The Legal 500

Within Chancery, commercial, insolvency and banking,

No5 Chambers’ Richard Jones QC is a general commercial litigator and is ‘thorough and down to earth’. The ‘charming’ David Taylor, who is recommended for property, landlord and tenant and contractual matters, is ‘blessed with clarity of thought and fine intellect’. David Mitchell has a ‘very keen legal mind’ and has a traditional chancery practice. The ‘pragmatic, robust and determined’ Nicola Preston handles wills, probate, tax planning matters and commercial litigation. Glenn Willetts is a ‘strong trial advocate’ and is a commercial practitioner. David Holloway, who is a ‘very good technical lawyer who is always available and highly responsive’, deals with international commercial dispute resolution in the energy, construction and shipping sectors. Newly made up silk Mark Anderson QC is recommended for complex commercial litigation and company-related disputes.

Within Crime,

No5 Chambers’ saw the recent appointment of three silks to its criminal team, namely Michael Duck QC, the ‘very able and experienced’ Simon Drew QC, and Adrian Keeling QC, who takes a ‘common-sense approach to matters and cuts through the irrelevancies’. Other notable silks include Anthony Barker QC, who is recommended for corporate manslaughter, Christopher Hotten QC, who is adept at handling the most high-profile and complex murders, and the ‘exceptional’ Rex Tedd QC. Mark Heywood has a prosecution-oriented practice, and Sally Hancox has a mixed practice with a particular interest in mental health issues. Alexander Stein is ‘very hardworking and efficient’, and is recommended for regulatory crime.

Within Employment,

No5 Chambers has an ‘excellent reputation within the employment field’. Richard Hignett is ‘tactically astute’ as well as a ‘shrewd and incisive cross-examiner’. Adrienne Morgan is ‘unflappable’ and a ‘very safe pair of hands’, and Anthony Korn is ‘diligent, technical and thorough’. Andrew McGrath is ‘thoroughly reliable’, and his ‘significant experience and vast knowledge of employment law allows him to identify the key issues quickly’. Russell Bailey is a ‘first-tier barrister’ who has a ‘great ability to tease out the real issues in a complex legal dispute’. Richard Case is ‘very impressive’, and Helen Barney ‘absorbs papers and information quickly’, and is ‘personable and easy to deal with’.

Within Family,

No5 Chambers’ ‘very strong family team’ includes the following ancillary relief practitioners: Robin Rowland, who is a ‘leader at the senior level’; Ashley Wynne, who is ‘always exceptionally well prepared for every case’; and Christopher James. Michele Friel is a ‘regional leader’ on Children Act matters, and Lorna Meyer QC also comes highly recommended for children matters. Victoria Clifford is ‘extremely good at her level in relation to children and finance work’, and Stephanie Brown is a ‘favourite’ on circuit. Dewinder Birk recently joined from St Mary’s Chambers.

Within Overview, No5 Chambers (Chambers of Paul Bleasdale QC) is a first tier firm,

The leading sets in Birmingham are St Philips Chambers, which is a ‘commercially astute set’ with clerks who are ‘phenomenal at securing the barrister clients wish to instruct’; and No5 Chambers, which is the ‘number-one set’ for personal injury matters and has an outstanding planning and environmental team. St Ive’s Chambers is the preeminent family and housing law set on circuit; 1 High Pavement houses strong criminal law practitioners; and Cornwall Street Chambers’ family team is well respected. In Nottingham, the civil and chancery Ropewalk Chambers, which is an ‘excellent set’ that is ‘underpinned by the excellence of its clerks and solid administrative support’, has recently moved into state-of-the-art premises. KCH Garden Square has merged with a local Leicester set, taking the set’s head count to over 60. St Mary’s Chambers remains a prominent family law set.

Within Personal injury and clinical negligence,

No5 Chambers is the ‘number-one set in Birmingham for personal injury work’, and has ‘a plethora of excellent clinical negligence barristers’. The ‘technically flawless and accomplished advocate’ Satinder Hunjan QC and Paul Bleasdale QC, who is ‘very much in demand’, are recommended for PI. Other recommended PI practitioners include Simon Michael ( who is‘easily at a level higher than many silks’); Richard Moat (‘excellent’); Matthew Brunning (‘high level of service’); and Henry Pitchers (‘very personable, thorough, and thoughtful’). The clinical negligence team includes Dr Jonathan Punt (‘truly exceptional’; will ‘find a case that others would not be able to’); Jonathan Jones (‘clear with clients and is able to give strong advice when it is needed’); Karl Hirst (‘a real star in the senior junior group’); and Chris Bright QC (‘first-class advocate’).

Within Planning, public law and regulatory,

No5 Chambers’ has a ‘very strong planning and environmental team’, which includes heavyweight silks such as Jeremy Cahill QC, Martin Kingston QC and Anthony Crean QC. Ian Dove QC is ‘simply a star’ and has a notable regeneration and environmental law practice. At the junior end, Christopher Young and Peter Goatley, who is ‘thorough, easy to work with, and a good advocate’, are also recommended. Omar Ensaff is recommended for construction matters. Sarah Clover, who is ‘exceptional and handles clients ’ more complex hearings’, is rated for her ‘attention to detail on licensing matters, particularly for gaming’. David Lock QC is highly recommended for complex public law matters, as is Bernard Thorogood for regulatory matters.

Within Treasury Panel Lists Region 2

Within Construction, planning, licensing and environmental,

Paul Cairnes, Richard Kimblin and Gordon Wignall are part of No5 Chambers’ exceptional planning and environmental law team.

Within Overview, No5 Chambers (Chambers of Paul Bleasdale QC) is a second tier firm,

With five specialist teams in place and as a holder of BARMARK, Guildhall Chambers is ‘truly a viable alternative to London chambers’. It has a national and international insolvency reputation, a niche sports law offering and an ever-growing personal injury and clinical negligence team. St John’s Chambers’ clerks ‘really do appear to consider carefully recommendations when they are asked for them’, and the set continues to have the leading family team in Bristol. Despite several losses to the bench, Albion Chambers remains a prominent crime and family set and has an ‘extremely high standard of clerking’. Queen Square Chambers is a ‘very friendly and professional set’ that continues to have a leading employment team. Outside of Bristol, 12 College Place, which is also a holder of BARMARK, and College Chambers service Southampton, as does Devon Chambers in Plymouth. The ‘very good’ Colleton Chambers and Rougemont Chambers, along with Walnut House, are the pre-eminent sets in Exeter and Taunton. Leading Bristol annexes include Old Square Chambers, whose clerks are ‘very helpful and flexible to ensure suitable counsel is available’, and 3PB that provides a ‘“Rolls-Royce” service; right from head of chambers at the top, to junior clerks’. 3 Pump Court and Doughty Street Chambers also have a presence on circuit, and No5 Chambers’ Bristol annex provides a ‘niche, almost boutique service which distinguishes itself from the Birmingham and London chambers’. 1 Paper Buildings is highly visible on this circuit, particularly in Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester. With the opening of the new Bristol Civil Court Centre, it is expected that an increasing volume of work will stay in the hands of local sets.

Within Personal injury and clinical negligence,

No5 Chambers’ Dr Simon Fox has the ‘ability to cut through the issues in complicated cases’, and is a ‘clinical negligence specialist who impresses’. Chris Bright QC is a ‘first-class advocate’ who produces ‘coherent case plans’.