The Legal 500

The set: Outer Temple Chambers, identified as one of the top-30 sets at the Bar, is a dynamic, friendly and innovative set, which has a forward-thinking approach to the new legal marketplace. It has achieved widespread recogition, including being awarded Chambers of the Year in 2008 (The Lawyer) and 2009 (British Legal Awards), and two Diversity Awards in 2010 (Black Solicitors Network). Located directly opposite the Royal Courts of Justice, and with an annexe in Abu Dhabi and in New York’s financial district, chambers offers expertise across several practice areas and provides a multi-disciplinary service at a national and international level.

Types of work undertaken: Commercial and business law: with a significant and increasing presence in international and domestic commercial litigation and advice, chambers’ commercial and business law team offers a rare combination of expertise in professional regulation and compliance, Norwich Pharmacal orders, statutory asset recovery, trusts and pensions, and civil and criminal fraud.

Pensions: chambers advises employers, trustees (in particular professional trustee companies), insurers, industry bodies (eg TPR and PPF), the government and pension scheme members on all aspects of pensions law. Chambers also has extensive experience of professional negligence claims against actuaries, solicitors and all other professionals involved with pension schemes.

Employment and discrimination: acknowledged as being at the forefront of employment and discrimination law, chambers is well-known for its work in the area of disability discrimination, combining first-class knowledge with a flexible approach and able to provide multi-disciplinary teams of practitioners. Many members of the team have expertise in pensions law.

Professional discipline and regulatory: chambers acts regularly in a wide range of disciplinary and regulatory proceedings in areas such as financial, professional, medical, family, transport and sports law. Chambers has acted for the FSA, Lloyd’s and Ofsted and in cases involving the ICAEW, GMC, GDC, FHSSA, CAA and MoD Police.

Health and safety: with unparalleled expertise in corporate manslaughter and the related area of health and safety, teams have worked on several landmark cases of criminal negligence, involving heavy industry and construction, as well as retail and commercial premises, and NHS Trusts. The oil, gas and power industries are specialities and practitioners act for large corporates, such as RWE Npower plc and British Pipeline Agency in the recent Buncefield oil refinery case.

Crime – fraud: chambers acts in the highly specialised fields of commercial fraud, corporate manslaughter and the inter-jurisdictional issues of extradition and asset recovery. Chambers’ track record in major commercial crime is well-proven and several members are currently instructed by the Serious Fraud Office in substantial investigations.

Personal injury: chambers undertakes work for both claimants and defendants in relation to industrial diseases, health and safety at work, road traffic claims, severe brain and spinal injury cases, accidents at sea, stress claims and sports injuries. It also advises and appears in professional negligence actions arising out of the mishandling of personal injury claims.

Clinical negligence and healthcare: chambers offers specialist advice and advocacy in all aspects of clinical negligence claims involving doctors, dentists, nurses and other health professionals, and acts for both claimants and defendants. Chambers also advises on a wide range of healthcare issues, including confidentiality, reproductive rights and embryology.

Public law: members deal with judicial review and human rights cases, and advise on the powers and duties of public bodies and public law aspects of commercial transactions. Chambers is well-known for work in major public inquiries, and has specialist knowledge of transport law, sports law and all aspects of social care and mental health law.