Matrix Chambers

Claire Darwin KC is a “highly impressive advocate and a class act” whose “calm and assured advocacy skills are particularly sought after.” With a “reputation for handling high-stakes cases”, she has a rich and diverse practice spanning employment, discrimination, education, pensions, public law and human rights.

Claire is instructed in high-profile and heavyweight disputes, including large-scale multi-party litigation, complex appellate work and cases raising novel points of law. Her practice frequently involves high-value whistleblowing and discrimination claims, as well as TUPE, equal pay and pensions litigation. Claire also acts in judicial review and public law challenges, particularly those that involve equality and human rights issues.

Her recent work includes:

• Lead Counsel for Merrill Lynch/Bank of America in a widely publicised sex and age discrimination trial (2025).
• Lead Counsel for the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in the Court of Appeal on the application of the State Immunity Act (2025).
• Acting for University College London in group litigation brought by students over pandemic and industrial action disruption (trial listed 2026).
• Successfully defending the Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund in a high-profile whistleblowing claim (2024).
• Representing BBC presenters including Martine Croxall in equal pay litigation and acting for Samira Ahmed in her landmark equal pay claim.

Full details of her work can be found at https://www.matrixlaw.co.uk/member/claire-darwin/#

Claire is ranked as a Leading Silk by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners across multiple practice areas, including Employment, Education, Industrial Relations, Pensions, Administrative and Human Rights Law. She was shortlisted as Employment Silk of the Year (Legal 500, 2024) and Public Services and Charities Silk of the Year (2023) and previously named one of The Lawyer’s Hot 100 Lawyers. One of eight barristers shortlisted for The Lawyer’s Barrister of the Year Award 2020, for which she received a Commendation.

Called to the Bar (Inner Temple) 2005; Called to the Irish Bar 2018; Took Silk 2023; Recorder (part-time Circuit Judge) since 2023; Attorney General’s A Panel of Junior Counsel (2017–2023); Special Advocate (2018+); EHRC Panel of Preferred Counsel (2024–2028, and previous panels).

Conversational German and Spanish

Employment Law Bar Association (ELBA); Employment Lawyers Association (ELA); European Employment Lawyers Association (EELA); Industrial Law Society; Education Law Association; UK Association for European Law (UKAEL); Bar European Group

St Catharine’s College, Cambridge (MA History); Heidelberg University, Germany; City University (2004, CPE/GDL).