Alexander Hutton KC > Hailsham Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile
Hailsham Chambers Offices
CHAMBERS OF JULIAN PICTON QC
4 PAPER BUILDINGS, TEMPLE
EC4Y 7EX
England
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Alexander Hutton KC
Position
Alexander’s practice is focused in two fields: clinical negligence, for claimants and defendants, and all aspects of costs law.
In both these fields, Alexander is recommended in the highest band of leading silks in the directories and acts in connection with a range of clinical negligence cases, with special focus on those of the most serious nature and highest value. He has also appeared in many of the leading costs cases over the last 20 years, and was chair of the committee that introduced the now mandatory electronic bill of costs.
“Has an ability to cut through detail to the crux of a case with unerring accuracy and confidence” Legal 500 2021
“A go-to leader for big costs actions and cases concerning complex issues relating to the recoverability of success fees” Chambers UK 2021
“He is incredibly personable and has great tactical awareness” Legal 500 2020
“He always achieves what often seems to be an impossible result” Chambers UK 2018
“He does what not many counsel do in that he’s equally good on paper as he is on his feet in court” Chambers UK 2017
“A likeable and knowledgeable silk, and an excellent advocate” “He is brilliant on his feet.” The Legal 500 2017
“Alex is a beautifully skilled advocate. He is good at cross-examination and affable and easy to work with.” Chambers UK 2016
It is said of him that “he has the sharpest intellect, technical prowess and among the best advocacy skills around” (The Legal 500 2014). In costs, “he has a superb command of costs law and is a measured and tenacious advocate” (Chambers UK 2015). He is regularly instructed in some of the largest and most complex clinical negligence actions. Over a number of years, he has appeared in a substantial number of the most important costs cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal.
“A recent silk whose reputation continues to rise, thanks particularly to the strength of his intellect and the power of his courtroom advocacy”, “he’s an excellent all-rounder, who is very bright and good with clients” Chambers UK 2014
“He has the sharpest intellect, technical prowess and among the best advocacy skills around.’ Legal 500 2014.
As the quotes above suggest, Alexander is an all-rounder with recognised strengths on paper, on mastering difficult medical and legal issues and in person with clients and in court, whether as a trial or appellate advocate. Alexander is instructed in cases involving all aspects of medicine and medical law, with particular emphasis on maximum value injury cases and those which involve complex medical and legal issues. He has always had a mixed practice of claimant and defendant work in both clinical negligence and costs.
Career
Called 1992, Gray’s Inn; KC 2012; Junior Counsel to the Crown (B Panel) 1999-2005; barrister assessor for costs appeals to High Court judges since 1999.
Memberships
South-Eastern Circuit; Professional Negligence Bar Association; Personal Injury Bar Association; AvMA.
Education
University of Bristol (1990 BSc Politics First-class Hons); University of Westminster (CPE).
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Costs
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Alexander Hutton KC –Hailsham Chambers ‘Alexander is utterly charming and a top-dog of the costs Bar.’
Hailsham Chambers are a ‘go-to set for costs related matters’, where in addition to the highly regarded advocacy on major precedent-setting cases, members are valued for their advisory and drafting skills, frequently handling complex retainers and funding arrangements on which the recovery of millions of pounds of fees may depend. The ‘wonderful’ Jamie Carpenter KC successfully defeated a High Court appeal in Diag Human & Stava v Volterra Fietta, with the ruling that it was not possible to sever the hourly rate part of a retainer with an unenforceable success fee. Alexander Hutton KC acted for the appellant in Harrison v University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, with the Court of Appeal handing down a ruling in December 2022 that compensation as part of a settlement, like as part of an award of damages, cannot be set off against litigation costs in cases where qualified one-way costs shifting applies. At junior level, Joshua Munro faced senior opposition in McGuinness v Mawer, a long-running case that saw the High Court find that disclosure of a CFA is no longer the norm where there is no inter partes success fee.
London Bar > Clinical negligence
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Alexander Hutton KC –Hailsham Chambers ‘Alexander is first-class – he is a strong advocate, has excellent attention to detail and is able to grapple with the most complex issues in clinical negligence liability and quantum cases.’
The ‘first-class’ clinical negligence barristers at Hailsham Chambers are ‘experts in their field’, acting for claimants and defendants. The set also has professional negligence and inquest practices, and members are experienced in mediation. Alexander Hutton KC was recently involved in the case of HM v Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – acting for the trust in an claim against them involving complications in an operation which led to brain damage. Tejina Mangat has experience in maximum severity injury cases, with significant medical expertise; Jane Tracy Forster has substantial experience in birth asphyxia claims, including claims involving cerebral palsy.