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Leading Silks

David Tyack KC - No5 Barristers' Chambers 'David is incredibly technical and his ability to manage and run complex expert conferences is second to none. His pleadings are also very detailed.' 
Jonathan Jones KC – No5 Barristers’ ChambersJonathan is an excellent advocate and his knowledge of the law is second to none. He is thorough and has a unique ability to explore complicated medical and legal issues with experts.' 
Selena Plowden KCGuildhall ChambersSelena is a standout in clinical negligence work on the Western Circuit and beyond. Her medical knowledge is extremely impressive and her mastery of large briefs is also impressive. In court and in negotiations she is confident and very persuasive.' 

Leading Juniors

Vanessa McKinlayGatehouse Chambers ‘Vanessa is a superb advocate; precise and clear. She also has excellent client skills and is willing to give time to clients who struggle with difficult concepts and explain them in layman’s terms, which is particularly important in fatal cases.’ 
Hamish Dunlop3PBHe is personable and tactful with clients and diligent and committed to achieving the best outcome.' 
Sophie HolmeGuildhall ChambersSophie's written work is phenomenally detailed and her analyses are always both commercially astute and highly forensic. Her formidable advocacy combines force with a highly reasoned and reasonable approach and client care is impeccable, especially with more vulnerable individuals.' 
Mark Lomas3PB 'Mark is extremely attentive to the smallest detail so you can be confident that every point will be covered so nothing can jump out and bite you in the future. His advocacy is calm and measured and produces excellent results.' 
Robert Mills  - 1 Crown Office Row  ‘Robert is a really superb barrister. He is extremely bright and knowledgeable and knows cases inside out. Robert’s advocacy is also very impressive  – he is eloquent, confident and persuasive and he always manages to secure excellent results.’
Kriti UpadhyayGuildhall Chambers 'One key strength of hers is her attention to detail.  She is confident and articulate in conference and is also very good with clients, especially in upsetting cases with tricky issues.' 
Justin ValentineSt John’s ChambersJustin is forensic in his approach, and has an eye for detail. He is also tactically very strong, and maintains one eye on the big picture. Overall, Justin is very easy to work with as he aims to get the best outcome through working as a team.’ 
Emma Zeb – Gatehouse ChambersShe produces high-quality work and offers invaluable assistance to KCs, even at short notice.' 
Rachel Segal  – St John’s Chambers ‘Rachel is extremely good with clients and her advocacy is excellent. She is also incredibly strong on anything related to relief from sanctions.'
Lauren Karmel - St John's Chambers 'She is always prepared to go the extra mile.'
Martin LanchesterGuildhall ChambersMartin is excellent at strategy in complex cases and he is also a very calm advocate.' 
Joanna LewisQueen Square Chambers ‘Joanna is extremely efficient and thorough and has an ability to breakdown the most complicated evidence. She is great with clients and provides extremely user friendly advice. She is also a brilliant advocate and a very safe pair of hands with the most sensitive of claims and inquests.'   
James MarwickSt John’s Chambers ‘James is very approachable, thorough, responsive, and excellent when drafting and giving advice.'
Abigail StampDeka Chambers ‘She is good with clients, user friendly, and takes a great interest in her cases. She is excellent in court as well as in round table meetings.'   

Clinical negligence in Regional Bar

Guildhall Chambers


Guildhall Chambers is a ‘standout‘ set for clinical negligence work on the Western circuit. Selena Plowden KC is ‘well suited to handling the most complex of cases‘ and heads the team. She specialises in cases involving mental health and human rights issues, and recently led the representation of the claimant in the high-profile case of Lewis-Ranwell v G4S Services Uk Ltd & Others - a claim brought by a man who was acquitted of murder on the grounds of insanity and detained under a hospital order against those who treated him prior to those events - the case addresses the question of if the claim is considered ex turpi causa. Sophie Holme has recently acted in several significant cases, including spinal surgical negligence, delayed cancer diagnosis claims, cauda equina, birth-related bowel injuries, and fatal and psychiatric negligence claims, among others. Martin Lanchester and Kriti Upadhyay both handle a broad range of clinical disputes work, while Philip Hughes is increasingly sought after for his medical expertise, which he has brought to bear in several instructions to aid in the determination of causation and quantum.

Testimonials

The clerks are great – friendly, efficient and helpful.  Dan Cuthbertson and Olive Kavanagh deserve special mention.’ 

‘The clerks are helpful and friendly. Olive Kavanagh in particular deserves a mention – she is friendly and efficient and will go out of her way to assist.  Dan Cuthbertson is also friendly and efficient.’

‘Guildhall Chambers has a great clinical negligence set.’

‘Guildhall has good strength in depth – with clinical negligence specialists from junior level up to KC.’

‘Guildhall is a very good set of chambers for clinical negligence work, with some great practitioners.’

‘Guildhall Chambers is a go-to chambers and the quality of their work is excellent. Members are available and friendly in correspondence with instructing solicitors/legal executives.’

‘Guildhall’s clinical negligence department is excellent.’ 

‘The clerks at Guildhall are approachable, friendly, kind and always available. Without exception, they always genuinely try to help as quickly and as efficiently as possible.’ 





Old Square Chambers


Old Square Chambers is a ‘first port of call’ for clinical negligence work on the Western Circuit. Sophie Beesley focuses on claimant-side matters, often for highly vulnerable clients. She has considerable experience acting in cases involving bowel and gynaecological injuries as well as the death of children at or shortly after birth. Kara Loraine possesses broad expertise, including in claims relating to obstetric care and delivery, failure of and delay in diagnosis, negligent surgical procedures, suicide, and mismanagement of chronic disease.

Testimonials

‘Paul Adams and Olivia Moliterno are brilliant clerks – nothing is too much trouble for them.’

‘Old Square goes out of its way to help with any situation and has excellent clerks. This chambers is always my first port of call.’

‘The clerks are responsive and ever so helpful.’





St John's Chambers


St John’s Chambers is one of the ‘go-to‘ clinical negligence sets on the Western Circuit and beyond. Justin Valentine is well regarded for his ‘meticulous attention to detail‘ and handles a wide range of claimant and defendant instructions, specialising in neonatal, cauda equina, and diabetes-related claims. He is counsel in several long-running, high-value claims, including those concerning historic negligence. Rachel Segal’s practice includes multiple cases involving the delayed diagnosis and treatment of cancers, particularly of breast cancer, as well as ophthalmology, gastrointestinal and colorectal surgery, and obstetrics. Lauren Karmel ‘interacts well both with medical experts and claimants’ and has been instructed in relation to over thirty clinical and dental negligence cases this past year.

Testimonials

‘Hugh Maguire and Adam Marston are excellent clerks, and very accommodating and flexible.’

‘Hugh Maguire is organised, knowledgeable and always willing to help.’

‘A set with excellent clinical negligence expertise.’

‘This set has good strength in depth at all levels of seniority.’

‘St Johns Chambers is a “go to” chambers for clinical negligence work with a wide range of available counsel.’

‘St John’s is the go to set for clinical negligence work in the South West, with strength in depth across all levels of call. They are also a very slick outfit in terms of their marketing, training, and thought leadership.’

‘Really supportive and friendly clerks.’

‘The clerks at St Johns are friendly and always available.’

Work highlights














3PB


3PB‘s clinical negligence team represents both injured claimants and defendant organisations in connection with a broad spectrum of matters, often involving complicating factors such as contributory negligence or missed diagnosis. Mark Lomas is ‘meticulous, conscientious and approachable‘ and mostly acts for claimants, including children, vulnerable clients, and those who lack mental capacity, against health care professionals including, among others, dentists. The ‘precise, insightful, and organisedHamish Dunlop is regularly instructed in relation to high-value and medically complex claims and has recently acted in cases concerning the failure to identify and adequately treat the onset of such life-changing conditions as cauda equina lesions and subarachnoid haemorrhages.

Testimonials

‘Edward Holdstock is very accommodating and approachable.’

‘Abi Griffin provides an excellent service.’

‘Members and clerks at 3PB are very approachable and helpful. They go out of their way to assist you however possible.’

‘An experienced and helpful chambers with wide-range of Counsel.’ 

‘3PB have reshuffled their clerking and over the last year or so the team has become even stronger.’ 





No5 Barristers' Chambers


Led by Chris Bright KC and John Coughlan KC, members of No5 Barristers’ Chambers possess ‘a wealth of knowledge and experience‘ and regularly receive instructions from members of the public, NHS trusts, medical defence organisations, and private medical institutions, among others. The ‘incredibly clever and insightfulJonathan Jones KC is an ‘excellent advocate’ who primarily handles high-value brain damage cases as well as cases involving birth trauma and serious spinal injuries.

Testimonials

‘Will Theaker is brilliant. He is very responsive and willing to help wherever possible. He is excellent at events as well.’

‘Will Theaker is very enthusiastic and engaging, lots of good ideas and makes things happen.’

‘Excellent.  Will Theaker and Peter Mottam stand out for their efficiency and helpfulness.’

‘No 5 chambers is an excellent set of chambers offering a wealth of knowledge and experience and they offer a wide range of excellent courses.’

‘Excellent set with strength across the board, supported by first-class clerking.’

‘A good variety of counsel.’