Drystone Chambers > London, England > Set Profile

Chambers of Allison Summers KC
Drystone Chambers
35 BEDFORD ROW
LONDON
WC1R 4JH
England

Email firm Visit website 020 7404 1881

South Eastern Circuit > Crime (general and fraud) Tier 2

A ‘fine set’ Drystone Chambers includes members highly experienced in a wide range of criminal law matters, spanning murder, sexual offences, violence, drug offences and financial crime. Karim Khalil KC specialises in criminal defence and has acted in cases involving the murder of a young man due to a drug feud, the death of a homeless person and the manslaughter of a young woman. William Carter has a broad criminal law practice and is often instructed in cases where defendants have significant mental health needs.

Rising stars

Georgia Luscombe – Drystone Chambers ‘Georgia is meticulous in both her preparation and written advocacy. Her courtroom style is assured and incisive, with significant trial experience.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Leading Silks

Karim Khalil KC –Drystone Chambers

Ranked: Tier 1

Allison Summers KC –Drystone Chambers

Ranked: Tier 2

Leading Juniors

William Carter –Drystone Chambers 'William is a first-class advocate, equally good for prosecution and defence. He is always well-prepared, his trial skills are second to none, and his cross-examination of the other side's witnesses is often devastating.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Lynne Shirley –Drystone Chambers ‘Lynne takes a committed and client-focused approach, providing helpful and detailed advice to those instructing. She takes great care in ensuring the client’s needs are met and makes availability for conferences.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Claire Matthews –Drystone Chambers

Ranked: Tier 3

Stephen Spence –Drystone Chambers 'Stephen is a formidable opponent. His analysis of the evidence and where to attack is always spot on. His cross-examination is tailored to the case but always hits the mark. His tactical approach to a case is masterful, which results in a high impact on the jury.'

Ranked: Tier 3

Claire Howell - Drystone Chambers 'Claire is an outstanding advocate combining a fierce legal mind with an engaging court presence. Her principal strength is her ability to tackle complicated and challenging legal arguments. She has a highly tactical approach to cases and steady presence in court.'

Ranked: Tier 4

Azza Brown – Drystone Chambers 'Azza is hardworking and gives her absolute all in every case. She is approachable and gives her advice to the client clearly and in a way which is easily understood. She will leave no stone unturned to present the defendant's case in the best light.'

Ranked: Tier 4

Jo Morris – Drystone Chambers ‘Johanna has an engaging and commanding style of advocacy backed up by a strong tactical mind. She has a natural style of advocacy and connects very easily with juries and judges. She has the ability to deal with challenging cases logically and calmly.’

Ranked: Tier 4

Testimonials

The clerking team performs well. Ryan Bartlett moves heaven and earth to try and ensure the smooth operation of chambers and keeping chambers instructing solicitors happy.’

‘Stephen McCarthy is a go-to clerk who leads an impressive team, always keen and willing to assist.’

‘Drystone has standout practitioners that handle a wide range of criminal matters.’

‘Drystone has a large number of experienced counsel covering the breadth and depth of criminal offences. The level of expertise is second to none.’

‘Drystone is always on hand to deliver unrivalled service, and clients are in incredibly safe hands with this chambers.’

Work highlights

Midland Circuit > Crime (general and fraud)

Leading Silks

Allison Summers KC –Drystone Chambers

Ranked: Tier 2

Leading Juniors

Karen Walton – Drystone Chambers ‘Karen's attention to detail is brilliant. Her manner with clients is exceptional. She is always in control of the situation and puts clients at ease. Her speeches are effective and persuasive.’

Ranked: Tier 3

London Bar > Crime

Leading Silks

Michael Magarian KC –Drystone Chambers 'Michael is an outstanding silk with a great command of the law. He is meticulous in his work, is a pleasure to work with and is always passionate in his representation of his clients. His advocacy is first class. He is truly an expert in his field.'

Ranked: Tier 3

Leading Juniors

Zarif Khan – Drystone Chambers ‘Zarif is forthright, cuts to the chase, and is able to assimilate complex information with ease.'

Ranked: Tier 3

Jo Morris – Drystone Chambers ‘Jo is a very capable barrister. She is very organised and highly prepared.’

Ranked: Tier 4

Western Circuit > Crime (general and fraud)

Leading Juniors

Robert Bryan – Drystone Chambers ‘Robert is a class act. He has meticulous attention to detail and defends and prosecutes with real skill and dedication. He is a silk in all but name.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Helen Easterbrook – Drystone Chambers

Ranked: Tier 3

London Bar > Fraud: crime

Leading Juniors

Annie Johnston – Drystone Chambers

Ranked: Tier 3

Andrew Price – Drystone Chambers

Ranked: Tier 3

Drystone Chambers is a leading London-based criminal chambers with an outstanding reputation in criminal litigation, regulatory law and professional discipline. Members of Chambers appear in a diverse range of serious and complex cases throughout London and on the South Eastern, Midland and Western circuits, both defending and prosecuting.

In addition to its core specialisms within the criminal justice system, Drystone Chambers provides specialist advocacy and advisory services across a range of practice areas including local authority and trading standards, aviation and military law.

“There are some human rights so deep we can’t negotiate them away’ Angel on Death Row” Sister Helen Prejean.

Those rights come to the fore in the criminal justice system; whatever the charge, a criminal trial can have life-changing results for all involved.

For many, a criminal trial, either as a witness or a defendant, is so alien it requires someone to act as their guide – to see them through it in a calm way that makes it manageable and understandable.

Ensuring that cases are tried fairly means skilled professionals prosecuting and defending.

It involves professionalism, skill, care and the most careful preparation.

As a chambers who both prosecute and defence the full spectrum of criminal cases, we pool our collective skills while having individual strengths in different areas.

Department	Name	Email
Chambers Administrator	Russell Burton-Lawrence	russell.burton-lawrence@drystone.com
Senior Practice Manager	Steve McCarthy	steve.mccarthy@drystone.com
Senior Practice Manager	Ryan Bartlett	ryan.bartlett@drystone.com
Head of Chambers	SUMMERS KC, Allison (2000)
Member of Chambers	CAMPBELL-TIECH KC, Andrew (1978)
Member of Chambers	KHALIL KC, Karim (1984)
Member of Chambers	MAGARIAN KC, Michael (1988)
Member of Chambers	SPENCE, Stephen (1983)
Member of Chambers	WING, Christopher (1985)
Member of Chambers	BLEANEY, Nichjolas (1988)
Member of Chambers	MINIHAN, Sean (1988)
Member of Chambers	KITCHEN, Simon (1988)
Member of Chambers	CARTER, William (1989)
Member of Chambers	ASCHERSON, Isobel (1991)
Member of Chambers	REIFF-MUSGROVE, Kaja (1992)
Member of Chambers	O'DONNELL, Duncan (1992)
Member of Chambers	BRYAN, Robert (1992)
Member of Chambers	MYATT, Charles (1993)
Member of Chambers	GREEN, Jonathan (1993)
Member of Chambers	SHAW, Barnaby (1996)
Member of Chambers	MCNALLY, John (1996)
Member of Chambers	KHAN, Zarif (1996)
Member of Chambers	ELEY, Joanne (1997)
Member of Chambers	HAM, Nicholas (1997)
Member of Chambers	MATHER, Stephen (1997)
Member of Chambers	PEERS, Benedict (1998)
Member of Chambers	WALTON, Karen (1998)
Member of Chambers	MATTHEWS, Claire (1998)
Member of Chambers	THOMPSON, Ryan (1999)
Member of Chambers	BROWN, Azza (2001)
Member of Chambers	DONNELLY, Stephen (2001)
Member of Chambers	FARR, Philip (2001)
Member of Chambers	NORRIS, Adam (2002)
Member of Chambers	SHIRLEY, Lynne (2002)
Member of Chambers	PRICE, Andrew (2003)
Member of Chambers	GILLET, Gemma (2003)
Member of Chambers	HOWELL, Claire (2003)
Member of Chambers	MORRIS, Jo (2003)
Member of Chambers	JEYES, Christopher (2005)
Member of Chambers	DAVIES, Unyime (2006)
Member of Chambers	TURUDIJA-AUSTIN, Gordana (2006)
Member of Chambers	WALTERS, Simon (2010)
Member of Chambers	EASTERBROOK, Helen (2011)
Member of Chambers	CAMERON, Alex (2012)
Member of Chambers	DAVIES, Richard (2013)
Member of Chambers	MUEN, Ahmed (2014)
Member of Chambers	CHOWDHURY, Mousumi (2014)
Member of Chambers	FLEMING, Giles (2016)
Member of Chambers	STEPHENS, Kenniesha (2015)
Member of Chambers	LUSCOMBE, Georgia (2017)
Member of Chambers	IANCU, Lidia (2017)

Name	Position	Profile
Isobel Ascherson	Isobel is an experienced barrister who defends and prosecutes the most serious…	View Profile
Azza Brown	Azza’s experience in all areas of serious crime is impressive. She is…	View Profile
Robert Bryan	As both Junior and Leading Junior Robert’s work covers the wide spectrum…	View Profile
Alex Cameron	Alex regularly appears in the Crown Court, Magistrates’ Court and Youth Court…	View Profile
Andrew Campbell-Tiech	Fraud – crime (including money laundering and asset forfeiture) – Leading silks…	View Profile
William Carter	Will Carter has forged a reputation as an extremely able and knowledgeable…	View Profile
Richard Davies	Richard joined chambers in 2016. He accepts instructions in the fields of…	View Profile
Unyime Davies	Unyime is a criminal law specialist with a reputation as a formidable…	View Profile
Stephen Donnelly	Stephen has developed a substantial practice in criminal law and has broad…	View Profile
Helen Easterbrook		View Profile
Joanne Mary Eley	Joanne Eley was called to the Bar in 1997 and joined One…	View Profile
Phillip Farr	Philip Farr is a highly able criminal practitioner with significant experience across…	View Profile
Giles Fleming	Giles joined Chambers in 2017, and became a tenant in June 2018…	View Profile
Gemma Gillet	Gemma Gillet is currently on sabbatical. Gemma Gillet is an experienced Regulatory…	View Profile
Jonathan Green	Jonathan is a leading junior with considerable experience in a wide range…	View Profile
Nicholas Ham	Nick is a regulatory crime specialist with over 20 years’ experience. With…	View Profile
Karim Khalil	Karim Khalil appears in many of the most serious and high profile…	View Profile
Zarif Khan	Zarif Khan is an established practitioner with over 22 years experience at…	View Profile
Simon Kitchen	Simon is a specialist criminal law barrister. He brings his wealth of…	View Profile
Georgia Luscombe	Georgia joined Chambers in 2017 and became a tenant after completion of…	View Profile
Michael Magarian	London Bar: Crime – Leading silks	View Profile
Stephen Mather	Stephen is an experienced advocate specialising in Criminal Law. Called in 1997,…	View Profile
Claire Matthews	Claire Matthews works across the South Eastern Circuit, with an exclusively criminal…	View Profile
John McNally	John McNally has had a broad common law practice and has appeared…	View Profile
Charles Myatt	Charlie Myatt prosecutes and defends in all areas of criminal law. This…	View Profile
Duncan O"Donnell	Duncan O’Donnell undertakes all aspects of serious crime (including murder, fraud, serious…	View Profile
Kaja Reiff-Musgrove	Kaja acts as a junior and leading junior in a broad spectrum…	View Profile
Barnaby Shaw	Barnaby Shaw prosecutes and defends in Hampshire and Dorset and defends in…	View Profile
Lynne Shirley		View Profile
Stephen Spence	Stephen Spence has considerable experience both prosecuting and defending in all aspects…	View Profile
Allison Summers	Allison Summers KC is Head of Drystone Chambers. A formidable court advocate,…	View Profile
Ryan Thompson	Ryan is an exceptional criminal defence advocate with an enviable success rate.…	View Profile
Simon Walters	Simon is an experienced advocate who practises mainly in crime, regulatory and…	View Profile
Karen Walton	Karen Walton specialises in serious crime and maintains a practice that involves…	View Profile