The Legal 500

1 Chancery Lane is a leading civil common law set specialising in professional and clinical negligence, personal injury, police, education, travel and property litigation. Practice areas also include novel duty of care claims against public authorities, consumer law, health and safety, human rights, discrimination, social welfare law, undue influence claims and judicial review.

The set: The set occupies modern, state-of-the-art premises on the corner of Chancery Lane and Fleet Street, which provide extensive client areas and incorporate the latest conference and information technology facilities.

In key areas of practice, members of chambers have been involved in leading cases and offer expertise at all levels. They are accustomed to working with one another in teams, providing complementary skills and levels of experience. They also recognise the importance of working in teams with clients, are sympathetic to the pressures on a solicitor’s time, and seek to provide a cost-effective and efficient litigation team or advisory service. Flexibility and teamwork contribute to the set’s ability to undertake cases regularly on a conditional fee basis.

Types of work undertaken: Clinical negligence is a leading specialism in chambers and covers cervical screening errors, negligence leading to cerebral palsy, serious brain damage or paralysis and claims for failed sterilisation, negligently performed spinal surgery, failed plastic surgery and late diagnosis.

In the wider field of professional negligence disputes, members are regularly instructed in all aspects of professional liability involving accountants, construction professionals, surveyors, insurance brokers, financial advisers, solicitors and barristers.

A large proportion of the work undertaken at 1 Chancery Lane relates to disputes involving public authorities and regulatory bodies. Members of chambers have appeared in a number of ground-breaking claims for damages against local education authorities, social services departments and police forces, which often include human rights issues. They also undertake a considerable quantity of work in the area of discipline and regulation.

Members are instructed in all types of commercial disputes. These include non-marine commercial contract work, construction and engineering litigation, all areas of employment-related work, non-marine insurance and reinsurance (including policy construction work) and material loss claims.

Expertise in personal injury matters includes disaster litigation, industrial injuries and asbestos-related diseases, road traffic claims, stress-related illnesses, multi-party claims involving allegations of sexual abuse and complex issues of assessment of damages and implementation of structured settlements.

1 Chancery Lane has a travel law team that deals with all aspects of overseas accident litigation (acting for claimants, defendants and their insurers) in contractual recovery actions against overseas suppliers and in international and national regulatory compliance issues.

The property team is well known for its landlord and tenant work and its commercial property work. It also deals with real property matters, including land registration and matters relating to agricultural holdings and housing. The set undertakes all forms of claims in tort relating to land, particularly those involving issues of nuisance, professional negligence, public liability and statutory duty. These include interference with property rights, pollution and environmental claims, geotechnical surveys and disputes relating to the contamination of land.