United Kingdom > Regional Bar > South Eastern Circuit
Overview
Index of tables
South Eastern Circuit – Leading Sets
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1
- Fenners Chambers Cambridge (Collier)
- Pallant Chambers Chichester (Davis)
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2
- Crown Office Row Brighton (Havers)
- East Anglian Chambers Norwich, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich (Marsden)
- Eastbourne Chambers Eastbourne (Dale)
- Guildford Chambers Guildford (Coates)
- Regency Chambers Peterborough and Cambridge (Martignetti)
- Westgate Chambers Lewes (Meredith, Collins)
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3
- Octagon House Norwich (Ayers, Lindqvist)
- Trinity Chambers Chelmsford and Ipswich (Harrington)
Annexes
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1
- Harcourt Chambers Oxford (Judd)
- 1 King’s Bench Walk At Lewes Lewes (Anelay)
- 3 Pump Court Swindon (Miller, Nsugbe)
- 6 Pump Court Maidstone (Hockman, Harrison)
- 18 Red Lion Court, Chelmsford Annexe Chelmsford (Etherington)
The South Eastern Circuit is geographically the largest circuit and comprises several distinct local Bars. Practitioners rarely come into contact with or compete with members of different Bars. The leading sets in East Anglia are Fenners Chambers, which is a ‘sound set’ that ‘consistently provides high-quality representation’, and East Anglian Chambers, which now has a centralised clerking system in its Ipswich office and a particularly strong employment team. Other notable sets include Octagon House, Regency Chambers and Trinity Chambers. To the west, Chichester-based Pallant Chambers is ‘progressive’ and ably clerked by Alister Williams, who is ‘among the very best’. Lewes-based Westgate Chambers is the ‘go-to’ set for criminal matters and is ‘proactively clerked’; Regency Chambers is the leading family law set in Peterborough and provides a ‘second-to-none’ service; and Guildford Chambers continues to ‘grow in strength’. Crown Office Row in Brighton is a ‘terrific set’. Also, a large number of London annexes operate heavily on this circuit including the highly regarded 18 Red Lion Court, Chelmsford Annexe.
Commercial and chancery
At East Anglian Chambers, Philip Capon is recommended for commercial and insolvency matters and Simon Redmayne is a commercial heavyweight. Commercial practitioner Nicholas Michael is pushing the boundaries of his call.
Pallant Chambers’ Clifford Darton is a ‘razor-sharp intellect’, a ‘force to be reckoned with, mixing steely courtroom poise with oodles of charm’: he has a wide practice, encompassing commercial, chancery, property, construction and environmental work. Richard Egleton recently joined the set from
At Guildford Chambers, the ‘intuitive and practical’ Gregory Tee is recommended for company law matters and has ‘impeccable knowledge’ of TOLATA matters.
Crime
Westgate Chambers’ Philip Meredith has a silk-type practice that includes complex fraud work, and Nicholas Howard Hamblin has a diet of complex crime and white-collar matters. Jeffrey Lamb is a ‘robust advocate’ and is recommended for serious sexual offence cases. Sarah Lindop is a leading junior particularly on sexual offences and has a ‘good presence in court’. Tayo Adebayo is ‘particularly good at complex criminal trials’, and has a niche practice relating to the importation of endangered animal species. Sara-Lise Howe has a national RSPCA defence practice. Jonathan Edwards is also highly recommended.
Crown Office Row’s animal welfare law expert Rowan Jenkins’ is ‘always ready to help with on-going problems’. Clients would ‘not hesitate to recommend’ Christine Henson, who has a heavyweight criminal practice. Francesca Lewington, who handles regulatory crime work, ‘always approaches cases with diligence and the thoroughness clients would expect’. Ghulam Hussain has a ‘constant desire to achieve the best results for clients’.
Lamb Building’s Brighton annex houses Jeremy Wainwright, Andrew Selby and Lewis Power QC.
At Eastbourne Chambers, Julian Dale and Rebecca Upton are defence-oriented criminal practitioners.
East Anglian Chambers’ Richard Kelly is recommended for high-profile rape and murder cases, and white-collar fraud cases. Rex Bryan has carved out a notable RSCPA prosecution practice. Lynne Shirley and Matthew Edwards have notable court-martial practices.
Octagon House’ Guy Ayers and Michael Clare have heavyweight criminal practices, and Jonathan Goodman recently joined the team.
Fenners Chambers’ Lawrence Bruce, who has the ‘ability to get to the heart of an issue very quickly’, and Mike Magee are highly recommended criminal practitioners.
18 Red Lion Court, Chelmsford Annexe has a very strong presence on circuit in this area. Stephen Harvey QC is a ‘skilful, hardworking advocate, who prepares meticulously’, and David Wilson is a ‘strong advocate, who will give robust advice where appropriate’. Martyn Levett is an ‘outstanding advocate, who manages to balance having a great legal and academic mind with considerable jury appeal’. Jane Oldfield makes ‘defendants feel at ease as well as have the utmost confidence in her advice, which is of the highest standard’. Steven Dyble is a ‘formidable advocate’ and a recognised leading criminal senior.
At 1 Paper Buildings, Karim Khalil QC is recognised as a ‘dominant’ practitioner on circuit and has a leading heavyweight practice. John Farmer and Stephen Spence, who has a niche aviation practice, are very highly rated.
At 6 Pump Court, Richard Barraclough QC is recommended for high-profile crime and regulatory cases and has an ‘amazing ability to cross-examine, thanks to his preparation, application and intellect’. Oliver Saxby defends and prosecutes in serious criminal matters and is ‘not easily ruffled’. John O’Higgins is ‘first class’, and Peter Gower QC is ‘excellent and charismatic’.
Employment
East Anglian Chambers’ Neil Ashley has ‘excellent knowledge of all matters pertaining to employment law’ and is praised for his ‘accessibility and commercially focused advice’. Christopher Pigram is a Treasury Panel junior and has a wide-ranging practice, as does Michael Lane. Paul Strelitz has a ‘very commercial “can do” approach to clients’ legal problems’.
2010 saw Guildford Chambers’ Martin Ward handle unfair and wrongful dismissal, public interest disclosure, restrictive covenants and breach of confidentiality matters as part of his wide practice.
Pallant Chambers’ Marc Living and William Emerson are ‘excellent’ on employment matters. Evan Turnill, who is ‘extremely professional, amenable and whose work is always to the highest standard’, recently joined the set from
At 6 Pump Court, Gordon Menzies has a varied employment practice with an emphasis on local authority respondent work.
Family
At Fenners Chambers, ‘whichever counsel we instruct, we know that they will always “go that extra mile” for our clients’. Lindsay Davies, who has a broad family law practice, is ‘extremely strong but never arrogant’. Simon Tattersall, who is a specialist matrimonial finance practitioner, is an ‘iron fist within a velvet glove’, who brings to a case a ‘terrier-like quality and intensity, which clients really appreciate’. Susan Espley is a well-respected practitioner on circuit for children work and provides a ‘first-class service’. Nick Davies is a strong ancillary relief junior, whose accountancy background means clients are ‘always confident that he will have looked at the case or problem from every angle’.
Regency Chambers is a specialist family law set that has a focus on care proceedings and a developing ancillary relief offering. Ian Martignetti and Margot Elliott both frequently handle silk-type work. Nigel Sleight, who is ‘always well prepared, an excellent advocate and very much a team player’, and Anita Thind handle ancillary relief and children instructions. Gemma Chapman is ‘especially good with young, vulnerable mothers’, and Alison Hunt is a ‘great fighter on behalf of clients who are in difficult circumstances’. Christopher Bramwell specialises in all aspects of public children law.
At Trinity Chambers, Tina Harrington handles high-value ancillary relief matters. Cherry Twydell handles financial and childcare work, and is particularly good on cross-border issues.
Octagon House’s very strong family law team includes Anthony Kefford, Robert Aldous, Jeremy Dugdale and Katharine Bundell.
East Anglian Chambers’ Andrew Marsden is a high-value ancillary relief practitioner, and Caroline Bryant specialises in childcare matters. Dominic Barratt handles the whole spectrum of family law matters, as does Richard O’Sullivan.
At Crown Office Row, James King-Smith, Pegah Sharghy and Jane Peckham are strong on ancillary relief matters. Adam Smith and Rachael Claridge are popular and busy practitioners in the area of children.
Pallant Chambers’ ‘superb’ Lucinda Davis is a ‘first choice’ for care proceedings. Rosein Magee’s ‘unflappable approach is welcomed by clients who are in the stressful situation of attending court’. Colin Morgan is a ‘brilliant practitioner’, and Mary Loosemore is ‘pragmatic and grounded’. Neil Maton is ‘extremely reliable’ and ‘especially good on co-habitee disputes’. Sarah Earley ‘reports back to solicitors promptly after hearings’, and is ‘a pleasure to see in court and always fights for her clients’. Wendy Rowlinson is ‘robust, tenacious and has an eye for detail’, and ‘ranks alongside the more senior members of well-known London chambers dealing with family work’. Kelly Ward is ‘friendly and open with all clients’.
At Westgate Chambers, Duncan Watson, who is an ‘excellent advocate that can be relied upon to give sensible, cautious advice’, and Stafford Graham Campbell, who is ‘very strong on his feet’, are recommended for high-value ancillary relief matters. Maria Hancock handles complex care proceedings, and Amanda Clarke is praised for her ability to handle vulnerable victims and witnesses in complex public and private children law cases.
Guildford Chambers’ Janet Haywood, who is a ‘thoughtful and forceful advocate’, is recommended for public and private children matters. Head of chambers George Coates is adept at handling high-value ancillary relief matters and cases concerning financial provision for children.
Barry Singleton QC and Deborah Eaton QC are recommended at 1 King’s Bench Walk At Lewes. Deepak Nagpal was the junior counsel for the appellant in the recent landmark case of Radmacher v Grantatino at the Supreme Court.
Harcourt Chambers’ Frances Judd QC is a ‘superb advocate’ who has a ‘keen eye for detail’. Aidan Vine comes highly recommended; Jonathan Sampson excels in children work; and Nicholas Goodwin is a ‘star in the making’ for both financial and children matters. The team recently lost Piers Pressdee QC and Sally Max to 29 Bedford Row Chambers.
Personal injury and clinical negligence
At Fenners Chambers, Paul Hollow provides ‘sound advice, promptly and efficiently’; Roderick Spinks ‘quickly gets to nub of a particular problem’, and his ‘relaxed manner hides an inner steel’.
East Anglian Chambers, John Brooke-Smith, who also has a strong family law practice, has a niche practice in yachting and maritime claims. Shona Harvey handles a wide range of PI matters both for defendants and claimants.
At Pallant Chambers, Kevin Haven has ‘significant experience in all type of injury litigation and is an excellent tactician in presenting complex injury matters’. Charles Taylor is ‘very knowledgeable, incisive and determined’.
Crown Office Row’s PI practitioner Stuart Wright is a ‘good advocate’, who provides ‘clear advice and pleadings’.
Property, planning and environmental
Crown Office Row’s Paul Ashwell, who has a broad property, planning, environmental and commercial litigation practice, is a ‘very strong all-rounder’, whose ‘tactical advice and analysis of complex law is first class’. Property specialist Simon Sinnatt shows ‘creative thinking’ and has ‘polished’ client care skills, and housing specialist Stuart Wright is ‘very efficient, prompt and thorough’. Ghulam Hussain has a notable licensing practice.
Fenners Chambers’ Bruce Monnington is a ‘recognised expert on agricultural law matters’ and is also noted for his property law practice, as is the ‘technically excellent’ Andrew Gore. Alasdair Wilson is ‘very strong on all aspects of property-related litigation’, and Timothy Williams has proved ‘impressive’ on property matters. Daniel Owen has a specialist practice in marine public law.
East Anglian Chambers’ head of chambers Graham Sinclair, who is the ‘all-round package: good on his feet, quick on the uptake and good with the commercial clients’, is recommended for property and probate-related Court of Protection cases.
Pallant Chambers’ Kevin Pain is ‘one of the best all-round barristers’ in the field of property law, and Clifford Darton has a strong environmental aspect to his practice.