The Legal 500

St Johns Buildings is a nationally recognised Chambers, delivering expert advocacy services from its Northern circuit base. With more than 160 members, including 11 silks, and 50 ‘pro-active’ clerks and support staff. St Johns Buildings is one of the largest and fastest growing sets in the country. Commercially minded and progressive in its approach to legal services, this expansion has occurred on the back of an outstanding reputation in its specialist practice areas and through the drive and ambition of its members and support staff

The set: Based in three North-West cities and with growth plans that include Sheffield and Liverpool, the set has long been recognised as instrumental in the Bar’s move towards larger advocacy units, often known as the ‘super-set’ model, offering clients access to the highest quality of practitioner at every level and in a wide variety of legal disciplines.

Each St Johns Buildings site is a Chambers in its own right, with market-leading facilities and locally-based staff and barristers, providing clients with convenient and effective access to the skills of its members. The set is well placed to take advantage of the Legal Services Act, and is forward thinking when it comes to unique fee arrangements, CFAs, block contracting and emerging working practices. The members and staff are accustomed to tendering for work and working to pre-agreed contracting arrangements and service level agreements, which are operated to the benefit of clients.

St Johns Buildings’ barristers, facilities and staff can be further viewed on the Chambers’ website (www.stjohnsbuildings.co.uk), and can be discussed with the relevant senior clerk, the chief clerk or the development manager by contacting Chambers.

Types of work undertaken: Covering crime, regulatory law, employment, family, personal injury, clinical negligence, commercial and public law, Chambers delivers a client-focused service to the highest standards of professional excellence, with more than 20% of members being recognised as leading practitioners in their field by ‘The Legal 500’ in 2010. Each practice area is clerked by a team of specialist staff, all of whom can be contacted at clerk@stjohnsbuildings.co.uk. The support staff are efficient, knowledgeable and approachable, and will ensure that clients’ needs are accommodated wherever possible.

Chambers also runs a dedicated mediation unit and caters for joint settlement and mediation hearings on site. This includes accredited family, commercial and employment law mediators.

Chambers’ commitment to the highest quality of advocacy, service and management is reflected in its continuing accreditation from BARMARK and ISO 9001. Each SJB location has excellent IT and communication facilities and Chambers continues to invest in the latest technology for the benefit of its clients.

Clinical negligence: with some of the leading practitioners at the Bar, representing individuals, NHS Trusts, medical practitioners and consultants, the clinical negligence team has vast experience. Acting for claimants and defendants including medical negligence, claims arising out of cosmetic surgery, dental negligence, government inquiries and disciplinary tribunals.

Commercial: expert in banking, credit and securities, general commercial, property, chancery, intellectual property and fraud, including mediation and ADR.

Criminal: with more than 70 dedicated criminal advocates, the criminal team is accustomed to covering all aspects and levels of complexity of criminal cases for both prosecution and defence.

Employment: with specialists in all aspects of employment law, including all employment rights, both contentious and non-contentious, Chambers can offer a comprehensive employment service, including mediation and ADR.

Family: Chambers continues to build on its reputation as the leading family set in the North and houses several top-ranking family practitioners. The team covers all areas of family work, including public law cases for local authorities, parents and guardians, and all forms of financial provision cases, judicial review and removal from jurisdiction cases.

Mediation: Chambers has a dedicated mediation unit, with accredited mediators, including a Silk mediator and numerous barristers who are accustomed to representing clients in mediation hearings. The unit delivers mediation services in commercial, PI, employment and family law.

Personal injury: work is undertaken for both claimants and defendants from a wide range of individuals and organisations. With expertise in serious head and spinal injury cases, industrial diseases, fatal accidents, work-related stress and road traffic accidents.

Public law: with eminent Queens’ Counsel and several highly-regarded junior barristers, the public law team has an extensive knowledge of all aspects of public law, including mental health, education, social services, judicial review proceedings, public procurement, countryside law and FOI/data protection.

Regulatory: Chambers provides expertise in regulatory matters including cases involving the HSE, Environmental Agency, Solicitors Regulatory Authority, GMC, General Dental Council, Police Disciplinary and Appeals Tribunals, OFSTED, Local Authorities, RSPCA and Inquests work.