Set Profile > 1 Crown Office Row, Brighton > Brighton, England
1 Crown Office Row, Brighton Offices
1 Crown Office Row, Brighton
119 CHURCH STREET
BRIGHTON
BN1 1UD
England
- Go to...
- Rankings
- Set Profile
- Main Contacts
- Barrister Profiles
- Diversity/Community
- Comparative Guides
Profiles
1 Crown Office Row, Brighton > The Legal 500 Rankings
Immigration (including business immigration)
2019 Silks
Leading Juniors
Clinical negligence Tier 1
1 Crown Office Row remains 'an excellent set of chambers' which fields 'leaders in the field of clinical negligence' and shows 'remarkable strength in depth'. 'Packed with brilliant, intelligent people', this set offers 'dedicated practitioners who are at the top of their game'. Both silks and juniors frequently act in high profile multi-party claims and public enquiries, as exemplified by Matthew Hill, who is currently a lead junior on the Infected Blood Inquiry. Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC and Philip Havers QC acted for the claimant and defendant respectively in the ground-breaking duty of care case ABC v St George’s Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The 'fantastic' Henry Witcomb QC and 'ferocious advocate' David Evans QC are noted for high value cerebral palsy claims, while the 'simply brilliant' Jeremy Hyam QC is highlighted for wrongful conception claims. At the junior end, the newly ranked Suzanne Lambert, Matthew Hill, and Paul Reynolds are all worthy of note.
Leading Silks
David Evans QC - 1 Crown Office Row ‘A superb barrister whose advocacy skills are second to none.’
2019 Silks
Robert Kellar QC - 1 Crown Office Row ‘Always provides balanced and pragmatic advice and knows how to get the best out of the medical experts.’
Neil Sheldon QC - 1 Crown Office Row ‘Has a fantastic understanding of medicine and is effortlessly excellent.’
Leading Juniors
Inquests and inquiries Tier 1
'An impressive chambers for inquests and inquiries', 1 Crown Office Row 'has an extensive skill set and wide-ranging level of counsels'. The clerks also draw praise for being 'extremely sensible both in terms of fees, capacity and the experience of their counsel – there are no better clerks'. Peter Skelton QC is consistently instructed in major inquiries and inquests; examples include the 1974 Birmingham Pub Bombings and Perepilichnyy inquests, as well as the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Neil Sheldon QC's experience includes the inquests into the Westminster Bridge, London Bridge, and Manchester Arena terrorist attacks; Matthew Hill is currently a lead junior on the Infected Blood Inquiry.
Leading Silks
2019 Silks
Leading Juniors
Environment
Leading Silks
Crime (general and fraud) Tier 2
Among the leading sets on the circuit, 1 Crown Office Row, Brighton hosts a number of well-respected criminal practitioners, who appear on behalf of the prosecution and defence in respect of the most serious offences such as rape and other serious sexual offences, but also murder and manslaughter. Christopher Prior prosecuted in a conspiracy case involving a criminal gang supplying drugs, including methamphetamine, to "chemsex" parties in the Brighton area, while Daniel Frier defended in a case concerning allegations of child sexual offences which took place in Vietnam, prosecuted in the English courts under s72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Leading Juniors
Family and children law Tier 2
Family law is a core strength of 1 Crown Office Row, Brighton, with the set having 'a good choice of counsel at all levels' undertaking the whole range of family proceedings from public and private children law matters (one solicitor praising it as 'particularly strong in Children Act work') through to financial remedies, as well as domestic violence injunctions. Underlining the strength across seniorities, one solicitor praises the set as having 'an excellent choice of barristers from Queen's Counsel down to newly called, investing wisely in its pupils to ensure they are court-ready and always an impressive asset to chambers'.
Leading Juniors: Child Law (Public and Private)
Leading Juniors: Divorce and Financial Remedy
International crime and extradition
Leading Juniors
Civil liberties and human rights (including actions against the police)
Leading Silks
Professional disciplinary and regulatory law Tier 3
'Very experienced in professional regulatory matters', members of 1 Crown Office Row are primarily active in this space for registrants in the medical space. Richard Booth QC defended a vet who received a suspension for kicking and stamping on a dog that had bitten him. Meanwhile, Andrew Kennedy represented Boots in a General Optical Council (GOC) matter concerning alleged public interest disclosures made by a former employee.
Leading Silks
2019 Silks
2021 Silks
Leading Juniors
Tax: corporate and VAT/indirect tax
Tax: VAT - Leading silks
Tax: VAT Leading juniors
Administrative and public law (including elections) Tier 4
1 Crown Office Row 'has a really top-end admin and public law practice with some excellent practitioners'. Philip Havers QC represented former racing driver Simon Dolan in his challenge to various secondary legislation implementing the United Kingdom's "lockdown" measures during the Covid-19 pandemic. The set is 'great for healthcare-related judicial review'; Jeremy Hyam QC is instructed in R (Evans) v Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust, concerning the trust's prescription of puberty blockers to children suffering gender dysphoria. In the national security space, Angus Mccullough QC was the special advocate for the claimants in R (Campaign Against the Arms Trade) v Secretary of State for International Trade, the case concerning the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.
Leading Silks
Jeremy Hyam QC-1 Crown Office Row‘Jeremy is simply brilliant. Not only are his written arguments very persuasive, powerful and succinct but I have been lucky enough to experience his advocacy in court on several occasions and his advocacy is exceptional a result of which he has can be seen from the cases above overturned government legislation. In addition Jeremy has great compassion and understanding of client's needs.’
Shaheen Rahman QC-1 Crown Office Row ‘She is incredibly experienced, always a step ahead.’
2019 Silks
Leading Juniors
Personal injury, industrial disease and insurance fraud Tier 4
The 'wealth of experienced and respected barristers' at 1 Crown Office Row have 'great collective knowledge'. This 'exceptional set' comprises both 'pre-eminent silks and very talented juniors' who provide expertise across the full gamut of personal injury work, particularly when dealing with quantum issues in catastrophic injury cases. Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel QC and Robert Kellar QC represent the claimants in the Supreme Court case Various Claimants v Barclays Bank, in which it is alleged that Barclays is vicariously liable for assaults committed by a general practitioner who was performing occupational health checks for the bank.
Personal injury - Leading Silks
Personal injury - 2019 Silks
Personal injury - Leading Juniors
Commercial litigation
Paul Ashwell and Stuart Wright of 1 Crown Office Row, Brighton continue to have a strong foothold in the South East, dealing with the full spectrum of commercial law, covering contractual matters as well as shareholder disputes. Solicitors continue to praise the set as being 'a good and strong general set with very able counsel at all levels'. According to one solicitor, Wright 'always works with difficult clients professionally and ensures that the advice given is accurate, even if it isn't what the client wanted to hear'.
Leading Juniors
Court of Protection and community care
At 'relaxed, friendly and helpful' set 1 Crown Office Row, Brighton, Scott Storey acts for local authorities, litigation friends and family members in interim and final hearings in the Court of Protection, with particular expertise in health and welfare matters. He is particularly praised for his ability to 'inspire confidence with his calm but robust presence in court when undertaking negotiations and advocacy'.
Rising stars
Property and construction
1 Crown Office Row, Brighton hosts a strong property team including Paul Ashwell, Simon Sinnatt and Michael Walker that deals with residential landlord and tenant work, regularly acting for landlords with large residential estates. In terms of commercial property, the set also works with commercial landlords and tenants on matters concerning the full gamut of offices, shops, factories and leisure facilities. Moreover, members of Chambers frequently receive instructions from local authorities.
Leading Juniors
Regional Bar > South Eastern Circuit > Crime (general and fraud) Tier 2
Among the leading sets on the circuit, 1 Crown Office Row, Brighton hosts a number of well-respected criminal practitioners, who appear on behalf of the prosecution and defence in respect of the most serious offences such as rape and other serious sexual offences, but also murder and manslaughter. Christopher Prior prosecuted in a conspiracy case involving a criminal gang supplying drugs, including methamphetamine, to "chemsex" parties in the Brighton area, while Daniel Frier defended in a case concerning allegations of child sexual offences which took place in Vietnam, prosecuted in the English courts under s72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Leading Juniors
Regional Bar > South Eastern Circuit > Family and children law Tier 2
Family law is a core strength of 1 Crown Office Row, Brighton, with the set having 'a good choice of counsel at all levels' undertaking the whole range of family proceedings from public and private children law matters (one solicitor praising it as 'particularly strong in Children Act work') through to financial remedies, as well as domestic violence injunctions. Underlining the strength across seniorities, one solicitor praises the set as having 'an excellent choice of barristers from Queen's Counsel down to newly called, investing wisely in its pupils to ensure they are court-ready and always an impressive asset to chambers'.
Leading Juniors: Child Law (Public and Private)
Leading Juniors: Divorce and Financial Remedy
Regional Bar > South Eastern Circuit > Commercial litigation
Paul Ashwell and Stuart Wright of 1 Crown Office Row, Brighton continue to have a strong foothold in the South East, dealing with the full spectrum of commercial law, covering contractual matters as well as shareholder disputes. Solicitors continue to praise the set as being 'a good and strong general set with very able counsel at all levels'. According to one solicitor, Wright 'always works with difficult clients professionally and ensures that the advice given is accurate, even if it isn't what the client wanted to hear'.
Leading Juniors
Regional Bar > South Eastern Circuit > Court of Protection and community care
At 'relaxed, friendly and helpful' set 1 Crown Office Row, Brighton, Scott Storey acts for local authorities, litigation friends and family members in interim and final hearings in the Court of Protection, with particular expertise in health and welfare matters. He is particularly praised for his ability to 'inspire confidence with his calm but robust presence in court when undertaking negotiations and advocacy'.
Rising stars
Regional Bar > South Eastern Circuit > Property and construction
1 Crown Office Row, Brighton hosts a strong property team including Paul Ashwell, Simon Sinnatt and Michael Walker that deals with residential landlord and tenant work, regularly acting for landlords with large residential estates. In terms of commercial property, the set also works with commercial landlords and tenants on matters concerning the full gamut of offices, shops, factories and leisure facilities. Moreover, members of Chambers frequently receive instructions from local authorities.
Leading Juniors
1 Crown Office Row, Brighton > Set Profile
A leading civil and public law set (with a large annexe in Brighton) providing advisory, advocacy and mediation services with a pre-eminent reputation for its clinical negligence and healthcare practices, its expertise in public law and human rights and its professional disciplinary work.
The set: Established over 70 years ago, its reputation for quality is reflected in the fact that it counts among its members and former members the former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf, four Lord Justices of Appeal and three former chairmen of the Bar. Chambers runs the highly acclaimed UK Human Rights Blog, Quarterly Medical Law Review (QMLR) and podcast, Lawpod UK.
Types of work undertaken: Members are recognised as leading practitioners in a range of areas including: clinical negligence; professional discipline; personal injury; public and administrative law; public inquiries; healthcare; environmental law; professional negligence; tax; immigration and asylum; employment and equality; costs; coroners and inquests; sports; and cyber. Many memers accept instructions under the Bar Council’s Direct Access arrangements (www.barristerforme.com). Chambers has a mediation service, with accredited mediators and arbitrators, including a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Chambers is widely recognised as the leading set for clinical negligence. It acts for both claimants and defendants, representing individuals, groups and numerous health authorities, NHS Trusts, GP’s and consultants nationwide. Landmark cases include: Darnley v Croydon Health Services, CN & GN v Poole BC, Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board, Nyang v G4S and Dr Thomas, and Meiklejohn v St George’s NHS Trust, as well as the group actions such as the Paterson litigation, Barclays Bank litigation, Infected Blood Inquiry or arising out of benzodiazepine administration, femodene use, organ retention and MMR.
Chambers handles personal injury litigation for claimants and defendants and has a particularly strong niche practice in handling historic child abuse claims. Cases include representing victims of Jimmy Savile, the Grafton House and Elm House abuse cases, and IICSA cases.
Healthcare work has included: the right to transgender treatment for children; treatment abroad on the NHS; whether guidance on the withdrawal of artificial nutrition is compatible with human rights; and the rights of parents to be notified of their daughters seeking of an abortion. A large number of its members were heavily involved in the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust Public Inquiry.
Chambers has a growing practice in coronial inquests, often arising from its expertise in healthcare and public law. Members have also appeared in high profile inquests such as the Natasha Ednan-Laperouse Inquest, Perepilichny Inquest and the recent Birmingham Pub Bombings, London Bridge Inquests, Westminster Bridge Inquests and Manchester Arena Bombing Inquests.
The human rights practice is founded on their medical and public law expertise. Recently this has included challenges to the legality of lockdown and coronavirus restrictions. Significant cases include R v Jogee, as well as the healthcare cases mentioned above. Chambers has a long experience of public inquiries, including the Brook House Inquiry, Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Infected Blood Inquiry, Al-Sweady Inquiry, the Leveson Inquiry, the Detainee Inquiry and the inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa in Iraq, and the Victoria Climbie and Alder Hey Inquiries.
The environmental practice includes: the recent case saving Askham Bog, Japanese Knotweed, M4 Road Relief case, the test case on the applicability of new pollution regulations; measures to mitigate the problem of dolphin by-catch in fishing nets; flooding; claims for water and methane escape from mines; waste and land fill issues; asbestos and groundwater pollution; aircraft noise; dust pollution; interference with TV reception and judicial review of abatement notices.
Chambers is regularly involved in disciplinary work involving all types of professionals and internal inquiries into the competence and conduct of clinicians, solicitors, architects, surveyors and accountants. Cases include Dr. Michalak v GMC & Ors, Dr Wakefield and subsequent appeals (MMR scare representing three parties, including the GMC); the Dr Waney Squier case (shaken baby) and Webster v Liddington (the Isolagen litigation).
Chambers tax practice acts for both taxpayers and HMRC. Cases include injunction reviews of the ‘Alcohol Wholesalers registration scheme’, recently in the Supreme Court in OWD and another v HMRC, Court of Appeal case concerning ‘Talacre’ carve out (Case C-251/05), the Supreme Court judgment on third party consideration in Airtours Holidays Transport Limited v HMRC and Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Ltd v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2017] UKSC 26 as well as Loyalty Management (UK) Ltd, BAA Ltd, Newnham College and Mayflower Theatre.
In costs and funding matters, members have appeared in a number of leading cases including: Thimmaya v Lancashire NHS Foundation Trust, CN & GN v Poole BC, Church v Great Western Hospitals, Cashman v Mid Essex Hospitals, and Hall v Everton FC.
Please visit the Careers section on our website for more details on our two Pupillages (recruited via the Pupillage Gateway), traditional Mini-Pupillages and Assessed Mini-Pupillages aimed at widening access to the Bar. Find out how we promote inclusion at the Bar and reducing our environmental impact as a chambers on our website.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head of Chambers | BOOTH QC, Richard (1993) | ||
| Senior clerk | Matthew Phipps | ||
| Chambers director | Andrew Meyler | ||
| Member of Chambers | SEABROOK QC, Robert (1964) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MILLER QC, Stephen (1971) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HAVERS QC, Philip (1974) | ||
| Member of Chambers | GUMBEL QC, Elizabeth-Anne (1974) | ||
| Member of Chambers | REES QC, Paul (1980) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BOWRON QC, Margaret (1978) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BALCOMBE QC, David (1980) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HART QC, David (1982) | ||
| Member of Chambers | FORDE QC, Martin (1984) | ||
| Member of Chambers | EDIS QC, William (1985) | ||
| Member of Chambers | McCULLOUGH QC, Angus (1990) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WHITTING QC, John (1991) | ||
| Member of Chambers | EVANS QC, David (1988) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WHEELER QC, Marina (1987) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WITCOMB QC, Henry (1989) | ||
| Member of Chambers | THOMAS QC, Owain (1995) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HYAM QC, Jeremy (1995) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BRADLEY QC, Clodagh (1996) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SKELTON QC, Peter (1997) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SANDERS, QC Oliver (1995) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RAHMAN, QC Shaheen (1996) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LAMBERT QC, Sarah (1994) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SINGH QC, Sarabjit (2001) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SHELDON QC, Neil (1998) | ||
| Member of Chambers | KELLAR QC, Robert (1999) | ||
| Member of Chambers | KING-SMITH, James (1980)* | ||
| Member of Chambers | GIMLETTE, John (1986) | ||
| Member of Chambers | KENNEDY, Andrew (1989) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DOWNS, Martin (1990) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CAVE, Jeremy (1992)* | ||
| Member of Chambers | COLIN, Giles (1994) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CHAWATAMA, Sydney (1994) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LEVINSON, Justin (1994) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SMITH, Richard (1999) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MELLOR, Christopher (1999) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BARNES, Matthew (2000) | ||
| Member of Chambers | O'DONNELL, Iain (2000) | ||
| Member of Chambers | GUTHRIE, Cara (2000) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MANKNELL, David (2001) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LAMBERT, Suzanne (2002) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ROGERSON, Judith (2003) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MANNION, Amy (2003) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MUMFORD, Richard (2004) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WOODS, Leanne (2005) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MARCUS, Rachel (2005) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RATHOD, Pritesh (2006) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CROSS, Caroline (2006) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DONMALL, Matthew (2006) | ||
| Member of Chambers | PAULIN, Michael (2007) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WALKER, Amelia (2007) | ||
| Member of Chambers | McARDLE, Isabel (2008) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HENDERSON, Alasdair (2009) | ||
| Member of Chambers | McGREGOR, Claire (2009) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HILL, Matthew (2009) | ||
| Member of Chambers | FLINN, Matthew (2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BARNES, Natasha (2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | REYNOLDS, Paul (2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BADENOCH, Rory (2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WILLIAMS, Lois (2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DUFFY, Jim (2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RUCK KEENE, Dominic (2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ELLIOTT, Jessica (2013) | ||
| Member of Chambers | NOYCE, Hannah (2013) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DEACON, Michael (2014) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CHALMERS, Rhoderick (2014) | ||
| Member of Chambers | FENELON, Emma-Louise (2015) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BARTH, Gideon (2015) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MOORE, Jo (2015) | ||
| Member of Chambers | METZER, Jonathan (2016) | ||
| Member of Chambers | GILMARTIN, Charlotte (2015) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BARHEY, Rajkiran (2017) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SPENCER, Michael | ||
| Member of Chambers | COFFEY, Darragh (2018) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BEAMONT, Thomas (2019) | ||
| Member of Chambers | KUZMENKO, Alice (2018) | ||
| Member of Chambers | TUFNELL, Henry (2018) | ||
| Academic Consultant | ENGLISH, Rosalind (1993) |
Barrister Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Richard Ager | Family law, in particular, public and private law children work and adoption;… | View Profile |
|
Paul Ashwell | Property advice and litigation: advice on options, sale of land, appearing at… | View Profile |
|
Jonathan Atkinson | Jonathan prosecutes and defends in the full range of serious sexual and… | View Profile |
 |
Rachel Baker | Barrister | View Profile |
|
Eleanor Battie | Eleanor has been specialising in family law since 2004. She has a… | View Profile |
 |
Laura Bayley | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Timothy Bergin | Family – particular emphasis on public law. Qualified family mediator and child… | View Profile |
 |
Kriston Berlevy | View Profile | |
 |
Roger Booth | All aspects of crime – prosecution and defence. R v N Webb… | View Profile |
 |
Jeremy Cave | Jeremy Cave’s practice covers Financial Remedies (and financial provision for children), Trusts… | View Profile |
 |
Clare Ciborowska | Barrister specialising in family, crime and employment. | View Profile |
 |
Rachael Claridge | Family law – public and private. | View Profile |
 |
Leo Cogin | Barrister. | View Profile |
 |
Rebecca Davies | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Sophie Evans | Barrister | View Profile |
|
Daniel Frier | Call 2005 Daniel Frier is a criminal law specialist, who undertakes work… | View Profile |
 |
Rachel Gimson | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Edward Hand | Barrister | View Profile |
|
Philip Havers | Areas of practice include: administrative/public law; human rights and civil liberties; constitutional… | View Profile |
 |
Susan Healey | All children law. | View Profile |
 |
Matthew Heywood | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Gavin Howe | Gavin predominantly practises in the field of Family Law: child protection work… | View Profile |
 |
Natasha Isaac | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Kirsten Japp | Barrister | View Profile |
|
Rowan Jenkins | Crime, especially serious sexual offences and those involving children and vulnerable witnesses.… | View Profile |
 |
James King-smith | Matrimonial/family finance. He is also a civil and commercial mediator. | View Profile |
 |
Aviva Le Prevost | View Profile | |
 |
David Lewis-Hall | Associate Member/Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Vanessa Long | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Lynn McFadyen | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Karen Mclaughlin | Karen McLaughlin has been practising family law for over 25 years, specialising… | View Profile |
 |
Daniel Miller | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Delia Minoprio | Barrister | View Profile |
|
Amanda Minto | Amanda Minto is a specialist family law barrister specialising in both family… | View Profile |
 |
Luisa Morelli | All areas of family law, with particular expertise in public law. | View Profile |
 |
Charlotte Morrish | Barrister | View Profile |
|
Catriona Murdoch | Catriona specialises in human rights and criminal law both domestically and internationally.… | View Profile |
 |
Amy Packham | View Profile | |
 |
Abha Pandya | View Profile | |
|
Jane Peckham | Family and civil practitioner. She is the Head of the Financial Remedies… | View Profile |
|
Christopher Prior | Christopher Prior is an established criminal practitioner, appearing for both the prosecution… | View Profile |
 |
David Reader | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Christopher Rice | View Profile | |
 |
Kate Richmond | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Jacqueline Roach | Jacqueline Roach’s practice covers the full range of public law children cases. | View Profile |
 |
Pegah Sharghy | Family law; divorce financial remedies specialist with wide experience of high-value and… | View Profile |
|
Simon Sinnatt | Landlord and tenant (commercial, non- residential and residential); boundary disputes, easements, trusts… | View Profile |
|
Adam Smith | Family Law: children (public and private). | View Profile |
 |
Julie Stather | Family Law specialist and a trained family law Arbitrator and Mediator. She… | View Profile |
 |
Neville Stevenson-watt | Barrister | View Profile |
|
Scott Storey | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Nigel Taylor | Care proceedings; international child law; financial settlements. | View Profile |
 |
Bruce Tregoning | Barrister. | View Profile |
|
Rebecca Upton | Rebecca has built up a strong criminal practice and undertakes work in… | View Profile |
|
Michael Walker | Barrister | View Profile |
 |
Camilla Wells | Family – children and matrimonial. | View Profile |
 |
Matthew Withers | Barrister | View Profile |
|
Stuart Wright | Stuart has a specialist civil practice, with particular emphasis on: housing; landlord… | View Profile |
1 Crown Office Row, Brighton > Set Profile
Chambers is a well established set in Brighton and is an annex of 1 Crown Office Row in the Temple, which has maintained strong Sussex connections for over 50 years. It is recognised as a leading set status for its family, civil and criminal work as well as for their charitable initiatives and events.Members practise from centrally located modern premises only a few minutes walk away from the Brighton District Registry and county and magistrates courts.
The set: Chambers is by far the largest set based in Brighton. For some time, it is the only regional set to have won preferred set status with Brighton and Hove City Council for its family, civil and criminal work.
The set has grown quickly in recent years, to its current strength of 58 members based in Brighton. Its turnover has grown significantly in recent years, reflecting the dynamism of the local legal scene and chambers success in capturing an increasing share of the work available. It now services clients along a wide stretch of the South coast, from Portsmouth to Hastings, and clients in Hampshire, Surrey and Kent, in addition to Sussex.
The heart of the Civil Practice Group’s work is commercial dispute resolution and property litigation. It acts for and against public authorities, companies, partnerships and individuals. The commercial practice ranges from contracts to shareholder and director disputes. Property litigation includes sales and purchases of land, options, easements, boundaries, leasehold enfranchisement and town and country planning. The group also has expertise in probate & trusts, personal injury, professional negligence and employment law.
Our Criminal Team is committed to providing advocacy and advice to the highest possible standard. Our highly experienced team generally covers courts from Portsmouth in the West to Canterbury in the East and up to and including London in the North. However, Members of the Team are happy to travel beyond this region to cater for clients’ needs.
Chambers has a fully committed Family Law Team who undertake the whole range of family proceedings. We have specialists in both Public and Private Law Children, Financial Remedies, Domestic Violence & Injunctions. The team comprises advocates that excel in their field with strength in numbers and expertise from Senior counsel to Junior members. Uniquely, we offer accredited Arbitrators for Child Arbitration and Family Mediation to help families resolve disputes quickly outside of the court system.
Members of the family team ensure they are approachable, and sensitive to the client’s needs. Our local practice gives us extensive experience and knowledge of local judicial practice. We have superb conference facilities in the centre of Brighton location conveniently located close to the major family centres of Sussex as well as the courts. With extensive expertise in Criminal, Civil & Family Law, One Crown Office Row is able to pride itself both on client care and professional excellence. We are available for emergency applications and can normally accept instructions at very short notice.
Members and clerks are active in the local community and frequently raise funds to support charities close to out hearts. As a set, we are committed to promoting inclusion at the Bar and developing sustainable working practices.
Types of work undertaken: Chambers undertakes all types of general common law work civil, criminal and family. While it is particularly widely recognised for its strength in all types of family proceedings, chambers also has wide experience of landlord and tenant and building work, professional negligence, personal injury, employment and licensing, and prosecuting and defending crime, increasingly all types of regulatory crime. In many of these practice areas (eg in matrimonial finance and personal injury), practitioners benefit from having access to leading silks in these areas, based in One Crown Office Row, London. A good number of members are also trained mediators (www.disputesmediated.com) and many accept instructions under the Bar Council’s Direct Access arrangements (www.barristerforme.com).
Recruitment: up to two pupils are taken annually, each with an award of £10,000 for the first six months and a guaranteed level of earnings of £10,000 for the second six. Applications are accepted by CV and covering letter sent to Chambers. Please visit the Careers section on our website for more details.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head of Brighton Chambers | SINNATT, Simon (1993) | ||
| Senior clerk | BINGHAM, David | ||
| Chambers Director | MEYLER, Andrew | ||
| Member of Chambers | BOOTH, Roger (1966) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ASHWELL, Paul (1977) | ||
| Member of Chambers | KING-SMITH, James (1980) | ||
| Member of Chambers | McLAUGHLIN, Karen (1982) | ||
| Member of Chambers | STEVENSON-WATT, Neville (1985) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SMITH, Adam (1987) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BERGIN, Timothy (1987) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LE PREVOST, Aviva (1990) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RICE, Christopher (1991) | ||
| Members of Chambers | CAVE, Jeremy (1992) | ||
| Member of Chambers | TAYLOR, Nigel (1993) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MORELLI, Luisa (1993) | ||
| Member of Chambers | JENKINS, Rowan (1994) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HEALEY, Susan (1995) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CLARIDGE, Rachael (1996) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ROACH, Jacqueline (1996) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DAVIES, Rebecca (1996) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SHARGHY, Pegah (1998) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WELLS, Camilla (1998) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BAYLEY, Laura (1998) | ||
| Member of Chambers | UPTON, Rebecca (1999) | ||
| Member of Chambers | PECKHAM, Jane (1999) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WRIGHT, Stuart (2000) | ||
| Member of Chambers | COGIN, Leo (2000) | ||
| Member of Chambers | STATHER, Julie (2000) | ||
| Member of Chambers | PACKHAM, Amy (2000) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BAKER, Rachel (2000) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BERLEVY, Kriston (2002) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HOWE, Gavin (2003) | ||
| Member of Chambers | McFADYEN, Lynn (2003) | ||
| Member of Chambers | AGER, Richard (2004) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BATTIE, Eleanor (2004) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MILLER, Daniel (2005) | ||
| Member of Chambers | FRIER, Daniel (2005) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HEYWOOD, Matthew (2006) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HAND, Edward (2007) | ||
| Member of Chambers | PRIOR, Christopher (2007) | ||
| Member of Chambers | PANDYA, Abha (2007) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ATKINSON, Jonathan (2007) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MINOPRIO, Delia (2007) | ||
| Member of Chambers | TREGONING, Bruce (2008) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WALKER, Michael (2008) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CIBOROWSKA, Clare (2009) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MINTO, Amanda (2009) | ||
| Member of Chambers | EVANS, Sophie (2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MORRISH, Charlotte (2013) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LONG, Vanessa (2014) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RICHMOND, Kate (2014) | ||
| Member of Chambers | JAPP, Kirsten (2014) | ||
| Member of Chambers | STOREY, Scott (2015) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WITHERS, Matthew (2016) | ||
| Member of Chambers | READER, David (2017) | ||
| Member of Chambers | GIMSON, Rachel (2018) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ISSAC, Natasha (2017) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SOURESH, Anogika (2018) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SPALDING, Hope (2019) | ||
| Associate Member of Chambers | HOLLIS, HH Keith | ||
| Associate Member of Chambers | MURDOCH, Catriona (2009) | ||
| Associate Member of Chambers | LEWIS-HALL, David (2010) |
Diversity/Community
Community
Diversity
We belong to and sponsor charitable organisations as part of our support for the legal community. 1COR provide annual financial support to the Bar Pro Bono Unit, Free Representation Unit and Personal Support Unit with members regularly giving their time free of charge to support cases passed to us by those units. Our longstanding involvement with these units has led to chambers being designated a “Platinum Friend in Law” and a Silver “Pro Bono Patron”.
1COR members are also involved in local associations and resources with chambers support, including Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA), Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA), Professional Negligence Bar Association (PNBA), Personal Injury Bar Association (PIBA) or the Barrister’s Benevolent Association (BBA).
Chambers participate in the London Legal Walk in aid of the London Legal Support Trust and members complete sporting challenges, such as the London Marathon or Great Legal Bake, on behalf of charities. 1COR annually hold a Christmas Card Competition and pledge £200 to the winner’s charity of choice. Chambers is also proud to promote the arts through its support of the Temple Music Foundation (TMF).
Our members in our Brighton Annex are active in the South-Eastern legal community, engaging with local legal organisations including Resolution, Thames Valley Family Lawyer’s Association and sponsor the Brighton Business School Prize for Family Law. 1COR members helped establish and continue to be closely involved with the Quality Circle in Sussex. We also have a regular team in the Brighton Metro Bank Pool League and, more recently, members of chambers were featured on a panel discussing the Ruth Bader Ginsberg documentary ‘RBG’.
1COR consistently fundraise for charities close to their hearts, surpassing themselves each year with events, bake sales and sporting endeavours (details here). 1COR annually organise the Ghulam Hussain Volley Ball tournament which supports local charities such as Rocking Horse and British Heart foundation. Each year members participate in the London Legal Support Trust ‘Bake-Off’, run, go-kart, swim, cycle, golf and play netball to fundraise for The Oliver Fisher Trust. Each Christmas 1COR members donate gifts to the YMCA ‘Love in a Box’ appeal and, in 2017, Eleanor Battie volunteered with the ‘We are Here’ programme at a refugee camp.
Equality, Diversity, Inclusion
Chambers Policy
We take very seriously our commitment to encouraging both equality and diversity in chambers and at the Bar generally, in recognition of the need for the profession to be
representative of society as a whole. We aim to recruit from as wide a talent pool as possible, and indeed nearly half of our new tenants in the last five years have been women and a significant proportion of our members are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds or attended state schools.
We are conscious of the financial difficulties entrants to the Bar can face and we have adopted a number of measures to tackle this problem. Our assessed mini-pupillages and pupillages are generously funded and we support our most junior tenants through the provision of interest-free loans and the waiver of chambers’ contribution and rent payments.
As part of our efforts to address the issue of the large drop-out rate at the Bar of women of 10-15+ years’ call, we have a policy designed to ensure that we retain members who return from maternity or paternity leave. They do not pay any rent whilst they are on leave and neither do they have to pay contributions or rent for a certain period when they return.
Moreover, our clerks are active in supporting returning parents, both in terms of generating work and being flexible with working practices.
We promote a culture within chambers where any issues concerning equality and diversity can be freely raised by members or staff. Through our active E&D committee and our formal and informal mentoring schemes, we encourage the discussion of such issues so that we can monitor and address any concerns as early as possible. We are proud to consider ourselves not as a chambers committed to E&D merely ‘on paper’, but committed to E&D as part of our ‘DNA’ and in everything we do in practice.
Access to the Bar (specialised mini-pupillage scheme)
One of the biggest problems at the Bar is the lack of representation of those from socio- economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and we take positive action to address this. Head of Outreach is an important position within chambers with our previous head, Sarabjit Singh QC now a Social Mobility Advocate for the Bar Council. Jo Moore took over and continues to co-ordinate with charities and educational institutions to promote access to the Bar.
For example, since 2015 we have offered at least ten assessed mini-pupillages to socio- economically disadvantaged applicants and guarantee a first-round interview for pupillage to those who do well.
We also have an outreach programme in London and Brighton, led by Jo Moore, in which we have partnered with the Sutton Trust to work with 16-18 year olds from less advantaged backgrounds with the aim of encouraging them to consider the Bar as a career option. This programme selects highly able 16-year-olds from less advantaged backgrounds and provides them with a range of opportunities to further their legal education. All of which is delivered in partnership with some of the finest universities in the country.
Jo Moore additionally runs a specialised week for selected students on the above course to attend workshops given by our barristers, visit the courts and watch trials. At the end of the week students use what they have learnt in a mock trial with celebratory Chambers pizza afterwards to give them a get an insight into daily life in chambers.
1 Crown Office Row’s attendance at the Trust’s Pathways to Law events and equality & diversity mini-pupillage scheme are all part of its ongoing efforts, led by Jo Moore, to widen access to the Bar for talented young people from backgrounds underrepresented in the profession.
Listen to episode 84 of Law Pod UK to hear Emma-Louise Fenelon, 1COR’s Head of Outreach Jo Moore, and Laura Bruce, Head of Programmes and Partnerships at the Sutton Trust here. They discuss how the Bar can become more equal and diverse by improving access to the Bar for future generations.
Diversity Data
New tenants in London in last 5 years
- Total: 17
- Women: 47%
- BAME: 12%
London silks overall
- Total: 24
- Women: 25% (compared to 13% at the Bar generally)
- BAME: 5% (compared to 6% at the Bar generally)
London juniors overall
- Total: 45
- Women: 33%
- BAME: 13%
Brighton Juniors
- Total: 49
- Women: 49%
- BAME: 8%
Sustainability
In addition to our work with UKELA and close ties with ELF, of which David Hart QC is chairman, chambers is constantly working to be as environmentally friendly as we can realistically be.
Some examples include our recycling initiatives (including participation in the Nespresso, HP and Canon printer cartridge recycling schemes, waste management), using recycled materials (paper, pens etc), going paper-free, giving sustainable alternatives and resources to members where possible and consciously conserving energy. We are constantly looking to leave a lighter footprint, whether by moving towards renewable energy supplies, eco- friendly stationary and phasing out single use plastic.
Top Tier Set Rankings
- London Bar Immigration (including business immigration)
- London Bar Clinical negligence
- London Bar Inquests and inquiries
- London Bar Environment
Set Rankings
- Regional Bar Crime (general and fraud)
- Regional Bar Family and children law
- London Bar International crime and extradition
- London Bar Civil liberties and human rights (including actions against the police)
- London Bar Professional disciplinary and regulatory law
- London Bar Tax: corporate and VAT/indirect tax
- London Bar Administrative and public law (including elections)
- London Bar Personal injury, industrial disease and insurance fraud
- Regional Bar Commercial litigation
- Regional Bar Court of Protection and community care
- Regional Bar Property and construction
- London Bar Set overviews: England and Wales
- Regional Bar Set overviews: England and Wales