Back to United Kingdom - The Bar

Leading Silks

Paul Bleasdale KCNo5 Barristers’ Chambers ‘Paul is very efficient, hugely experienced and gets right to the heart of a case.’  
Chris Bright KCNo5 Barristers’ Chambers ‘Chris has a thorough, and up-to-date understanding of the law applied in a pragmatic way. He has the ability to empathies with clients but also be clear and firm. He has excellent negotiation skills and is a real asset at settlement meetings.’ 
Jonathan Jones KCNo5 Barristers’ Chambers 'Jonathan has an incredible eye for detail, and no stone is left unturned in a case. He is brilliant on his feet and will systematically and methodically obliterate a counterargument. He is fantastic with clients and genuinely values and takes on board the views of his instructing solicitor.’ 
Henry Pitchers KCNo5 Barristers’ Chambers ‘Henry is extremely knowledgeable and experienced and deals with clients brilliantly. He is approachable, straight-forward, and has a very wide breadth of expertise.’

2021 Silks

John Coughlan KCNo5 Barristers’ Chambers ‘John's strengths are his attention to detail, practical advice, and view of the bigger picture. He is a fantastic advocate, calm and measured whilst getting his points across skillfully. He is also very good with witnesses, putting them at ease and very approachable. Overall, he is a very safe pair of hands.’ 
David Tyack KCNo5 Barristers’ Chambers ‘David is one of the go-to silks and has brilliant attention to detail. He identifies all the key issues in cases missed by an expert. He richly deserves his recent appointment as a KC.’ 

Leading Juniors

Andrew EvansSt Philips Chambers ‘Andrew is strategically brilliant. He has great foresight in complex clinical negligence matters and has the ability to plead claims in a very robust way. He is very personable and is fantastic with clients. He invests time and thought into cases.’ 
Esther GambleNo5 Barristers’ Chambers 'Esther is clear-headed and insightful with strong analytical skills. She is a persuasive advocate and has a great client manner.' 
Jamie GambleNo5 Barristers’ Chambers 'Jamie has a very sharp mind and is able to get to the issues in the case very quickly. He is particularly strong with the medical evidence in the case. He turns around work quickly and his drafting skills are excellent.'  
Richard GrimshawNo5 Barristers’ Chambers 'Richard is extremely knowledgeable in clinical negligence cases and in every new case, he does detailed research into that particular medical issue and understands the medical records and expert evidence. He is not afraid to challenge the medical experts in their field of expertise and ensures no stone is left unturned.  He is extremely approachable and responds promptly to any queries. His work is always completed to a very high standard.' 
Rochelle RongRopewalk Chambers 'Rochelle has meticulous attention to detail. She is adept at interpreting the data sets provided by experts and using them to great effect. She is sensible, pragmatic, approachable and very efficient with papers.'  
Colin BaranSt Philips Chambers ‘Colin is brilliant at distilling calm into clients who have suffered a tragedy. He is very personable and goes to great lengths to ensure that no stone is left unturned. He has a very keen eye for detail, which reflects in his ability to plead cases in a very robust manner.’ 
Teresa Hargreaves No5 Barristers’Chambers ‘Teressa is very approachable. She is good at cutting through the detail and taking a realistic view of liability and quantum.’ 
Anna DiamondKings Chambers 'Anna is an excellent counsel. Her mastery of the issues in a clinical negligence case is outstanding. Her understanding of medical issues in such claims is excellent and a real bonus when cross-examining the medical experts. She does her absolute best to achieve the best result possible for clients.' 
Mamta GuptaNo5 Barristers’ Chambers 'Mamta is an excellent senior junior and one of the most thorough and reliable counsel. Her medical knowledge and attention to detail when questioning experts are impressive.'
Thomas HerbertRopewalk Chambers 'Thomas has a reasoned approach when dealing with complex clinical negligence claims. He is able to clearly identify key strengths and weaknesses and articulate his opinion confidently and clearly with clients.' 
Karl HirstNo5 Barristers’ Chambers 'Karl is approachable and responsive and is always willing to talk issues through. He has incredible experience and will use tactics cleverly. He is the voice of reason both with clients and instructing solicitors and is straight-talking and practical.' 
Jodie Kembery – No5 Barristers’ Chambers ‘Jodie is approachable and helpful. She is brilliant with clients and always shows huge empathy for them.’  
Mark Lomas3PB ‘Mark is incredibly meticulous, and he has a unique attention to detail which is absolutely crucial in complicated cases. He is always easily contactable and up-to-speed with the latest developments in the law.’  
Gemma RobertsNo5 Barristers’ Chambers 'Gemma is an extremely approachable, able, and hard-working barrister. She is able to properly extract the relevant information from experts at the conference and manages clients' expectations very well.' 
Richard SeabrookRopewalk Chambers 'Richard is extremely professional and knowledgeable about clinical negligence law. He explains the legal issues clearly to clients. He is quick to respond to instructions and questions and the advice provided by him is always reliable. He is able to extract information easily and clarify points when conversing with an expert.'
Peter StarcevicSt Philips Chambers 'Peter is a good fit for clinical negligence clients and has a mastery of handling multiple experts in a conference on complex claims.' 
Rachel YoungRopewalk Chambers 'Rachel has a confident, clear, and concise way of identifying key issues of the case. She is able to explain complex legal issues, both in writing and during the conference, to clients.' 

Rising Stars

Neil Shastri-Hurst No5 Barristers'Chambers ‘Neil adds extra value as a barrister in this area with all his medical knowledge as a clinician. He has handled various inquests for us where his skills are invaluable.' 
Rebecca Livesey No5 Barristers' Chambers 'Rebecca gets to the core issues in the case quickly. She is good with clients and takes charge of conferences. She is an excellent and impressive junior.'  

Clinical negligence in Regional Bar

No5 Barristers' Chambers

No5 Barristers’ Chambers has an ‘excellent clinical negligence expertise with suitably experienced barristers on the full range of cases, including those of the highest complexity’ and an ‘excellent clerk team’. The duo of Chris Bright KC, an expert in serious and catastrophic injury and clinical negligence cases, and John Coughlan KC, specialist of brain injury, gynecological failures, general surgical error cases, head the practice group in chambers.

Testimonials

Set 

‘No5 is a really good set. If barristers are unavailable, they are willing to recommend alternative barristers. They are all specialists in their field.’ 

‘An excellent set with real strength in depth.’ 

‘Chambers is efficient in responding to enquiries. It offers regular training predominantly online, which has facilitated access during the pandemic.’ 

‘No5 is a powerhouse of P.I and Clinical Negligence counsel in Birmingham. They have an excellent clerking team who are very switched on and attentive. The range of experience they have across their team means they can always assist when required.’ 

‘No.5 is a ‘go to’ set when it comes to clinical negligence. Their strength in depth on clinical negligence work is second to none.’ 

‘Clinical Negligence is a real strength of the chambers, with huge depth and range of expertise.’ 

Clerking 

Ropewalk Chambers

Ropewalk Chambers is an ‘efficient and reliable chamber’. ‘The set has a broad skill set and has acted in cases across the spectrum of clinical negligence litigation, ranging from smaller claims arising from dental treatment and minor cosmetic surgery to the most serious cases’. Rochelle Rong is praised for her ‘ability to discuss aspects of the case in a clear and reassuring manner’.

Testimonials

 Set 

‘Leading regional clinical negligence and P.I chambers.’ 

‘Ropewalk is the leading regional chambers for this type of work.’ 

‘Excellent set, highly experienced counsel and provide good training events.’ 

‘Very impressive set. The training courses provided are excellent.’ 

‘The quality of the barristers at the Ropewalk is consistently high. They are readily accessible and have a breadth of experience.’

‘Ropewalk has a wide variety of barristers and are often able to provide alternative counsel if our first choice is unavailable, even at short notice.’

Clerking

Kings Chambers

Kings Chmabers is known as a ‘very knowledgeable and capable set’ which provides counsel for catastrophic birth injury, surgical, psychiatric, and dental negligence, and other related matters. Anna Diamond has extensive experience in representing claimants in complex and difficult clinical negligence cases.

Testimonials

Set

‘A good set with growing reputation in the Midlands for clinical negligence.’

‘Kings Chambers has an excellent reputation. It has a core team of some of the leading barristers in this field who are willing to take on difficult or risky cases.’

‘An excellent set of chambers with strength in depth of experienced counsel.’

‘Barristers at Kings chambers are very active in terms of training, and charity and other events. They have probably one of the best costs teams in the country. There is usually a broad range of barristers available.’

Clerking

‘The clerks are very responsive and helpful. They manage diaries and turnaround times very well.’

‘Clerking is excellent. Always friendly, helpful and with an ear to the ground.’ 

St Philips Chambers

St Philips Chambers is a ‘quality set of chambers’ which handles all clinical negligence claims, such as birth injury, delayed diagnosis, failed aesthetic procedures, and spinal injury. An expert for the claims relating to cosmetic surgery procedures, Andrew Evans, is praised for his ‘meticulous eye for detail’.

Testimonials

 Set

‘Impressive set of chambers with quality barristers.’

‘St Philips’ clinical negligence offering is a very good one. The set boasts a range of barristers of varying seniority. There is always someone who is able to help.’

‘Broad spectrum knowledge and expertise, excellent clerking, clear preparation always for conferences with the provision of helpful agendas to steer discussions, precise and clear advice and always on hand for a discussion with instructing solicitors if needs be. Accessible to clients.’

‘Well organised and always able to offer alternative counsel of good quality if chosen counsel is not available.’

Clerking

‘Clerks are responsive and proactively search out feedback. Always helpful.’

‘Clerks are responsive and collaborative. They ensure to search out feedback and ensure instructions are dealt with promptly.’