The Legal 500

This highly regarded Manchester set provides specialist expertise in commercial law, property, health and safety, general Chancery work, crime, including fraud, employment, family law including mental health, health and safety law and personal injury.

The set: Chambers was established in Manchester over 100 years ago. The last decade has brought rapid and radical change and 9 St John Street now comprises 11 silks and 69 junior counsel supported by diligent clerking and administration teams determined to meet the requirements and expectations of clients. It is one of the leading sets of the Northern Circuit.

Chambers is committed to providing a modern, accessible and efficient service whilst maintaining its reputation for excellence and integrity. Its premises provide up-to-date, well equipped and comfortable accommodation conveniently located in the centre of Manchester, with state-of-the art video-conferencing facilities.

Chambers has a continuing education committee and is authorised by the Law Society to give accredited seminars for CPD purposes. The committee organises lectures for defence solicitors and other parties.

Types of work undertaken: To meet the increasing demands for specialisation, members have formed themselves into six special interest groups.

The commercial and property group has extensive experience in all civil courts. Members regularly appear in the Mercantile Court, the Chancery Division and the technology and construction courts. Expertise includes banking, building and construction, commercial litigation including business sales, carriage of goods, consumer credit, contract, leasing and sale of goods, commercial arbitration, both domestic and international, commercial drafting, professional negligence in legal, financial and property matters, general Chancery matters, land and boundary disputes, conveyancing, easements, inheritance, probate, wills and trusts, as well as company law, intellectual property, insolvency, landlord and tenant work, housing, equitable remedies and pre-trial relief.

The criminal group provides specialists in all areas with notable experience in homicide, fraud, sexual offences and drugs. Some members have particular expertise in trading standards as well as confiscation, police law and human rights.

The employment group practises in every area with notable expertise in unfair and wrongful dismissal, discrimination and equal opportunities, strikes and trade disputes, as well as transfer of undertakings, restraint of trade and confidential information, public law and judicial review. It acts for employees and trade unions and for private and public employers and employers’ associations, appearing throughout the UK in tribunals and courts at first instance, on appeal and at disciplinary hearings. Members undertake non-contentious drafting of employment contracts and post-termination restraints.

The family group offers a wealth of experience in areas including adoption, ancillary relief, appeals, care proceedings, child abduction and cohabitees’ property disputes as well as contact and residence, divorce, nullity and judicial separation, domestic violence and applications under the Family Law Act 1996 as well as inheritance matters. Mental health is a specialism.

The health and safety group has a wealth of experience of working in this specialist area. It is well-balanced, in terms of prosecuting and defending complicated cases, including corporate manslaugter cases, across a wide range of other cases involving HSWA and other regulatory breaches. The group also offers specialist expertise in relation to inquests linked to HSE investigations and in particular those involving difficult disclosure and/or causation issues. Clients include the HSE, CPS, Special Casework Directorate, local authorities, as well as private companies.

Members of the personal injury and clinical negligence group appear in many leading cases and are regularly involved in large-scale personal injury litigation, including group actions. Strengths include high-value cases involving brain damage or serious spinal injury, industrial disease, including occupational cancers, deafness, allegations of fraud or malingering, clinical negligence and fatal accidents.