Devereux > London, England > Set Profile
Devereux Offices

Devereux
QUEEN ELIZABETH BUILDING, TEMPLE
LONDON
EC4Y 9BS
England
Devereux > The Legal 500 Rankings
London Bar > Employment Tier 2
Devereux has ‘great strength in depth‘ in employment law. The team is well-known for appearing before both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, and is routinely instructed to act in a wide range of employment litigation. Members continue to handle high-profile industrial relations cases and Covid-19 related employment matters, both key areas of expertise for Andrew Burns KC. Alice Mayhew KC‘s track record includes appearing before the Employment Tribunal and High Court in claims involving allegations of harassment, whistleblowing and discrimination. Among the junior end of chambers, Peter Edwards is sought after for his excellent reputation in handling disability discrimination claims, with a niche focus on discrimination cases involving psychiatric issues.Leading Silks
2022 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘The clerks are great. Cyrus Biggs always goes out of his way to help.’
‘Glenn Billenness is commercial and plain speaking.’
‘From the clerks to the most senior barristers, Devereux is a class apart: smart, commercial and strategic. They are super easy to deal with. Turn around time is minimal and the quality of the work at all levels is exceptional.’
‘One of the top chambers for employment law in London.’
‘Good availability.’
‘Very accommodating.’
‘Working with all of the clerks at Devereux is super straightforward.’
‘Excellent – the clerking team at Devereux is very responsive.’
London Bar > Personal injury, industrial disease and insurance fraud Tier 2
The ‘top quality barristers’ at Devereux make it ‘an excellent set to work with‘ – experienced acting for both claimants and defendants across the spectrum of catastrophic injury work. Robert Weir KC is involved in a number of market-leading claims, including Rabot and Briggs v Hassam, in which he acts for APIL and MASS – a test case concerning the whiplash regime legislation, and how to determine the method of valuing mixed injury claims which include an award for whiplash injuries under the Civil Liability Act 2018 tariff scheme. Alongside this injury work, he has notable expertise regarding mesothelioma claims – an area in which Jonathan Butters also specialises. Stephen Killalea KC has particular strength in complex road traffic accident claims; Peter Edwards is experienced in psychiatric injury claims arising out of bullying and harassment in the workplace.Leading Silks
Personal injury - Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘The clerks room are exceptional Glenn Billeness head of clerks and James Hudson in particular ‘
‘Personal Injury Chambers of choice in London.’
‘Excellent clerking. Cyrus Biggs is a particular star.’
‘Cyrus Briggs and Chris Downes are impressive, speedy and professional.’
‘The service from the clerks is excellent and very attentive to the individual needs of a case.’
‘An excellent set of barristers, at the top of their game. An unrivalled balance of heavyweight KCs, experienced juniors and up and coming talent.’
‘Devereux is an excellent set to work with – good clerks and top quality barristers.’
‘An efficient clerking team who know exactly what it takes.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Tax: corporate Tier 2
The Devereux tax group covers a broad range of contentious and non-contentious tax matters, and benefits from internal strength in core areas such as employment, commercial disputes and professional negligence. Members are regularly active for HMRC, but appear for both taxpayers and the government at all levels of the courts. Felicity Cullen KC advises owner managed businesses on complex international matters. Crossing over with his employment and sports expertise, Akash Nawbatt KC appeared before the Supreme Court in HMRC v Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, on the employment status and tax treatment of professional football referees. Aparna Nathan KC utilised capital allowances expertise as sole counsel for HMRC in Cheshire Cavity Storage 1 Limited, EDF Energy v HMRC, while Christopher Stone has a highly active disputes practice. Glenn Billenness was appointed director of clerking and business development in 2023.Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘Clerks are responsive and helpful – very easy to deal with.’
‘Glenn Billeness – nice guy, approachable and down-to-earth and all in all a very decent guy. Knows our needs and makes the right recommendations for us, always going the extra mile.’
‘The clerks, Glenn Billeness in particular, are proactive and have a great understanding of their barristers; matching needs with experience perfectly in all of their recommendations.’
‘Glenn Billeness is fantastic. He is responsive, a delight to work with and always happy to try and accommodate urgent requests.’
‘In recent years, Devereux has built one of the pre-eminent tax practices in London, which has considerable strength in depth. They now rank alongside the very best specialist tax sets.’
‘Devereux is, in my view, one of the best Tax chambers out there. The people in the tax practice are of the highest quality in and out of court.’
‘I instruct the silks at Devereux regularly, it is a broad tax set with a wealth of experience and talent.’
‘Devereux is a market leading tax set with a great breadth of experience.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Tax: personal Tier 2
Devereux‘s private client practice provides comprehensive service in both advisory and contentious matters. Felicity Cullen KC is noted for her ‘thorough, thoughtful, insightful analysis’, and is experienced in advising owner managed business, as well as high and ultra-high net worth individuals. Aparna Nathan KC‘s client base includes historic estates and foreign royalty, and covers a diverse range of matters including mixed member partnership issues. Marika Lemos appeared for the taxpayer in HMRC v Wilkes, a key case concerning the validity of discovery assessments issued by HMRC.Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘Good service.’
‘I have dealt largely with Glenn Billenness, and he is always friendly and approachable.’
‘Devereux Chambers is the pre-eminent set for barristers to advocate a case regarding personal taxation, whether that is taxation of income or the use of intermediaries (IR35) or cases involving personal residence and domicile.’
‘In recent years, Devereux has built one of the pre-eminent tax practices in London, which has considerable strength in depth. They now rank alongside the very best specialist tax sets.’
‘I have instructed a number of tax counsel at Devereux and have found the standard to be very high.’
‘Outstanding strength in depth at both silk and junior level.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Tax: VAT and excise Tier 2
Devereux‘s members act for taxpayers and the government across the entire spectrum of direct and indirect tax-related mandates. The set is home to Felicity Cullen KC, who regularly advises owner managed businesses, and Barrie Akin, who acted for the taxpayer in Mitchell and Bell v HMRC, a Court of Appeal case concerning whether the taxpayer was allowed to see documents relating to a business partner in Personal Liability Notice proceedings. Marika Lemos often represents HMRC in complex cases such as Carter & Kennedy v HMRC, an appeal by the taxpayer against the decision of the First-Tier Tribunal regarding the ‘hypothetical officer test’, which found that the discovery assessment issued to the taxpayer was valid. Howard Watkinson is another key member of the set, which saw the addition of Max Schofield in January 2023 with expertise in representing large multinationals and start-up companies.Rising stars
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘The counsel at Devereux are extremely good and they bring a large number of good juniors through.’
London Bar > Telecoms Regulation Tier 2
At Devereux, Graham Read KC is acting for the claimant in Vodafone Limited v (1) Gencomp (No 7) Limited (2) AP Wireless II (UK) Limited, an ongoing, high-profile case concerning the procedure for the renewal of agreements under the Electronic Communications Code in the context of a concurrent lease of a telecommunications site. Georgina Hirsch is highly regarded for her expertise in advising on contentious telecoms mandates.London Bar > Clinical negligence Tier 3
Devereux is ‘an excellent set‘, acting on all aspects of clinical negligence, with particular expertise in high-value claims. Robert Weir KC is ‘a force to be reckoned with‘, notably acting this year for the claimants in the highly anticipated case of Paul and Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, heard in the Supreme Court in May 2023, determining whether family members who witness the death of a patient long after negligent treatment are able to make secondary victim claims. Robert Glancy KC has particular expertise in catastrophic brain and spinal injury cases, and notable experience in cases involving cerebral palsy. ‘Fantastic, first-rate senior barrister‘ Richard Cartwright has notable expertise in birth trauma claims, including Erb’s palsy.Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘Excellent set, great silks as well as a crop of juniors and senior juniors who are consistently good.’
‘Exceptional clerks who want to do the best by their clients.’
‘They have the best clerking team in the Temple. James Hudson, Chris Downes and Cyrus Biggs are all fantastic.’
‘Best clerks room at the Bar. Chris Downes, Cyrus Biggs and James Hudson are outstanding. Nothing is too much trouble, they maintain communication and follow up without prompting.’
Work highlights
London Bar > IT and telecoms (infrastructure and contracts) Tier 3
Members of Devereux act for major communications and infrastructure providers, as well as smaller entities and international telecoms companies. Graham Read KC continues to act for major client BT, leading Rory Cochrane, in its proceedings in the Commercial Court seeking £16m of payments for electronic communications services which it alleges TalkTalk has withheld.Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘Glenn Billeness is excellent.’
‘Clerks have always been helpful.’
‘Excellent telecoms expertise.’
Work highlights
London Bar > Insurance and reinsurance Tier 4
Members of Devereux have been instructed on a number of complex and high value domestic and international cases surrounding the insurance and reinsurance market in the past year. Richard Harrison was involved in Geo-Minerals GT Ltd v Rouse & Co International Limited & Others which involved a claim against insurers of an alleged negligent patent attorney for failures which assisted the success of a fraud conspiracy, where the alleged conspirators registered the trademarks, IP and contracts of the claimant in the name of their company called a similar name.Leading Silks
Testimonials
‘Top class set. Good strength in depth.’
‘Very attentive and responsive clerking.’
Work highlights
London Bar > International arbitration: arbitrators
Leading counsel as arbitrators
London Bar > Professional negligence
London Bar > International arbitration: counsel
London Bar > Commercial litigation
London Bar > Banking and finance (including consumer credit)
London Bar > Sport
Leading Juniors
Devereux > Set Profile
Devereux Chambers is one of the UK’s leading civil and commercial sets with 56 barristers, including 11 silks, offering in-depth expertise in its core areas of law. Devereux has been commended for combining legal excellence with a modern and collaborative approach. Devereux deals with all aspects of employment, serious injury, clinical negligence, insurance, telecommunications, commercial litigation and tax.
The set: At Devereux, you find excellent barristers who truly add value, offering clear and robust legal advice and outstanding advocacy while remaining approachable. Stellar silks and outstanding juniors are supported by experienced practice managers and knowledgeable business services staff. Devereux’s standing in the marketplace is confirmed by the fact that the set has been nominated in eight categories (four individual and four as a set) at The Legal 500 Awards and has been shortlisted for “Chambers of the Year” at the Legal Business Awards.
Devereux hosts seminars and webinars in its leading areas of practice, and its members are regularly invited to speak at conferences or write for leading specialist publications.
Types of work undertaken: Devereux offers advice and litigates in the County Courts, Employment and Tax Tribunals, the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court across all our core practice areas. Members regularly deal with complex and high-value disputes in domestic and international jurisdictions. Members also act before and as arbitrators and mediators.
Devereux members’ experience in complementary areas of work provides a distinct advantage in disputes where there is a cross-over between different practice areas. For example, tax and employment; professional negligence and insurance; and personal injury and employment. Exposure to a broad range of work means that junior tenants gain extensive experience of all aspects of oral and written advocacy at an early stage.
A number of Devereux’s barristers also benefit from their previous experience working outside of the Bar, including in solicitors’ firms, medical doctor, strategic management consultants, industry federations, and for Ofcom or the Competition Commission. This brings an understanding of the pressures of the competitive corporate environment clients operate in.
Please visit Devereux’s website for detailed information on the set’s core practice areas and detailed barrister profiles.
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
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Director of Clerking and Business Development | BILLENNESS, Glenn | ||
Member of Chambers | BURNS KC, Andrew (1993/2015) | ||
Member of Chambers | EDELMAN KC, Colin (1977/1995) | ||
Member of Chambers | GLANCY KC, Robert (1972/1997) | ||
Member of Chambers | READ KC, Graham (1981/2003) | ||
Member of Chambers | KILLALEA KC, Stephen (1981/2006) | ||
Member of Chambers | CULLEN KC, Felicity (1985/2008) | ||
Member of Chambers | CARR KC, Bruce (1986/2009) | ||
Member of Chambers | WEIR KC, Robert (1992/2010) | ||
Member of Chambers | NAWBATT KC, Akash (1999/2017) | ||
Member of Chambers | NATHAN KC, Aparna (1994/2019) | ||
Member of Chambers | MAYHEW KC, Alice (2001/2022) | ||
Member of Chambers | AKIN, Barrie (1976) | ||
Member of Chambers | BARD, Nicholas (1979) | ||
Member of Chambers | MENDOZA, Colin (1983) | ||
Door Tenant | ROYLE, Richard (1983)* | ||
Member of Chambers | EMERSON, Paul (1984) | ||
Member of Chambers | WALKER, Christopher (1990) | ||
Member of Chambers | HARRISON, Richard (1991) | ||
Member of Chambers | EDWARDS, Peter (1992) | ||
Member of Chambers | CARTWRIGHT, Richard (1994) | ||
Member of Chambers | COTTRELL, Stephen (1998) | ||
Member of Chambers | CATHERWOOD, Shaen (2000) | ||
Member of Chambers | HUNTER, Robert (2000) | ||
Member of Chambers | MURRAY, Rebecca (2001) | ||
Member of Chambers | LEMOS, Marika (2002) | ||
Door Tenant | AVERY, Rachel (2003) | ||
Member of Chambers | BUTTERS, Jonathan (2003) | ||
Member of Chambers | HARRIS, Lucinda (2004) | ||
Member of Chambers | BELL, Laura (2004) | ||
Member of Chambers | BARSAM, Talia (2006) | ||
Member of Chambers | CORDREY, Thomas (2006) | ||
Member of Chambers | NICHOLLS, Samuel (2006) | ||
Member of Chambers | WATKINSON, Howard (2006) | ||
Member of Chambers | FEAR DAVIES, Harriet (2007) | ||
Member of Chambers | STONE, Christopher (2007) | ||
Member of Chambers | CARSE, Alice (2008) | ||
Member of Chambers | BALMER, Kate (2009) | ||
Member of Chambers | HIRSCH, Georgina (2009) | ||
Member of Chambers | CROZIER, Jesse (2009) | ||
Member of Chambers | PURNELL, Sebastian (2010) | ||
Member of Chambers | HICKS, Georgia (2012) | ||
Member of Chambers | COCHRANE, Rory (2013) | ||
Member of Chambers | SHRIVASTAVA, Ishaani (2010) | ||
Member of Chambers | RANDLE, Bayo (2012) | ||
Member of Chambers | SELLWOOD, Matthew (2013) | ||
Member of Chambers | TUTIN, Marianne (2013) | ||
Member of Chambers | HOSKING, Katya (2014) | ||
Member of Chambers | KELLY, Colm (2015) | ||
Member of Chambers | CAREY, Joshua (2015) | ||
Member of Chambers | SCHOFIELD, Max (2016) | ||
Member of Chambers | PLATTS-MILLS, John (2016) | ||
Member of Chambers | SHEEHAN, Harry (2017) | ||
Member of Chambers | GREENLEY, Anna (2009) | ||
Member of Chambers | WAY, Sam (2016) | ||
Member of Chambers | DHORAJIWALA, Hitesh (2019) | ||
Member of Chambers | HILL, Charlie (2019) | ||
Member of Chambers | WESTWELL, Thomas (2018) | ||
Member of Chambers | BIGNELL, Matthew (2021) | ||
Member of Chambers | ARYA, Aparajita (2021) | ||
Member of Chambers | DEFRIEND, Alice (2022) |
Barrister Profiles
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Barrie Akin | Barrie Akin’s practice takes him into all areas of revenue law and… | View Profile |
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Rachel Avery | Rachel Avery specialises in commercial and employment law with extensive experience in… | View Profile |
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Kate Balmer | Kate Balmer practices predominantly in the field of employment law, including employment… | View Profile |
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Nicholas Bard | Nicholas Bard specialises in professional negligence (solicitors, surveyors, architects, accountants, etc) –… | View Profile |
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Talia Barsam | Specialises in all areas of employment law, including discrimination law, whistleblowing, industrial… | View Profile |
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Laura Bell | Laura Bell has a wide-ranging employment practice and regularly advises on everything… | View Profile |
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Timothy Brennan | Timothy Brennan KC specialises in tax, finance, employment and public law in… | View Profile |
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Timothy Brennan | Timothy Brennan KC specialises in tax, finance, employment and public law in… | View Profile |
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Andrew Burns | Andrew Burns KC specialises in complex commercial, employment and industrial disputes, particularly… | View Profile |
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Andrew Burns | Andrew Burns KC specialises in complex commercial, employment and industrial disputes, particularly… | View Profile |
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Jonathan Butters | Jonathan Butters is an experienced personal injury and clinical negligence practitioner. He… | View Profile |
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Joshua Carey | View Profile | |
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Bruce Carr | Bruce Carr KC practises predominantly in the field of employment law, but… | View Profile |
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Bruce Carr | Bruce Carr KC practises predominantly in the field of employment law, but… | View Profile |
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Richard Cartwright | Richard Cartwright specialises in high value clinical negligence and personal injury claims,… | View Profile |
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Shaen Catherwood | Shaen Catherwood specialises in commercial disputes, including in the energy field, telecommunications… | View Profile |
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Rory Cochrane | Rory has a broad commercial litigation and arbitration practice, with particular expertise… | View Profile |
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Thomas Cordrey | Thomas Cordrey has extensive experience in the Court of Appeal, High Court,… | View Profile |
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Stephen Cottrell | Stephen Cottrell has a busy nationwide practice predominantly comprising of personal injury… | View Profile |
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Jesse Crozier | Jesse Crozier has a busy practice spanning the breadth of employment and… | View Profile |
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Felicity Cullen | Felicity Cullen KC practices in corporate partnership and business taxation of all… | View Profile |
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Felicity Cullen | Felicity Cullen KC practices in corporate partnership and business taxation of all… | View Profile |
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Colin Edelman | Colin Edelman KC specialises in high value complex commercial disputes with an… | View Profile |
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Colin Edelman | Colin Edelman KC specialises in high value complex commercial disputes with an… | View Profile |
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Peter Edwards | Peter Edwards practices in all areas of employment, discrimination and industrial relations… | View Profile |
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Paul Emerson | Paul Emerson undertakes a mixture of commercial work in the Chancery Division,… | View Profile |
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Harriet Fear Davies | Harriet Fear Davies specialises in Commercial Litigation, Energy & Natural Resources, Employment,… | View Profile |
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Robert Glancy | Robert Glancy KC focuses exclusively on personal injury, clinical negligence and professional… | View Profile |
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Robert Glancy | Robert Glancy KC focuses exclusively on personal injury, clinical negligence and professional… | View Profile |
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Anna Greenley | View Profile | |
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Lucinda Harris | Lucinda Harris specialises in all areas of employment law, including restrictive covenants… | View Profile |
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Richard Harrison | Richard Harrison specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration, especially insurance and reinsurance… | View Profile |
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Georgia Hicks | Georgia Hicks’ practice areas are tax, employment, and sports law. She is… | View Profile |
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Georgina Hirsch | Georgina Hirsch is ranked for both employment law and telecommunications regulation. She… | View Profile |
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Robert Hunter | Rob Hunter is a highly regarded senior junior who has specialised in… | View Profile |
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Stephen Killalea | Stephen Killalea KC has had one of the leading catastrophic brain and spinal… | View Profile |
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Stephen Killalea | Stephen Killalea KC has had one of the leading catastrophic brain and spinal… | View Profile |
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Marika Lemos | Marika Lemos specialises in all aspects of revenue law. She also accepts… | View Profile |
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Alice Mayhew | Alice Mayhew KC is a specialist in employment litigation and advisory work… | View Profile |
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Alice Mayhew | Alice Mayhew KC is a specialist in employment litigation and advisory work… | View Profile |
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Colin Mendoza | Colin Mendoza specialises in complex high-value clinical negligence and personal injury cases,… | View Profile |
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Rebecca Murray | Rebecca Murray has a tax litigation and advisory practice in Private Client,… | View Profile |
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Aparna Nathan | Aparna Nathan KC is a highly sought-after tax barrister. She has a… | View Profile |
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Aparna Nathan | Aparna Nathan KC is a highly sought-after tax barrister. She has a… | View Profile |
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Akash Nawbatt | Akash Nawbatt KC’s principal areas of practice are employment and tax law.… | View Profile |
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Akash Nawbatt | Akash Nawbatt KC’s principal areas of practice are employment and tax law.… | View Profile |
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Samuel Nicholls | View Profile | |
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Sebastian Purnell | Sebastian Purnell specialises in all areas of employment and discrimination law (both… | View Profile |
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Bayo Randle | Bayo Randle has a busy and diverse practice in the areas of… | View Profile |
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Graham Read | Graham Read KC is a specialist in commercial law (including contract law;… | View Profile |
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Graham Read | Graham Read KC is a specialist in commercial law (including contract law;… | View Profile |
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Richard Royle | Richard Royle specialises in catastrophic brain and spinal injuries and in motor… | View Profile |
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Matthew Sellwood | View Profile | |
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Ishaani Shrivastava | Ishaani Shrivastava’s principal areas of practice are employment, public, and tax law.… | View Profile |
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Christopher Stone | Chris Stone is a highly rated barrister specialising in the areas of… | View Profile |
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Marianne Tutin | Marianne specialises in employment, tax and commercial litigation. Her practice covers all… | View Profile |
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Mr Christopher Walker | Christopher is a catastrophic personal injury specialist, instructed on behalf of both… | View Profile |
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Howard Watkinson | View Profile | |
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Robert Weir | Robert Weir KC is a highly regarded barrister dealing with personal injury… | View Profile |
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Robert Weir | Robert Weir KC is a highly regarded barrister dealing with personal injury… | View Profile |
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Devereux has a friendly workplace culture and professional work ethic. We are an equal opportunities employer and are fully committed to providing equality of opportunity and to eliminating discrimination on grounds of race including colour, ethnic or national origins, gender, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age and disability.
We believe it is important to support charities, offer pro-bono work and contribute to the legal community in general where and whenever possible.
Since 2019, 20 Devereux members have provided pro bono services across the employment, tax, and personal injury practice areas.
Devereux is a long standing supporter of Advocate, “the Bar’s national charity”. Advocate “match members of the public who need free legal help with barristers who are willing to donate their time and expertise in deserving cases for those who are unable to obtain legal aid and cannot afford to pay.” Devereux supports this charity both financially and by reviewing and undertaking pro bono cases for those in need.
Devereux is a member of Pro Bono Connect, a project set up to establish a network of barristers and solicitors willing to work together on pro bono cases for individuals, charities and community groups who cannot afford to pay for legal advice/representation and for whom public or alternative means of funding are not reasonably available.
Devereux participates in the Pegasus Access Scheme and agree to take a number of work experience placements every year. Inner Temple launched the unique scheme in 2011 with the stated aim of improving access to the profession and to support high achieving students from under-represented backgrounds by providing the experiences they need to be able to thrive at the Bar.