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Clinical Negligence

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Guildhall Chambers
St John's Chambers
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Old Square Chambers
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3PB
No5 Barristers' Chambers

Leading Silks

Jonathan Jones QC – No5 Barristers’ Chambers ‘Jonathan is an original thinker, but is also practical. He has outstanding attention to detail, builds a good rapport with clients and achieves excellent results.’

2020 Silks

Selena Plowden QC - Guildhall Chambers ‘ Selena is a super brain. She has a great ability to organise, analyse and distill the essence from huge quantities of material. She never misses an important point in the evidence. ’

2021 Silks

David Tyack QC – No5 Barristers’ Chambers ‘David is intelligent, determined, friendly and a sensible negotiator.’

Leading Juniors

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Vanessa McKinlay – Gatehouse Chambers ‘Vanessa is an extremely knowledgeable barrister in the field of clinical negligence. She is exceptionally good with clients and is always very quick to grasp the key points of a claim. ’
Hamish Dunlop - 3PB ‘ He has a meticulous eye, and handles complex issues in a way clients understand. ’
Sophie Holme - Guildhall Chambers ‘ Sophie combines a fierce intellect with meticulous attention to detail. She is also tactically astute. ’
Tom Leeper - St John's Chambers ‘ His strength is his attention to detail. He is an agile thinker, particularly on his feet, and he is always prepared to an exceptionally high level. ’
Mark Lomas – 3PB ‘His attention to detail is second to none. Forensic when questioning experts. A very safe and experienced pair of hands.’
Justin Valentine - St John's Chambers ‘ Justin is very balanced, the clients love his no-nonsense approach to some incredibly complicated issues. ’
Emma Zeb – Gatehouse Chambers ‘A brilliant advocate. She is impeccably prepared, very approachable, and practical. ’
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Sophie Beesley - Old Square Chambers ‘ Sophie is incredibly impressive. She is a dedicated and efficient worker. She achieves wonderful results for claimants in clinical negligence claims. ’
Marcus Coates-Walker - St John's Chambers ‘ A junior who punches above his weight. Performs well at trial. ’
Martin Lanchester - Guildhall Chambers ‘ Martin is a great communicator. He works well with medical experts, ensuring he is on point with his evidence. ’
Joanna Lewis - Queen Square Chambers
Kara Loraine - Old Square Chambers ‘ She has a keen eye for detail, and is unafraid to take on difficult cases. ’
James Marwick - St John's Chambers ‘ James is incredibly clear and quietly fierce. ’
Robert Mills - St John's Chambers ‘ Robert is an incredibly responsive barrister. Proactive, prompt, and always available. ’
Naomi Rees - Old Square Chambers ‘ Naomi has a forensic, very thorough approach. She gets to the bottom of issues. ’
Lauren Seager - Queen Square Chambers ‘ Her advice is well reasoned and clearly explained. She has an excellent manner with clients in sensitive cases. ’
Robert Sowersby - Guildhall Chambers ‘ Robert is always well-prepared, very down to earth, and adept at putting forward hard hitting, persuasive arguments. I have every confidence that with his guidance, the outcome at the end of the case will be the best for the client. ’
Abigail Stamp - 9 Gough Chambers
Kriti Upadhyay - Guildhall Chambers ‘ Kriti leaves no stone unturned. She is very knowledgeable, precise, and provides advice in a timely manner. ’
Bella Webb - Old Square Chambers ‘ Very intelligent. Calm and confident. Her knowledge of the details means clients and solicitors have confidence in her. ’

Clinical negligence in Regional Bar

Guildhall Chambers

Guildhall Chambers is noted by clients as housing 'a very good set of clinical negligence barristers' with 'great strength in depth'. Selena Plowden QC is 'willing to tackle the novel and the challenging, with unrivalled commitment and insight'; 'she brings with her such experience and such tenacity that if she's on your case you feel confident in taking it forward'. The 'very responsive' Sophie Holme is instructed in a range of cases including claims involving spinal injuries arising from surgical negligence and delayed and missed diagnoses, while Robert Sowersby is singled out for his expertise in advising on causation disputes. Martin Lanchester represents claimants and defendants in cases involving neurological, spinal and cardiological injuries. The 'very confident' Kriti Upadhyay counts cases involving negligent obstetric and gynaecological care and delayed cancer diagnoses as key areas of expertise.

Testimonials

Set

‘Guildhall Chambers provides a solid clinical negligence offering in the South West‘.

‘The clinical negligence team is very experienced‘.

‘Chambers is organised, effective and efficient, and provides quality legal advice and services to clients‘.

‘A quality set with longstanding strength in clinical negligence‘.

Clerking

‘The clerks are efficient and proactive‘.

‘Olive Kavanagh is extremely helpful and well-organised‘.

‘Olive Kavanagh is excellent: very responsive, able to arrange instructions at short notice with tight turnaround times, and always happy to help‘.

‘Olive Kavanagh always provides top quality service‘.

St John's Chambers

The 'fantastic' St John's Chambers is 'a strong clinical negligence set', housing members with strength in handling a range of defendant and claimant work. The 'very talented' Justin Valentine is regularly instructed in claims involving neonatal and birth injuries, and Marcus Coates-Walker has 'a solid understanding of the law relating to clinical negligence'. Robert Mills is 'wise beyond his year of call' and is particularly sought after for his expertise in dental cases. In August 2021 Vanessa McKinlay moved to Gatehouse Chambers.

Testimonials

Set

‘St John’s Chambers has a second-to-none clinical negligence team‘.

‘A very friendly set‘.

Clerking

‘The clerks provide a first class service. Nothing is too much trouble‘.

‘Annette Bushell, Adam Marston and Hugh Maguire are brilliant clerks responsible for the clinical negligence team, and will always help find available counsel. They will always go above and beyond to assist‘.

‘Adam Marston is excellent‘.

Old Square Chambers

The 'excellent' clinical negligence barristers at Old Square Chambers continue to undertake a range of complex cases for both claimants and defendants. The 'extremely thorough' Bella Webb is noted for her expertise in handling claims involving delayed cancer diagnoses. Naomi Rees is recommended for claims involving birth injuries and delayed or missed diagnoses, while the 'very approachable' Kara Loraine is instructed in cases involving psychiatric injury claims for parents arising from infant deaths, negligent obstetric care and delivery and negligent surgical procedures. Sophie Beesley is 'highly intelligent and technically brilliant' and 'impressive on her feet'.

Testimonials

Set

‘A very well-managed set‘.

‘The barristers at Old Square Chambers are excellent‘.

Clerking

‘Extremely helpful and practical clerks‘.

‘Will Meade is very attentive to the needs of instructing solicitors, and offers strong leadership to an excellent clinical negligence group‘.

‘Olivia Moliterno is an excellent team leader – very efficient and responsive‘.

‘Joe Kallas is dedicated to his role‘.

3PB

Hamish Dunlop and Mark Lomas are the key clinical negligence barristers to note from 3PB. Both barristers have a strong track record in handling complex cases involving missed or delayed diagnoses, often resulting in serious injuries or death; surgical complications; and negligent obstetric care and birth injuries. Lomas primarily acts for claimants in claims against healthcare professionals, and is experienced in handling claims against dental practitioners. Dunlop fields particular expertise in handling claims involving cases of cerebral palsy.

Testimonials

Set

‘Always very efficient‘.

‘The set is always commercially aware‘.

Clerking

‘The clerks’ room provides an excellent and friendly service‘.

‘David Snook has good communication skills‘.

‘Edward Holdstock is always helpful and polite‘.

No5 Barristers' Chambers

At No5 Barristers’ Chambers, the ‘very thorough and forward-thinking‘ Jonathan Jones QC continues to act for both claimants and defendants in a range of serious clinical negligence cases, including negligent obstetric and neonatal care claims involving cerebral palsy. Strengthening the team at the senior end, the ‘resolute‘ David Tyack QC took silk in March 2021.

Testimonials

Set

‘A very good clinical negligence offering‘.

Clerking

‘Very efficient clerking‘.

‘Good responsive clerks – there is always someone able to assist‘.