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Police Law (claimant)

1
Doughty Street Chambers
2
Garden Court Chambers
Matrix Chambers

Leading Silks

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Nicholas Bowen KC – Doughty Street Chambers 'He has an ability to sniff out a novel point of law. He has a strong knowledge of the law concerning police and public authority liability and is creative with it.'      
Phillippa Kaufmann KC - Matrix Chambers
Hugh Southey KC – Matrix Chambers 'Hugh is very creative with his ideas and legal arguments and operates at a high level of legal thought. He is always up to date with the latest developments in domestic law but also drawing on developments internationally.'
Leslie Thomas KC – Garden Court Chambers 'He is a fantastic trial advocate, excellent at cross examination and appeals to juries. He has excellent client care skills and is a pleasure to work with.'
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Stephen Cragg KC – Doughty Street Chambers 'As a former solicitor, he has a keen understanding and empathy with solicitors and has great client care skills. He is very intelligent, exceptionally hard working, and takes on novel cases which push at the boundaries of the law.'     
Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC – Doughty Street Chambers
Richard Hermer KC - Matrix Chambers
Anthony Metzer KC – Goldsmith Chambers 'Anthony is an excellent barrister to instruct in matters pertaining to police law. His collaborative approach ensures that clients are represented to the best of the legal team’s ability.’      
Matthew Ryder KC – Matrix Chambers ‘One of the most impressive barristers solicitors have seen in decades. He has fantastic judgement.’
Stephen Simblet KC – Garden Court Chambers 'Stephen is a tenacious barrister and an excellent advocate. He has case law at his fingertips.'   
3
Jamie Burton KC – Doughty Street Chambers 'Jamie is a strong all-rounder. Good with clients, good advocacy and very committed. He is phenomenally clever and brings an incisive analysis to every case he considers.'      
Maya Sikand KC – Doughty Street Chambers ‘Maya is an excellent all round barrister. She is very knowledgeable and a formidable opponent but combines that with being very approachable and able to establish a good rapport with clients.’
Adam Straw KC – Doughty Street Chambers

2022 Silks

Jude Bunting KC - Doughty Street Chambers

2023 Silks

Fiona Murphy KC – Doughty Street Chambers ‘Clients absolutely love her. A fierce advocate, incredibly intelligent and always a calming presence. A real joy to work with.’

Leading Juniors

1
Ifeanyi Odogwu – Matrix Chambers
Nick Brown – Doughty Street Chambers ‘Nick is a leading junior in his field. He has excellent knowledge, his written work is excellent. He works collaboratively with solicitors to get the best results for highly vulnerable clients’.   
Sarah Hemingway – Garden Court Chambers ‘Sarah is a great balance between being very pragmatic but also an energising force on a case.'
Nick Stanage – Doughty Street Chambers ‘Nick is very strategic as a barrister. He quickly comes to a conclusion on the issues and plans a way forward.’ 
Tom Stoate – Doughty Street Chambers 'Tom is a really gifted advocate, particularly in front of juries. His drafting is excellent and he has great strategic approach to guiding cases to success.'      
2
Adam Clemens – 7BR ‘Adam’s advice is always extremely clear and cuts through the issues. He is an extremely effective advocate both in court and when negotiating a settlement.’   
Ian Daniels – 2 Hare Court
Raj Desai – Matrix Chambers 'Very clever, careful, imaginative and easy to work with.'   
Alison Gerry – Doughty Street Chambers
Sam Jacobs – Doughty Street Chambers ‘Sam is brilliant, hugely in demand. Realistic and pragmatic. A strong intellect and he is pragmatic.’
Helen Law –Matrix Chambers   'One of the most able advocates of her generation. Her knowledge across the areas of her practice are formidable and she puts this to excellent use in her advocacy.'     
David Lemer – Doughty Street Chambers ‘A solid and hard working junior, who leaves no stone unturned. Technically good and easy to work with.’      
Una Morris – Garden Court Chambers 'Una is fiercely intelligent, is able to think creatively and has excellent drafting.' 
Jesse Nicholls – Matrix Chambers ‘Jesse a very hard-working, conscientious and tenacious barrister specialising in actions against the police.’
Patrick Roche – Garden Court Chambers ‘Excellent advocacy skills. He brings a very rounded, fresh approach. He is impressively thorough in his analysis with an exceptional eye for detail, very conscientious. He is also very responsive.’         
Rajeev Thacker – Garden Court Chambers 'Rajeev is careful, clever and clear. He is good with both clients and opponents and really easy to work with.'

Rising Stars

Tim-James Matthews  – Matrix Chambers

Police law (claimant) in London Bar

Doughty Street Chambers

Doughty Street Chambers‘ Nicholas Bowen KC , who handles high-profile cases at first instance and on appeal, is instructed in a case by the former owner of London Fields Brewery, which was said to have been destroyed by HM Revenue and Customs out of revenge for a perceived lenient sentence the business owner received for cocaine trafficking, with it being alleged that the Revenue deliberately misled a judge. Several members of the ‘wide range of experienced counsel’ represent core participants in the ongoing high-profile Undercover Policing Inquiry, including ‘extremely knowledgeable‘ junior Fiona Murphy KC. ‘Strategic‘ barrister Nick Stanage has a strong track record in high profile claims against the police such as two high value High Court claims relating to human rights violations within policing in 2021.

Testimonials

Set

‘There is a wide range of experienced counsel and the chambers is professional.’

‘Doughty Street are one of the best sets undertaking claimant police law work. They have a set of highly committed barristers who have been involved in some of the biggest cases involving the examination of police powers.’     

‘Doughty Street is, in my opinion, the leading set in the field with an extraordinarily strong police law practice. It provides excellence.’

Clerking

‘The clerks are always responsive and helpful.’     

‘They are approachable, friendly, accommodating and commercial.’     

Garden Court Chambers

Members of Garden Court Chambers regularly appear in claims across the United Kingdom involving assault, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, as well as claims under the Human Rights Act such as police failures to investigate serious sexual offences, and deaths in custody. Leslie Thomas KC who is ‘strong in all aspects of advocacy‘ was recently involved in an inquest into the death of Andrew Hall in custody at Huddersfield Police station. Stephen Simblet KC is representing an elderly woman who, having complained after being threatened by an off-duty Hertfordshire Constabulary officer in a road-rage incident, was falsely accused of dangerous driving by officers in the force.

Testimonials

Set

‘Garden Court are my favourite set to instruct for inquests and have a good range of specialist police lawyers.’

‘Counsel accessibility is brilliant.’

Clerking

‘The service of the clerks is very good. The civil team responds to queries and requests in a timely manner and are always available to advise on suitable alternatives if my counsel of choice is not available.’

‘Always quick to respond, have a very good idea of the strengths of their various barristers, and always make sure to give you good representation. Eidvyle Banionyte and Tim Hempsted are of particular note in this regard.’

Matrix Chambers

Matrix Chambers are an established police law set handling not only complex police cases, but also those in related areas. Phillippa Kaufmann KC is notable for her practice working for victims of crime litigating against the police, having recently represented three victims of the Rochdale grooming gang in a case against Greater Manchester Police. In addition she represented the family of Jermaine Baker in the public inquiry into Baker's fatal shooting by police in 2015 during an attempt to extract Izzet Eren from custody prior to Eren's receipt of a 21-year sentence for firearms offences. Hugh Southey KC led a case examining the Police Service of Northern Ireland's investigation of the death of Julia Smyth in Belfast in 1972, after in 2014 newly-released military logs suggested that the fatal shot may have been fired by the British Army.

Testimonials

Set

‘Very professional and commercially-minded.’

‘The premier go-to barristers’ chambers for me.’

‘Matrix chambers have a huge amount of expertise in specialist areas of law, including actions against the police. They are well-organised, accessible and incredibly well-respected. A very slick operation all round.’      

‘Brilliant set with unparalleled quality.’

Clerking

‘Excellent’

‘Very responsive.‘