The Legal 500

Within Treasury Panel Lists Region 6

Within Commercial, insolvency and property,

St John’s Chambers’ Leslie Blohm QC is ‘extremely knowledgeable in all areas of property litigation’ in addition to commercial litigation: he recently led Guy Adams in a key case at the Supreme Court. The set’s property team also includes Richard Stead (‘a forceful advocate who is not afraid to argue novel points’); John Sharples (‘an extremely good property lawyer’); and Charles Auld (‘a practical lawyer with a gift for settling cases in a constructive manner’). James Pearce-Smith, who is ‘quick to master instructions and good with clients’, handles commercial, property and professional negligence claims. Alex Troup, who is a property and probate practitioner, is ‘among the most skilful barristers’ and ‘adopts a truly collaborative approach to each case’. Andrew Marsden, who ‘leaves no stone unturned’, handles complex company, commercial and partnership disputes; Martha Maher is the set’s go-to insolvency barrister; and John Dickinson and Christopher Jones are also highly rated.

Within Construction, planning, licensing and environmental,

St John’s Chambers’ Peter Wadsley, who ‘brings clear and concise thinking to the table’, and David Fletcher are recommended for planning matters. Professor Roy Light is an ‘excellent licensing advocate’, whose ‘well-honed communication skills warrant particular mention’.

Within Employment,

St John’s Chambers’ Matthew White handles a wide range of employment matters and is adept at representing clients in the High Court and EAT.

Within Family,

St John’s Chambers has a ‘high calibre of senior and junior barristers’, which includes Susan Jacklin QC, who is ‘absolutely meticulous so that not a single page of evidence is ever left unscrutinised’, and Christopher Sharp QC, who are both ‘exemplars of legal wisdom and court craft’. Andrew Commins has a ‘steely yet deft approach’, is ‘outstanding for his call’, and has a ‘lucid and well-planned’ advocacy style. Susan Hunter ‘defuses even the most stressful of situations with her dry wit and ability to empathise’, and is ‘extremely tenacious when warranted’. Lucy Reed has an ‘impressive ability to get to the crux of a complicated and messy dispute’. Robin Tolson QC, Catriona Duthie and Kambiz Moradifar are also recommended.

Within Health and safety, and regulatory,

St John’s Chambers’ Simon Morgan ‘always shows an ability to make firm, logical decisions very quickly’, is a ‘formidable advocate’, and has a mixed crime, regulatory and inquest practice.

Within Overview, St John's Chambers (Chambers of Richard Stead) is a first 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,

St John’s Chambers’ practice head Glyn Edwards is ‘among the best senior juniors for PI work’, whose ‘unstuffy approach helps him communicate appropriately with clients’. Claimant-focused Timothy Grice handles high-value catastrophic injury and complex clinical negligence cases, and is ‘excellent with technical special damage claims’. Richard Stead specialises in brain and spinal injury claims, and is an equine and Animal Act expert. Andrew McLaughlin is ‘very enthusiastic, committed and demonstrates excellent knowledge of the subject area’. Anna Symington is ‘technically very good’, and is noted for her civil fraud expertise. Christopher Sharp QC is also highly rated for complex brain and spinal injury cases.