Inquests and inquiries

Leading Silks
2023 Silks
2024 Silks

Leading silks

KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.

Brian Altman KC

‘Brian is an excellent advocate. He works incredibly hard, has the ability to understand complex information very quickly and has a analytical and forensic mind.'

Fiona Barton KC

5 Essex Chambers

Fiona fights for her clients with great vigour.’

5 Essex Chambers

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

Hugh Davies OBE KC

Three Raymond Buildings

A devilishly good cross-examiner and a true fighter who puts fear into his opponents.'

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC

Doughty Street Chambers

‘Caoilfhionn is a powerhouse. She is incredibly intelligent, strategic and committed.'

Patrick Gibbs KC

Three Raymond Buildings

Jonathan Hough KC

'You want Jon on your side. He is a breathtaking advocate: incisive and compelling.'

Samantha Leek KC

5 Essex Chambers

‘Samantha's forensic attention to detail is superb, and her experience in the public inquiry sector is immense.'

Cathryn McGahey KC

Temple Garden Chambers

Keith Morton KC

Temple Garden Chambers

‘Keith is very responsive, clear, easy to work with, has immense knowledge, keeps clients calm and focused and really understands the commercial and political sensitivities in which we work.'

Andrew O’Connor KC

Temple Garden Chambers

‘Andrew is the best tactician out there. He can work through all the permutations of a problem and ensure that the client is given concise, well reasoned advice.'

Peter Skelton KC

1 Crown Office Row

Peter is a first rate draftsman with a real flair for capturing complicated questions in clear and easily-understood prose.'

Leslie Thomas KC

Garden Court Chambers

Kate Blackwell KC

A wonderful, responsive advocate.'

Gerard Boyle KC

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

A very thorough and robust advocate.'

Bridget Dolan KC

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

‘Bridget is a tour de force in the coroner world. She is the go-to guru for advice on difficult coronial issues and simply the best as counsel to the inquest.’

Danny Friedman KC

Matrix Chambers

‘Danny is a superb inquiry silk: forensically smart; a passionate advocate; and thoroughly charming.’

Jonathan Glasson KC

Matrix Chambers

Jonathan is an excellent leader. He is very strategic and garners confidence from clients with ease.'

Nicholas Griffin KC

QEB Hollis Whiteman

‘Incisiveness combined with empathy, experience and sensitivity to court dynamics make him an exceptional choice for any inquest or public inquiry.'

Richard Horwell KC

Three Raymond Buildings

Richard is a phenomenal barrister. A very powerful advocate and a force of nature in the hearing room.'

Phillippa Kaufmann KC

Matrix Chambers

Three Raymond Buildings

‘Hugo is highly intelligent and hard working. An exceptional choice for difficult and high profile inquests and inquiries.'

Jonathan Laidlaw KC

Prashant Popat KC

Henderson Chambers

‘Without doubt the absolute premier inquests and inquiries barrister. Thorough, forensic, amazing presentation of complicated issues with unrivalled expertise in picking experts to pieces.’

Neil Sheldon KC

1 Crown Office Row

‘Neil is brilliant. He is calm and focused in what can be very distressing and difficult circumstances.'

Stephen Walsh KC

Three Raymond Buildings

‘A much respected senior practitioner. Stephen is calm, sensible, intelligent and a highly effective lawyer.'

Dominic Adamson KC

Temple Garden Chambers

Dominic is an absolute delight to work with. His strategic instincts are second to none.'

Simon Antrobus KC

Crown Office Chambers

‘Simon has a phenomenal capacity and an ability to assimilate a vast amount of evidence which us mere mortals can only dream about.'

Temple Garden Chambers

Clodagh Bradley KC

1 Crown Office Row

‘A superb advocate, Clodagh is articulate and so empathic to families: they feel she is fighting their corner.'

Matthew Butt KC

Three Raymond Buildings

Brenda Campbell KC

Garden Court Chambers

Oliver Campbell KC

Henderson Chambers

‘Unbelievably able, knowledgeable advocate and carries enormous gravitas and respect in court and with clients.’

Sarah Clarke KC

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

‘Sarah is forthright, determined, well prepared, articulate and strong on the law. She is a persuasive advocate.'

A gifted advocate who brings complete commitment to every case he does.’

Clair Dobbin KC

Three Raymond Buildings

‘Incredibly hard working, Clair is a master of the detail. Her calm court room manner belies an huge amount of industry.’

Katharine Gollop KC

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

great mind with an ability to consider, decipher and retain details of evidence that others may overlook. Katie’s wealth of experience in health matters is second to none.'

39 Essex Chambers

Kate has a skillful mastery of a wide range of complex technical issues across multiple expert disciplines, and her excellent command of a plethora of technical detail.'

Eleanor Grey KC

39 Essex Chambers

Eleanor is phenomenal in the healthcare field and is a go-to silk for both inquiries and judicial review in that area.'

Crown Office Chambers

'Dominic is exceptional in every way - he is an expert advocate, produces high quality written work and has an unrivalled attention to detail.'

Nageena Khalique KC

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

‘Nageena is sharp, tactical, witty and very easy to work with, combining intelligence, steeliness and warmth.'

Andrew Kinnier KC

Henderson Chambers

‘An extremely bright lawyer with excellent judgement.'

Sarah Lambert KC

1 Crown Office Row

Sarah is incredibly approachable, and has an excellent way about her with clients, experts and clinicians. She is very knowledgeable and you feel that you are in safe hands when you instruct her.'

A superb advocate with a commanding presence and fantastic attention to detail.'

Richard Matthews KC

One Mayfair Place

Richard is exceptionally bright, shrewd and focused on the right outcome for the client.'

James Maxwell-Scott KC

Crown Office Chambers

A calm and understated advocate with great judgement.’

Allison Munroe KC

Garden Court Chambers

3

Alan Payne KC

39 Essex Chambers

Debra Powell KC

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

Debra has an eye for detail and identifies the key issues facing the client quickly. Her calm and reassuring manner is effective when supporting witnesses. '

Shaheen Rahman KC

1 Crown Office Row

Shaheen is a brilliant advocate and excellent on her feet. She has a real skill for making sure the family feel like they have a voice.'

Michael Rawlinson KC

12 King’s Bench Walk

Jenni Richards KC

39 Essex Chambers

Jenni is a strong and calming presence in any case. She is very bright and extremely well prepared, and tenacious in her representation of her client.'

Oliver Sanders KC

1 Crown Office Row

Malcolm Sheehan KC

Henderson Chambers

Malcolm is a very impressive barrister and an all-rounder – he is extremely personable and responsive and his advocacy and strategic thinking are strong.’

Stephen Simblet KC

Garden Court Chambers

Hugh Southey KC

Matrix Chambers

5 Essex Chambers

'Hugely intelligent and calm under pressure.'

David Travers KC

Gough Square Chambers

‘David's a masterful tactician and an outstanding advocate.'

Claire Watson KC

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

Claire is renowned for her unparalleled expertise in navigating the intricacies of coroner’s inquests with meticulous attention to detail and technical precision.’

3

Anne Whyte KC

QEB Hollis Whiteman

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers

Jude Bunting KC

Doughty Street Chambers

Jude is exceptional because he has the courage to take on the fights that others wouldn't. He is collaborative, extremely clever, a brilliant drafter and warm and kind with clients.'

Jamie Burton KC

Doughty Street Chambers

'Jamie is clear, considered and was a pleasure to work with on a very technical and complex case.'

Gerard Forlin KC

Cornerstone Barristers

A robust and confident advocate.’

Henderson Chambers

‘Tim's experience and technical knowledge enable him to stay abreast of detailed evidence and provide strategic, yet sensible advice to clients.'

1 Crown Office Row

Laura Johnson KC

'Laura is an incredibly skilled advocate who reads the room well.'

Susannah Johnson KC

Susannah is a poised and impressive advocate, and an excellent lawyer.'

QEB Hollis Whiteman

Tom is exceptionally diligent in his approach to every case. He is analytical and has real flair as an advocate - calm, measured and yet incisive.'

Rachel Langdale KC

Rachel is a fantastic strategic thinker, a clear and concise drafter and someone who works astonishingly hard.’

Richard Lissack KC

Fountain Court Chambers

Garden Court Chambers

Doughty Street Chambers

Tim is an exceptional advocate. He knows exactly which points to take and he makes them persuasively, to great effect.'

Nicholas Moss KC

Temple Garden Chambers

‘Outstanding and scrupulous attention to detail – a master of his brief.'

Rory Phillips KC

3 Verulam Buildings

Selva Ramasamy KC

QEB Hollis Whiteman

Toby Riley-Smith KC

Henderson Chambers

Fiona Scolding KC

Landmark Chambers

Fiona is a first class silk. She has an unparalleled ability to assimilate huge volumes of material.'

Doughty Street Chambers

‘Maya is a formidable advocate and exactly the kind of person you want fighting in your corner. She is incredibly dedicated to her clients and goes above and beyond to achieve justice.'

Steven Snowden KC

12 King’s Bench Walk

‘Steven displays consummate ability as a Silk, particularly as an advocate.'

James Strachan KC

39 Essex Chambers

‘James has that rare combination of a huge brain and spot-on judgement. He gets straight to the heart of the issue.’

Doughty Street Chambers

‘Adam is a very astute and persuasive advocate. Never afraid of a novel argument.'

Doughty Street Chambers

‘Katy has formidable medico-legal knowledge and has the ability to explain the most complicated of legal concepts and complex evidence in simple terms. '

Geraint Webb KC

Henderson Chambers

He is extremely intelligent, has the ability to cut straight to the issues even in complex technical claims, and is well-liked by clients.'

Aswini Weereratne KC

Doughty Street Chambers

‘Aswini is a persuasive and impactful advocate, and an excellent lawyer.'

Richard Whittam KC

Matrix Chambers

2023 Silks

KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.

Nick Armstrong KC

Matrix Chambers

is an exceptional advocate - calm and considered while also fearlessly advocating on behalf of families.'

Richard Baker KC

‘Richard is an unparalleled advocate'

2 Temple Gardens

Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC

Matrix Chambers

Fiona Murphy KC

Doughty Street Chambers

A very effective advocate for her client’s interests: forensically smart and a class act.’

No5 Barristers’ Chambers

Francesca Whitelaw KC

5 Essex Chambers

Francesca is an astute tactician and calm and persuasive in court.'

2024 Silks

KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.

Dermot Keating KC

Dermot is always meticulous in his preparation. He is a careful and considered advocate.’

David Manknell KC

1 Crown Office Row

David has extremely good attention to detail and has a calming presence with clients.'

Saba Naqshbandi KC

Three Raymond Buildings

‘Saba's intelligence is immediately recognisable and it demands a respect and captures attention.'

Richard O’Brien KC

‘A perfect fit for sensitive knotty cases. He is a strategic thinker with excellent instincts about the potential consequences of alternative routes.'