The Legal 500

Regional Bar

Set overviews: England and Wales

A set ‘in a class of its own’, No5 Barristers Chambers’ ‘depth and calibre of counsel is exceptional’. It has strength across commercial, construction, crime, family, employment, personal injury, clinical negligence, property, planning, public law and regulatory matters. Recent developments include a number of barristers join the set from St Philips Chambers and Christopher Young QC take silk. ‘All of the clerks are hardworking and diligent’; chief executive and director of clerking Tony McDaid ‘always comes up with the goods’. Geoff Carr is the London director of clerking. Offices in: Birmingham, London, Bristol, Leicester

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Regional Bar

Set overviews: England and Wales

A set ‘in a class of its own’, No5 Barristers Chambers’ ‘depth and calibre of counsel is exceptional’. It has strength across commercial, construction, crime, family, employment, personal injury, clinical negligence, property, planning, public law and regulatory matters. Recent developments include a number of barristers join the set from St Philips Chambers and Christopher Young QC take silk. ‘All of the clerks are hardworking and diligent’; chief executive and director of clerking Tony McDaid ‘always comes up with the goods’. Geoff Carr is the London director of clerking. Offices in: Birmingham, London, Bristol, Leicester

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Regional Bar : Midland Circuit

Commercial, banking, insolvency and Chancery law

No5 Barristers Chambers is ‘a very strong set’ for commercial, banking and insolvency, and Chancery matters; the team’s expertise covers high-value contested probate and Inheritance Act cases, proprietary estoppel matters and partnership, contractual, and company shareholder disputes, to name a few. In 2018 Angus Burden and Paul Dean joined from St Philips Chambers.

Commercial, banking, insolvency and Chancery law – Leading silks

Commercial, banking, insolvency and Chancery law – Leading juniors

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Construction, planning and environment

Members of No5 Barristers Chambers handle a broad range of construction, planning and environmental matters. Infrastructure and development projects are prominent in the team’s workload; Paul Cairnes QC is acting for a developer in an appeal against the local planning authority’s decision to refuse planning permission for a major urban extension on greenfield land. Christopher Young QC took silk in 2018.

Construction, planning and environment – Leading silks

Construction, planning and environment – Leading juniors

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Costs

No5 Barristers Chambers is home to Paul Joseph, who is frequently instructed to represent the government in complex costs cases and has made appearances in the Senior Courts Cost Office.

Costs – Leading juniors

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Court of Protection

No5 Barristers Chambers’ Court of Protection team act for a wide range of parties in cases involving deprivation of liberty safeguards, medical treatment, issues regarding capacity and financial matters, among other areas. Team head Nageena Khalique QC has left the set for Serjeants' Inn Chambers in London.

Court of Protection – Leading juniors

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Crime

No5 Barristers Chambers’ criminal team has a wealth of expertise in prosecuting and defending across a range of heavyweight criminal matters, including high-profile murders, historic and recent serious sexual offences, high-value fraud, multi-handed drugs conspiracies and gang violence. Recent work includes acting in Operation Falkenbach, regarding a £80m money laundering conspiracy, and successfully prosecuting in R v Leroy Sterling, where the defendant was convicted of the murder of his ex-partner and the attempted murder of his ex-partner’s new boyfriend. In 2018 Alexander Stein moved to 2 Bedford Row.

Crime – Leading silks

Crime – Leading juniors

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Employment

No5 Barristers Chambers has solid expertise in employment, with members active in cases involving unfair dismissal, restrictive covenants, whistleblowing and a wide range of discrimination claims. Kevin O’Donovan retired in 2017.

Employment – Leading juniors

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Family and children law

No5 Barristers Chambers’ ‘excellent’ family group has expertise in complex care cases with international elements, high-value matrimonial finance, serious physical and sexual abuse, fabricated/induced illnesses and child deaths.

Family and children law – Leading silks

Family and children law – Leading juniors

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Inquests and inquiries

The team at No5 Barristers Chambers represents bereaved families, governmental departments and police forces in inquests into deaths in custody, road traffic accidents and suicides of psychiatric patients, among other areas.

Inquests and inquiries – Leading silks

Inquests and inquiries – Leading juniors

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Leading sets

Midland Circuit – Leading sets - ranked: tier 1

No5 Barristers Chambers (Birmingham, Leicester)

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Personal injury and clinical negligence

No5 Barristers Chambers is ‘a very strong set’, housing two separate groups for clinical negligence and personal injury matters with over 70 barristers across the teams. Paul Bleasdale QC leads the personal injury group and is well known for his expertise in industrial disease litigation, as well as handling multi-million-pound catastrophic injury claims. The leader of the clinical negligence practice, Chris Bright QC, handles cerebral palsy, brain and spinal injuries, and birth injury cases.

Personal injury and clinical negligence – Leading silks

Personal injury and clinical negligence – Leading juniors

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Property

No5 Barristers Chambers’s expertise in property law spans proprietary estoppel, rights of way, conveyancing disputes, restrictive covenants, and landlord and tenant disputes pertaining to commercial and residential properties.

Property – Leading juniors

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Public law

At No5 Barristers Chambers, expertise spans judicial reviews (particularly in relation to immigration and asylum matters), NHS legislation and community care cases. Recent work highlights include Shakil Najib acting for the Secretary of State for the Home Department in a judicial review challenging the Home Secretary’s decision to deny the applicant entry into the UK on the grounds of being engaged in black magic witchcraft and allegations of ritual abuse. In November 2017 Jenny Wigley moved to Landmark Chambers.

Public law – Leading juniors

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Regulatory, health and safety, and licensing

No5 Barristers Chambers’ regulatory practice has ‘excellent strength in depth’; health and safety law is a core specialty. Adrian Keeling QC and Harpreet Singh Sandhu have solid expertise in acting for the police in misconduct and disciplinary matters. In 2018 Alexander Stein moved to 2 Bedford Row.

Regulatory, health and safety, and licensing – Leading silks

Regulatory, health and safety, and licensing – Leading juniors

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Regional Bar : South Eastern Circuit

Personal injury and clinical negligence

Stephen Goodfellow at No5 Barristers Chambers has solid expertise in industrial disease claims, road traffic accidents and complex medical cases.

Personal injury and clinical negligence – Leading juniors

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Public law

Philip Rule at No5 Barristers Chambers is well known for his practice in the field of human rights and detention law.

Public law – Leading juniors

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Regional Bar : Western Circuit

Construction, planning and environment

No5 Barristers Chambers houses Paul Cairnes QC, who has established expertise in planning matters; he is acting in a case regarding a significant urban extension plan.

Construction, planning and environment – Leading silks

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Leading sets

Western Circuit – Leading sets - ranked: tier 3

No5 Barristers Chambers (Bristol)

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Personal injury and clinical negligence

The clinical negligence team at No5 Barristers Chambers continues to be instructed in cases of GP negligence, mismanagement of labour resulting in serious disabilities, surgical errors and failure to diagnose/treat neurological issues, resulting in paraplegia. Dr Simon Fox QC is well known for specialising solely in clinical negligence work.

Personal injury and clinical negligence – Leading silks

Personal injury and clinical negligence – Leading juniors

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