The Legal 500

Devereux is proud of its reputation in all its fields of work, with 11 established specialist silks and a large team of talented juniors. Chambers covers the professional markets in insurance and reinsurance, employment law, tax, finance, sport, energy, telecommunications and education. It has a large and successful team advising and representing those engaged in cases involving personal injury, clinical negligence and health and safety. Chambers offers arbitration and mediation services.

The set: Devereux is large enough to provide in-depth expertise at all levels and takes pride in providing a tailored approach to all its clients. Well known for its professional yet client friendly approach, Chambers is supported by an excellent team of staff.

Clients of Chambers include employers and unions, underwriters and brokers, victims and insurers, airlines and passengers, taxpayers and governments, patients and doctors, parents and schools, students and universities, regulators and utilities, clients and their professional advisers, sports personalities and clubs. They all need, expect and receive detached advice together with advocacy of the highest quality.

Types of work undertaken: Chambers’ work is continually developing as UK and European legislation changes and new legal avenues open. The website at www.devereuxchambers.co.uk is constantly updated with news of what members of Chambers are doing. Some of the areas in which Chambers operates are:

Insurance and reinsurance law: construction of policy and treaty wording, warranties, non-disclosure and misrepresentation, affirmation, aggregation, notification, ICOB, claims with a foreign dimension.

Professional negligence and regulation: doctors, solicitors, barristers, accountants, IFAs, auditors, agents, brokers, construction professionals.

Telecommunications: regulation, competition, tariffs, technical issues, artificial inflation of traffic, fraud, wayleaves.

Employment: collective and individual employment law, domestic and European. Trade disputes, restrictive covenants and confidential information. Data protection. Whistle-blowers, unfair and wrongful dismissal, discrimination, redundancy, TUPE, equal pay. Working time, minimum wage. Share schemes, remuneration, pensions and other benefits.

Tax and finance: direct and indirect taxes, duties and national insurance contributions. Advice and litigation in all the statutory tribunals, on appeal, and on judicial review. Tax avoidance, statutory investigation powers, assessment procedures, taxation of employees. Investigations, disclosures. Confiscation, money laundering and fraud.

Personal injury: accidental injury, health and safety and clinical negligence work at the highest level. Multi-million pound catastrophic injury claims, industrial and traffic accidents, explosions, disease, the armed forces. A strong team of juniors provide a complete service in multi-track and fast-track trials in courts up and down the country.

Recruitment: Devereux is hugely popular and it is difficult to obtain a pupillage. Those who are successful in doing so are likely to have excellent academic qualifications and to offer something extra. Ambition for a successful career at the Bar, capacity for work and a sense of humour are the basic equipment.