Mr Louis Browne KC > Exchange Chambers > Liverpool, England > Barrister Profile

The members of Exchange Chambers have substantial expertise handling judicial review claims before the Administrative Court, representing both claimants and defendants. Brynmor Adams acts exclusively for public authorities, including central government departments, non-departmental agencies, and local authorities nationwide. Louis Browne KC leads the local government and social housing departments, and he represented Donald McPherson in R (Leeson) v HM Area Coroner for Manchester South and Various Interested Persons, a judicial review case considering the decision to not admit circumstantial evidence into an inquest in relation to the death of Paula Leeson, who died in a swimming pool in Sweden.

The inquests and inquiries team at Exchange Chambers represents a diverse range of individuals and groups, from bereaved families, trade unions, and clinical practitioners, to government bodies, local authorities, police forces, and police and prison officers. It is active in Middleton inquests concerning deaths in psychiatric institutions, police custody and prisons, as well as matters in workplaces. Louis Browne KC is a key name of note, and represented the University of Salford (where the bomber was a student) and the Fire Officers Association in the Manchester Arena and Grenfell Tower inquiries respectively. The set is also home to David Sandiford, who has expertise in prison deaths and deaths after police contact, and Sara Sutherland, who is skilled in inquests into deaths in medical contexts.

Exchange Chambers ‘is the go-to set for personal injury counsel’ and its members handle cases involving injuries of the utmost severity, including fatal accidents, industrial disease, severe brain injuries, and catastrophic spinal cord injuries. It also provides representation in niche areas, such as military claims, which is an area of strength for Andrew Ward and Christopher Barnes KC; Barnes KC represented a Royal Marine who was paralysed during a training exercise. William Waldron KC is deputy Head of Chambers and has expertise in representing catastrophically injured claimants. Bill Braithwaite KC’s practice is highly specialised, and he represents claimants exclusively in claims involving catastrophic brain and spinal injuries. Gerard Martin KC, Louis Browne KC, and David Knifton KC are also skilled in this area, as well as claims for amputees; Knifton KC acted for a refuse collector who sustained severe crushing injuries to his right leg when run over by a bin wagon, resulting in above the knee amputation. Laura Gooding was appointed as a district judge in January 2023.