Farrar's Building > London, England > Set Profile

Farrar's Building
TEMPLE
LONDON
EC4Y 7BD
England

London Bar > Personal injury, industrial disease and insurance fraud Tier 4

Farrar’s Building ‘offer a wide variety of talent‘, with ‘excellent strength and depth‘. Lee Evans continues to have a busy caseload in this area, with a focus on severe brain and spinal injuries. Andrew Arentsen is also a standout name in the set, this year acting for the dog owner in a case, in which liability is disputed, after a financial adviser suffered a tetraplegic injury after falling from a horse, provided by a supervised riding school, which had been scared by a West Highland terrier. John Meredith-Hardy has notable experience in cross-border claims.

Personal injury - Leading Juniors

Lee EvansFarrar’s Building ‘A go-to counsel for complex claims.’
Ranked: Tier 2
Andrew WilleFarrar’s Building ‘Andrew is a fantastic barrister. He is meticulous with his consideration of papers and the advice he provides is always first-class.’
Ranked: Tier 3
John Meredith-HardyFarrar’s Building ‘John is incredibly bright and tactically astute.'
Ranked: Tier 3
Andrew ArentsenFarrar’s Building ‘Andrew is very personable, good with clients, and gives clear sound advice.'
Ranked: Tier 4
Hannah SaxenaFarrar’s Building ‘Hannah has excellent judgement and is a very persuasive advocate. Very practical and sees the big picture.’
Ranked: Tier 4
James PretsellFarrar’s Building 'James is very thorough in approach to his practice, is always well prepared and ensures he leaves no stone unturned when examining complex issues of causation.'
Ranked: Tier 4
Joshua HedgmanFarrar’s Building ‘Joshua is an excellent barrister and has a wide range of knowledge. He is particularly impressive at trial and in advocacy.'
Ranked: Tier 4
Carwyn Cox  - Farrar's Building 'Carwyn combines intellectual rigour, with a thorough understanding of the case, and polished and smooth advocacy.'
Ranked: Tier 5
David Roderick - Farrar's Building 'David has an exceptional eye for detail and ensures that he understands a case from every angle.'
Ranked: Tier 5
Frederick Lyon  - Farrar's Building 'Able to digest a lot of information and ascertain the key points to eloquently and concisely present a case using the relevant legal and factual evidence.'
Ranked: Tier 5
Andrew PeeblesFarrar’s BuildingAndrew is very forensic in his analysis of complex cases, he is a very technical lawyer, a very strong advocate, and excellent on his feet.'
Ranked: Tier 5
John Brown - Farrar's Building 'John is an exceptionally skilled and zealous advocate. He always shows forensic attention to the detail of every case whether that be in written advice or on his feet.'
Ranked: Tier 5
Stuart Brady - Farrar's Building 'Stuart is exceptionally committed and diligent. He leaves no stone unturned and goes the extra mile to address any gaps in a case.'
Ranked: Tier 5
Howard Cohen Farrar’s BuildingHoward is incisive, straight forward and a compelling advocate.'
Ranked: Tier 5
Nick Blake Farrar’s Building ‘Nick is very knowledgeable in his subject.'
Ranked: Tier 5
Huw Davies  – Farrar’s Building ‘Huw's advocacy skills are exceptional.'
Ranked: Tier 5

Testimonials

‘The set is a strong set of very approachable, user friendly catastrophic defendant personal injury lawyers. They offer a wide variety of talent covering all matter of issues.’

‘Farrars Buildings is a good personal injury set, who have excellent strength and depth at all levels of experience.’

‘The clerks are friendly and approachable always willing to help solve a problem very friendly they go above and beyond.’

‘The Clerks are very efficient and helpful. In particular Kraig Marsh and James Shaw.’

‘All the clerks, senior and junior are friendly, helpful, approachable and always respond promptly.’

‘Good set of chambers with a range of PI barristers from junior to senior.’

‘Farrars is a friendly and impressive set, with a wide ranging selection of expertise.’

‘They are a very good set with a wide range of expertise. ‘

Work highlights

Wales and Chester Circuit > Crime (general and fraud)

Leading Silks

Paul Lewis KCFarrar’s Building ‘He is one of the leading criminal silks. He is meticulously prepared and an engaging and formidable advocate with an excellent legal mind.’ 
Ranked: Tier 1

Wales and Chester Circuit > Personal injury

Leading Juniors

Andrew ArentsenFarrar’s Building ‘He has an ability to get straight to the crucial matters in a case and will always make a decision rather than leave things up in the air. He commands the respect of judges by nailing the important issues and has excellent client care skills.’ 
Ranked: Tier 1
Andrew MorseFarrar’s Building  ‘He is an extremely client-friendly counsel, sensible, down to earth and pragmatic. He gets to the issues very quickly and is good in negotiations.'
Ranked: Tier 1
Simon HughesFarrar’s BuildingHe is an excellent advocate and provides thorough and pragmatic advice even on the most complex matters.  He is always calm and considered in his approach, putting client's at ease.' 
Ranked: Tier 1

London Bar > Professional disciplinary and regulatory law

Leading Silks

Geoffrey Williams KCFarrar’s BuildingA phenomenal practitioner. He has the respect of the clients, opponents, and the tribunal.'
Ranked: Tier 2

South Eastern Circuit > Personal injury

London Bar > Clinical negligence

Leading Juniors

Nigel Spencer LeyFarrar’s Building ‘Nigel is extremely pleasant to work with. His pleadings are persuasive, he is good in conference with experts and very responsive.'
Ranked: Tier 3
Aidan O’BrienFarrar’s Building ‘Aidan is a brilliant barrister. He is very good on his feet at court and in ADR.'
Ranked: Tier 3
Tim FoundFarrar’s Building ‘Tim's advocacy is first class: focused, always relevant and never a bad point taken. He is great on his feet and in cross-examining witnesses.'
Ranked: Tier 3
Hannah Saxena  - Farrar's Building 'Hannah has a good understanding very complex and risky cases. She gets to grips with complex expert evidence quickly.'
Ranked: Tier 4

London Bar > Employment

Leading Juniors

Leslie Millin – Farrar’s Building 'Personal and methodical - working with Leslie is very easy.'
Ranked: Tier 4
Emma Sole – Farrar’s Building 'She provides practical advice and is very unflappable and calm - she is an amazing advocate in very difficult and delicate hearings.'
Ranked: Tier 5

London Bar > Fraud: crime

Farrar’s Building is a long-established specialist civil and common law set of chambers based in London with a strong historic regional presence in Wales.

Chambers areas of practice include the following: personal injury; clinical negligence; employment; credit hire; civil fraud and fundamental dishonesty; serious and white-collar crime; health and safety; inquests; disciplinary; regulatory; professional negligence; insurance; product liability; trusts and probate; commercial law; costs; travel; and public inquiries (see individual profiles).

The set: Farrar’s Building has been occupied by barristers for many centuries and its name derives from Thomas Farrar, treasurer of Inner Temple in 1679. Over the years, chambers has provided a number of judges in the House of Lords, Court of Appeal and elsewhere, and current members sit as deputy High Court judges, recorders and in other public positions.

Farrar’s Building prides itself on being a friendly and reliable set, which is efficiently clerked and administered by an experienced and long-established team.

Chambers has a reputation for excellence, with members acting for a variety of corporate bodies, insurance companies, prosecuting authorities, sporting bodies and players, disciplinary, regulatory and professional bodies, as well as individuals. Members act in privately funded cases and under conditional fee agreements.

Types of work undertaken: Chambers core areas of practice are:

Personal injury: Farrar’s Building is recognised as a leading set of chambers in the personal injury field with a long-established reputation for offering high-quality specialist advocacy and advice in all aspects of personal injury work. Personal injury is the largest field of practice within chambers. Chambers is involved in the whole spectrum of cases ranging from catastrophic brain and spinal injury claims to lower value multi-track and fast-track work.

Health and safety: The health and safety team works closely with, and benefits from, Farrar’s Building’s strong PI team. Chambers has been involved in a number of high-profile cases in this area and has a tradition of acting in large-scale disasters, including the Hatfield Rail Disaster, the Ladbroke Grove Rail Disaster and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

Employment: Chambers and members of the employment law group are recognised in the field for their efficient, commercially sensitive and competitive approach. Members act at all stages of employment disputes by advising, drafting pleadings and providing advocacy before employment tribunals, the EAT and the higher courts. Members also have experience acting in judicial and private mediations.

Regulatory and disciplinary: Farrar’s Building has been heavily involved in the development and administration of disciplinary proceedings over the past 30 years. Chambers provide specialist advice and advocacy across the full range of regulatory and disciplinary law. The depth of knowledge and understanding that the team at Farrar’s Building has to offer comes not only from its members who have experience of appearing before all major disciplinary and regulatory tribunals, but also from those members who regularly advise and chair such panels themselves.

Crime: Chambers has a specialist criminal team, involved in major fraud and serious crime cases, and has close links with Wales where it remains a dominant force on the Welsh Circuit. Chambers is and has been involved in many of the major cases on the circuit and members of the crime team are highly sought-after.

Public inquiries: Chambers has a long history of involvement in public inquiries and of chairing/appearing before a range of regulatory and disciplinary tribunals.

Members of chambers also offer expertise in: contract and commercial litigation, covering areas such as sale of goods and consumer credit and commercial fraud, insurance matters and product liability; clinical negligence and all areas of professional negligence; costs and taxation actions, including solicitor’s bills of costs, counsel’s fees and legal aid costs; sports and competition cases include contracts, advertising and sponsorship and restraint of trade; all aspects of disciplinary and regulatory law; and matters pertaining to trusts and probate.

Members also have experience in administrative and public law work, including matters relating to judicial review, local government, education, health, housing and pharmaceutical actions.

Department Name Email Telephone
Chief Executive & Director of Clerking CRAY, Paul
Head of Chambers LEWIS KC, Paul (1981)
Member of Chambers WILLIAMS KC, Geoffrey (2013)
Member of Chambers COLE KC, Gordon (1979)
Member of Chambers QUINLAN KC, Christopher (1992)
Member of Chambers LEY, Nigel Spencer (1985)
Member of Chambers PEEBLES, Andrew (1987)
Member of Chambers MILLIN, Leslie (1988)
Member of Chambers MEREDITH-HARDY, John (1989)
Member of Chambers LAKHA, Shabbir (1989)
Member of Chambers ARENTSEN, Andrew (1995)
Member of Chambers EVANS, Lee (1996)
Member of Chambers BLAKE, Nick (1997)
Member of Chambers DAVIES, Huw P (1998)
Member of Chambers PRETSELL, James (1998)
Member of Chambers WILLE, Andrew (1998)
Member of Chambers COHEN, Howard (1999)
Member of Chambers MORSE, Andrew (2000)
Member of Chambers COX, Carwyn (2002)
Member of Chambers KERRUISH-JONES, Matthew (2003)
Member of Chambers HUGHES, Simon (2003)
Member of Chambers PLANT, James (2004)
Member of Chambers BOURNE-ARTON, Tom (2005)
Member of Chambers SOLE, Emma (2005)
Member of Chambers BROWN, John (2005)
Member of Chambers GOODLAD, Grant (2006)
Member of Chambers FOUND, Tim (2006)
Member of Chambers RODERICK, David (2005)
Member of Chambers LOGUE, Victoria (Tory) (2005)
Member of Chambers ROZIER, James (2007)
Member of Chambers SAXENA, Hannah (2010)
Member of Chambers HEDGMAN, Joshua (2011)
Member of Chambers O'BRIEN, Aidan (2011)
Member of Chambers GOLIN, Robert (2011)
Member of Chambers ROWLEY, Jake (2011)
Member of Chambers LYON, Frederick (2012)
Member of Chambers BRADY, Stuart (2012)
Member of Chambers NIETO, James (2012)
Member of Chambers McMILLAN, Joel (2014)
Member of Chambers FITZGIBBON, Laura (2016)
Member of Chambers EMSLIE-SMITH, Tom (2016)
Member of Chambers FERGUSON, Martin (2016)
Member of Chambers YOUNG, Rosalind (2017)
Member of Chambers DOUGHERTY, Michael (2017)
Member of Chambers HIGHNAM, Amelia (2016)
Member of Chambers SAVORY, Peter (2018)
Member of Chambers WIGG, Leonard (2017)
Member of Chambers JONES, Lauren (2017)
Member of Chambers KHAN, Kamran (2018)
Member of Chambers ROSS, Ryan (2019)
Member of Chambers IRVING, Sam (2020)
Member of Chambers DERVIN, Sorcha (2021)
Member of Chambers IVE, Richard (2018)
Photo Name Position Profile
Andrew Arentsen photo Andrew Arentsen Andrew Arentsen’s practice is predominantly personal injury, with a focus on high…
Nick Blake photo Nick Blake Nick Blake has experience of a broad range of civil matters.
Tom Bourne-Arton photo Tom Bourne-Arton Barrister. Specialises in personal injury and employment.
John Brown photo John Brown Barrister specialising in personal injury, clinical negligence and regulatory/professional discipline.
Howard Cohen photo Howard Cohen Barrister specialising in personal injury and motor insurance fraud; general common law…
Gordon Cole photo Gordon Cole Gordon Cole QC specialises in all types of serious crime. He has…
Carwyn Cox photo Carwyn Cox Carwyn is an experienced personal injury practitioner, regularly instructed in high value,…
Huw Davies photo Huw Davies Huw Davies has a predominantly civil practice and is regularly instructed on…
Michael Dougherty photo Michael Dougherty Barrister specialising in personal injury, employment and education law.
Lee Evans photo Lee Evans Lee Evans has a busy personal injury practice, with particular emphasis on…
Martin Ferguson photo Martin Ferguson Barrister specialising in personal injury, commercial and general common law.
Laura Fitzgibbon photo Laura Fitzgibbon Laura has a busy practice in line with Chambers’ areas of expertise,…
Tim Found photo Tim Found Tim specialises in clinical negligence and personal injury, regularly appearing in the…
Robert Golin photo Robert Golin Robert Golin’s practice focuses on personal injury, employment, commercial and insurance, and…
Grant Goodlad photo Grant Goodlad Specialist areas of practice include employment law; personal injury and clinical negligence;…
Patrick Harrington photo Patrick Harrington Barrister specialising in Crime (general and serious fraud); prosecution and defence; health…
Joshua Hedgman photo Joshua Hedgman Josh acts for defendants in catastrophic injury work. He is instructed in…
Simon Hughes photo Mr Simon Hughes Simon practices across the spectrum of personal injury claims in cases of…
Matthew Kerruish-Jones photo Matthew Kerruish-Jones Coroner’s inquests/public (representing insured parties), Health and safety (defending), personal injury (defendant…
Kamran Khan photo Mr Kamran Khan Barrister at Farrar’s Building
Shabbir Lakha photo Shabbir Lakha Has practised almost exclusively in employment law work for over ten years.…
Paul Lewis photo Paul Lewis Paul  has appeared in over 200 homicide cases and in many major…
Victoria Logue photo Victoria Logue Victoria Logue (Tory) joined Farrar’s Building in 2017 after 10 years as…
Joel McMillan photo Joel McMillan Joel has a busy and successful general common law practice. His particular…
John Meredith-Hardy photo John Meredith-Hardy Areas of work undertaken for claimants and defendants include personal injury, insurance…
Leslie Millin photo Leslie Millin Leslie specialises in all aspects of employment law, where she represents both…
Aidan O'Brien photo Aidan O'Brien Aidan is ranked as a ‘Leading Junior’ in the Legal 500 (2022),…
Andrew Peebles photo Andrew Peebles Barrister with a wide experience of litigation in chancery, commercial, employment, regulatory…
James Plant photo James Plant James’ practice consists of three main areas of work: Personal Injury, Property…
James Pretsell photo James Pretsell James’s practice consists largely in multi track personal injury work. He also…
Christopher Quinlan photo Christopher Quinlan Specialises in crime, sport and regulatory work.
David Roderick photo David Roderick David specialises in high value personal injury work, acting for both claimants…
Jake Rowley photo Jake Rowley Barrister specialising in personal injury, commercial and general common law. The areas…
James Rozier photo James Rozier James’ primary specialisms include counter fraud, personal injury and costs. He has…
Peter Savory photo Peter Savory Peter is a barrister specialising in personal injury, clinical negligence and commercial…
Emma Sole photo Emma Sole Emma Sole joined Farrar’s Building in 2007 after a pupillage at Littleton…
Nigel Spencer Ley photo Nigel Spencer Ley Nigel is a highly experienced barrister who undertakes high value clinical negligence,…
Andrew Wille photo Andrew Wille Barrister with an exclusively civil practice primarily in the fields of personal…
Geoffrey Williams photo Geoffrey Williams Geoffrey Williams QC has specialised exclusively in the field of professional disciplinary…
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Farrar’s Building is committed to actively promoting equality and diversity at the Bar. We demonstrate our commitment through a variety of initiatives, for example:

  • We have in place a comprehensive Parental Leave Policy which we take a great deal of pride in. It is one of the most supportive polices in place at the Bar.
  • We actively encourage flexible working, allowing our members and staff the ability to work away from our London office. We realise that everyone associated with Farrar’s has very different personal circumstances, so we entrust everyone with the freedom to work remotely to ensure that the rigidity of purely office-based working does not make their lives unnecessarily difficult.
  • We support non-profit and community organisations that promote diversity, inclusion and education at the Bar from underrepresented groups, for exampleupReach. A recent example of this is Farrar’s hosting a student for a week in July via the upReach programme, which seeks to create the conditions for undergraduates from less-advantaged backgrounds to access and sustain top-level graduate jobs. This placement followed on from a workshop delivered via upReach to students with volunteers from Farrar’s in 2021. We are also looking at ways we can support other organisations, such as Bridging the Bar and 10,000 Black Interns, and Inner Temple with Discovery Days for Schools.
  • We are completing a race equality audit to identify and take action in relation to any barriers to race equality within our practice, including by: (a) engaging with members of chambers and staff from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds ; (b) analysing available data on recruitment, work allocation, ethnicity pay gaps and opportunities for development and progression; and (c) critically analysing our procedures for recruiting, retaining and supporting the progression of barristers and staff from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds.
  • We actively encourage applications from people within underrepresented groups at the Bar – members or staff – in our recruitment promotional materials, for example clerking roles, pupillage, probationary tenancies or lateral recruits.
  • We are considering adjustments to our mini-pupillage programme, for example funded mini-pupillages to broaden our reach within communities where financial support is necessary for individuals to take advantage of such an opportunity.
  • We have frameworks in place to assess, and if necessary, address inequalities in income/work distribution by race or gender.

Farrar’s Building is committed to actively promoting equality and diversity at the Bar. We demonstrate our commitment through a variety of initiatives, for example:

  • We have in place a comprehensive Parental Leave Policy which we take a great deal of pride in. It is one of the most supportive polices in place at the Bar.
  • We actively encourage flexible working, allowing our members and staff the ability to work away from our London office. We realise that everyone associated with Farrar’s has very different personal circumstances, so we entrust everyone with the freedom to work remotely to ensure that the rigidity of purely office-based working does not make their lives unnecessarily difficult.
  • We support non-profit and community organisations that promote diversity, inclusion and education at the Bar from underrepresented groups, for exampleupReach. A recent example of this is Farrar’s hosting a student for a week in July via the upReach programme, which seeks to create the conditions for undergraduates from less-advantaged backgrounds to access and sustain top-level graduate jobs. This placement followed on from a workshop delivered via upReach to students with volunteers from Farrar’s in 2021. We are also looking at ways we can support other organisations, such as Bridging the Bar and 10,000 Black Interns, and Inner Temple with Discovery Days for Schools.
  • We are completing a race equality audit to identify and take action in relation to any barriers to race equality within our practice, including by: (a) engaging with members of chambers and staff from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds ; (b) analysing available data on recruitment, work allocation, ethnicity pay gaps and opportunities for development and progression; and (c) critically analysing our procedures for recruiting, retaining and supporting the progression of barristers and staff from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds.
  • We actively encourage applications from people within underrepresented groups at the Bar – members or staff – in our recruitment promotional materials, for example clerking roles, pupillage, probationary tenancies or lateral recruits.
  • We are considering adjustments to our mini-pupillage programme, for example funded mini-pupillages to broaden our reach within communities where financial support is necessary for individuals to take advantage of such an opportunity.
  • We have frameworks in place to assess, and if necessary, address inequalities in income/work distribution by race or gender.

CLIENT: Andrew Pieri
COMPANY/FIRM: Keoghs LLP
TESTIMONIAL:

I can put hand on heart and say that Farrar’s from the ground up are truly exceptional in the service they provide solicitors. I have instructed Chambers from the very start of my career and have never been let down once.

John Meredith Hardy is one of the best commercial counsel I have come across. He is truly exceptional with a deep understanding of insurance law. He has a keen eye for detail and leaves no stone unturned in his quest for an answer to a client’s problem. He is simply the best.

Carwyn Cox is a hidden gem. He is very client focused, demonstrates empathy with the client and is a good problem solver. He is a very safe pair of hands who you can trust to guide and look after your case in your clients’ best interests.

Farrar’s are a brilliant set of chambers with a brilliant set of counsel. I and my colleagues at Keoghs will continue to instruct Chambers for the future, that I am sure.


CLIENT: Lindsey Bartling
COMPANY/FIRM: Clyde & Co
TESTIMONIAL:

Relationships with counsel and the ability to have frank and honest discussions are paramount in assisting instructing solicitors and clients to build trust and appreciate the risks in their case. Farrar’s offers this service in abundance, from their very senior counsel through to their pupils, ably assisted by their fantastic team of clerks.

Particular thanks from me for the training seminars that Farrar’s have provided and to the support offered by Hannah Saxena and Lee Evans, who always respond promptly to e-mails and answer queries, and to James Pretsell who took the time to provide invaluable insight and guidance regarding a case recently.


CLIENT: Carole Ward
COMPANY/FIRM: Ward Hadaway
TESTIMONIAL:

I have worked with Farrar’s Building for around 12 years and there is nothing that they have been unable to assist with during that time.

I know that can rely on them to provide advice and to draft documents in a timely manner and I never have to chase or remind them of pending deadlines.

They are my go-to chambers due to their reliability, professionalism and calm approach, with the ability to put my clients at ease at a very stressful time.

If I was to mention individuals it would be Carwyn Cox and Emma Sole, but also James and Kieran from the clerking team for their valuable assistance over the years.


CLIENT: Colin Vickers
COMPANY/FIRM: DWF Law LLP
TESTIMONIAL:

Farrar’s are a top-drawer Chambers. The clerks provide a first-class and efficient service in looking after your hearing dates and paperwork. Counsel across the set are excellent with whatever you put their way. They hit the right note with the balance between being technically leading in their field while maintaining a down-to-earth and approachable outlook.


CLIENT: Laura Twist
COMPANY/FIRM: Clyde & Co
TESTIMONIAL:

Farrar’s Building are simply excellent from start to finish. The Clerks are extremely competent and go over and above what is offered by many other sets; nothing is too much trouble. The barristers are first rate and always deliver sound, sensible advice. The drafting work is robust and impressive, leaving the clients in no doubt that they have first rate counsel fighting their corner. The advocacy skills are second to none, as demonstrated by the great results achieved at a wide range of Hearings, over and over again.


CLIENT: Jennifer Sore
COMPANY/FIRM: Blake Morgan LLP
TESTIMONIAL:

Farrar’s Building are my go-to chambers for all aspects of civil litigation. They go the extra step to ensure that I, and my clients, feel supported and in very capable hands irrespective of the level of call or complexity of the instruction. Their personal approach sets them apart from other chambers.