers’ planning and environmental experts include Martin Kingston QC, who has ‘excellent clarity of thought under pressure’; and Ian Dove QC, who is ‘strong in inquiries and public law matters’. Anthony Crean QC and the ‘stylish and effective’ Jeremy Cahill QC are also recommended. Celina Colquhoun, who recently joined from 2 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers, is ‘practical, amenable and willing to go the extra mile’. Omar Ensaff is recommended for construction matters, and Peter Goatley is ‘a go-to barrister for planning and judicial review’. David Lock QC and Bernard Thorogood are recommended for regulatory work.

Ropewalk Chambers’ Andrew Hogan and Graham Machin are recommended for planning and environmental work. Jonathan Mitchell’s expertise encompasses local government and regulatory matters alongside planning issues.

St Ive’s Chambers is ‘an excellent specialist housing set’, and led by the ‘very effective and experienced’ Michael Singleton. Michelle Caney is ‘well prepared, eloquent and persuasive’. Tony Watkin has ‘a sharp intellect and an ability to think tactically’.

St Philips Chambers’ Barry Berlin specialises in regulatory and environmental offences, and is ‘thorough, helpful and approachable’.

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