Set Profile > Tanfield Chambers > London, England

Tanfield Chambers
Tanfield Chambers
2-5 WARWICK COURT
LONDON
WC1R 5DJ
England

Email firm Visit website 020 7421 5300 020 7421 5333

London Bar > Property litigation Tier 2

Tanfield Chambers is a focused property set with strong expertise across residential landlord and tenant work, real property, and commercial real estate disputes, alongside specialist areas such as party walls. Head of chambers Philip Rainey QC and Ellodie Gibbons represented the landlord in Sequent Nominees Ltd (Formerly Rotrust Nominees Ltd) v Hautford Ltd before the Supreme Court, securing a ruling preventing a tenant from obtaining planning permission without the landlord's permission. Another major case for Rainey QC was the successful in the Court of Appeal in enfranchisement case LM Homes v Queen Court Freehold Company Ltd, which also featured Carl Fain on the counsel team for the tenants. Kerry Bretherton QC is representing the hotel in Poste Hotels v Cousins, a High Court case relating to rights of way, arguing that the hotel owner had acquired by prescription a right of way over the cul-de-sac giving access to the laundry, which had been repeatedly blocked by the opponent's car, which both parties have sought permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Christopher Heather QC continues to represent the restaurant chain in the Performance Retail (General Partner) Ltd v Wagamama Ltd case relating to interpretations of a lease agreement.

Rising stars

Edward Blakeney - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Ed is excellent; a star of the future. Unflappable, hard working, willing to get stuck in, clever and easy to work with.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Leading Silks

Philip Rainey QC - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Philip is an extremely good advocate. He has a very persuasive and effective style. He is very technical and breadth of his legal knowledge is extremely impressive. He finds solutions to very difficult issues particularly on complex enfranchisement matters. ’

Ranked: Tier 1

Kerry Bretherton QC - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Kerry is incredibly knowledgeable and can put complex law into lay terms for clients to understand. She is calm and confident when advocating. She is realistic in managing the client's expectations and instills confidence. ’

Ranked: Tier 2

Christopher Heather QC - Tanfield Chambers ‘ A very calm and highly effective advocate. Technically excellent but also commercial in his approach. A pleasure to work with and great to have on your team. An increasingly well known "go to" QC for high value and complex enfranchisement work - at the very top of the list. ’

Ranked: Tier 3

Timothy Polli QC - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Highly intelligent but understated, forensic and considered. Always looks at every angle which makes him one of my top counsel of choice - the client is exceedingly well informed and he does not fight battles for the sake of it but picks the one which will succeed. Very good on his feet and persistent in a calm way. Very accessible and gives clients a lot of confidence. A quality counsel. ’

Ranked: Tier 3

Andrew Butler QC –Tanfield Chambers 'Incredibly impressive on the detail - commercial in his approach, with superb drafting skills. He gets on very well with clients. Robust and calls it as he sees it - he doesn't sit on the fence but gives clear, definitive and reasoned advice.'

Ranked: Tier 4

Nicholas Isaac QC - Tanfield Chambers

Ranked: Tier 4

Leading Juniors

James Fieldsend –Tanfield Chambers ‘Very knowledgeable and thorough whilst also being incredibly approachable. Working with him feels very much like a team effort and the attention to detail and precision they bring to each case is invaluable.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Michael Buckpitt –Tanfield Chambers 'Michael is a go-to barrister. He is extremely user friendly, nothing is too much trouble for him and he goes the extra mile. He is an absolute pleasure to work with and someone who you always want in your corner.'

Ranked: Tier 2

Daniel Dovar –Tanfield Chambers ‘Very able, knowledgeable, personable, commercial and reliable.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Carl Fain - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Carl is an exceptional barrister who is able to very quickly grasp the key elements of a dispute and provide clear and succinct advice. He is also very commercial and particularly persuasive on his feet. ’

Ranked: Tier 2

Marc Glover - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Marc is extremely sharp and focused and brilliant with clients. I have no hesitation in instructing him on tricky matters. Marc cuts to the important issues quickly providing excellent strategic advice. On his feet he has a heavyweight presence. An all-round magnificent advocate. ’

Ranked: Tier 2

Ellodie Gibbons - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Great technical ability but down to earth, and able to explain issues easily to lay clients. She also has great client inter-personal skills, is able to cut straight through to the issues and is commercial too. ’

Ranked: Tier 3

Amanda Gourlay - Tanfield Chambers

Ranked: Tier 3

Piers Harrison - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Piers is highly skilled, and intellectual but very personable. He comes over excellently with the client. He is never dry or boring, whatever the subject matter. Piers' other strength is his extremely sharp mind. He has a highly inquisitive and brilliant side to him born out of a natural academic sense of curiosity. That makes him ideal for creative, sound legal argument. He is excellent on his feet and on paper and his enthusiasm shines through. He is without doubt one of the leading minds in his area. ’

Ranked: Tier 3

Mark Loveday - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Mark is an approachable, user friendly barrister who is able to work at a number of different levels. His range of knowledge and experience in relation to enfranchisement and also service charge matters is impressive. He comes over very well with clients and is also highly responsive and sharp. On his feet Mark is excellent. Mark is an exceptional character and a great wit, as well as an intellect. In court or tribunal he is a skilled advocate and handles witnesses with a disarming ease. His management of evidence is exemplary and his judicial experience shines through. Mark is an all round professional and at the top of his game. In short, everything and more you would want a barrister in this niche area to be. ’

Ranked: Tier 3

Nicola Muir - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Nicola has an excellent grasp of technical enfranchisement matters and arguments (particularly in terms of valuation) and consistently obtains exceptional results which makes her the preferred counsel of several of our clients. Nicola provides straight-forward yet accomplished advice which is a hugely beneficial to both her instructing solicitors and their clients. ’

Ranked: Tier 3

Jonathan Upton - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Jonathan is quietly confident and learned, a strong intellect and someone who has really established his own name as a leading practitioner in restrictive covenant and residential law. ’

Ranked: Tier 3

Michael Walsh –Tanfield Chambers 'Michael is operating well above his level. He provides brilliant advice that commits to what approach should be taken, which instructing solicitors and lawyers love. Michael is very professional, works brilliantly with all members of the team, and rigorous in his analysis of the law, but also very tactically astute as to how to take the advantage in cases.'

Ranked: Tier 3

Rebecca Cattermole - Tanfield Chambers

Ranked: Tier 3

Testimonials

Set

‘They have real strength in residential landlord and tenant including leaseholds. The volume and quality of their commercial property and real property work has improved.‘

‘This set is incredible and I only have good things to say about them, we always receive a very high level of service from both barristers and clerks. I would always come to Tanfield for residential matters and am keen to use them more on the commercial real estate disputes I am dealing with.‘

‘Tanfield Chambers are very easy to work with and our firm has an excellent working relationship with Counsel and clerks alike. The advice and advocacy from the chambers is exemplary and they are noted for making Counsel available to assist with matters at short notice when required.‘

‘Without exception every barrister i have instructed within Tanfield has been first class. They are all extremely easy to work with and nothing is ever too much of a problem.‘

Clerking

‘I work mainly with Alex Southern who is brilliant and always finds the right counsel for the job – he knows his set and their skills very well – he also seems to know which counsel will work best for particular cases.’

‘Richard Powell is a star. Nothing is too much trouble.’

‘The clerks are incredibly helpful, know the barristers well and recommend the right person for the job at the right level and fee. Billy Forecast is always my first choice of clerk.’

‘Excellent. So helpful and accommodating.‘

‘Clerks are all good, I have never had cause to complain. What I like is that in any question of fees or availability they are very responsive and clearly have a modern relationship with their counsel. I have also found them accommodating where needs have been pressing or a client’s situation has meant that out of hours availability has been needed. Their speed of response is excellent.‘

London Bar > Agriculture

Leading Juniors

Rebecca Cattermole - Tanfield Chambers

Ranked: Tier 1

London Bar > Family (including divorce and financial remedy)

Leading Juniors

Kerstin Boyd - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Kerstin is conscientious and provides realistic advice from the outset. A junior who will always go the extra mile to ensure the best case is presented. ’

Ranked: Tier 4

Gwyn Evans - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Gwyn is details-orientated and able to distil complex information in a clear and concise way. A barrister who inspires confidence easily. ’

Ranked: Tier 4

Gerald Wilson - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Gerald is exceptionally strong with tax issues, and he puts clients at ease, explaining each case at the right level of complexity for each client. ’

Ranked: Tier 4

London Bar > Social housing

Leading Juniors

Rebecca Cattermole - Tanfield Chambers

Ranked: Tier 4

Sam Madge-Wyld - Tanfield Chambers ‘ Sam has broad expertise in all matters relating to social housing. Sam is capable of spotting the important points in cases that might otherwise seem unwinnable. ’

Ranked: Tier 4

Tanfield Chambers is a specialist property set and a ‘force to be reckoned with’ in real estate litigation. Operating from its own, member-owned premises just outside Gray’s Inn, Tanfield adopts a flexible and ‘unfussy’ approach, and is committed to excellent client care. All members, from its silks to its ‘junior juniors’, pride themselves on being open, friendly and approachable, and are supported by a responsive and helpful practice management team.

Types of work undertaken: The core of Tanfield’s work is real estate litigation, including commercial landlord and tenant, mortgages and securities, contractual sale of land, development agreements, overage, agricultural law, easements, public rights of way, restrictive covenants, boundary disputes, party walls, rights of light, trusts of land, service charges, residential landlord and tenant, leasehold enfranchisement, right to manage and social housing. The work extends into professional negligence, commercial and ADR and administrative law. Under the wing of its main specialism, Tanfield has a thriving private client and matrimonial finance practice and specialists in the Court of Protection.

Members of chambers write and lecture widely on real property issues and related topics. Recent/forthcoming publications include Service Charges and Management: Law and Practice, (4th ed); The Law and Practice of Party Walls; Megarry’s Manual of the Law of Real Property (9th ed) and Residential Possession Proceedings (10th ed).

The majority of members accept direct access instructions in appropriate cases.

Department	Name	Email	Telephone
Chambers director	Eamonn Kelly
Head of Chambers	RAINEY QC, Philip (1990)
Members of Chambers	MITCHELL QC, Iain (2012)
Members of Chambers	BRETHERTON QC, Kerry (2016)
Members of Chambers	HEATHER QC, Christopher (2017)
Members of Chambers	BUTLER QC, Andrew (2018)
Members of Chambers	POLLI QC, Timothy (2018)
Members of Chambers	ISAAC QC, Nicholas (2019)
Members of Chambers	GUY, David (1972)
Members of Chambers	MONKCOM, Stephen (1974)
Members of Chambers	DENCER, Mark (1978)
Members of Chambers	BOYD, Kerstin (1979)
Members of Chambers	JOSEPH, Charles (1980)
Members of Chambers	REID, Sebastian (1982)
Members of Chambers	BAILEY, Michael (1986)
Members of Chambers	LOVEDAY, Mark (1986)
Members of Chambers	BAMFORD, Christopher (1987)
Members of Chambers	BUCK, John (1987)
Members of Chambers	BUCKPITT, Michael (1988)
Members of Chambers	MAYNARD, Christopher (1988)
Members of Chambers	WILSON, Gerald (1989)
Members of Chambers	ALIKER, Phillip (1990)
Members of Chambers	MACLAREN, Catriona (1993)
Members of Chambers	GALLAGHER, Stan (1994)
Members of Chambers	JONES, Karen (1995)
Members of Chambers	BOWKER, Robert (1995)
Members of Chambers	DOVAR, Daniel (1997)
Members of Chambers	FIELDSEND, James (1997)
Members of Chambers	HARRISON, Piers (1997)
Members of Chambers	POLLI, Timothy (1997)
Members of Chambers	FRAME, Stuart (1997)
Members of Chambers	MUIR, Nicola (1998)
Members of Chambers	HORMAECHE, Alex (1998)
Members of Chambers	CARR, Adrian (1999)
Members of Chambers	GIBBONS, Ellodie (1999)
Members of Chambers	GLOVER, Marc (1999)
Members of Chambers	CATTERMOLE, Rebecca (1999)
Members of Chambers	FAIN, Carl (2001)
Members of Chambers	MURPHY, Olivia (2001)
Members of Chambers	CARPENTER-LEITCH, Tom (2002)
Members of Chambers	HAMMOND, Tim (2003)
Members of Chambers	GOURLAY, Amanda (2004)
Members of Chambers	UPTON, Jonathan (2004)
Members of Chambers	de CORDOVA, Gemma (2006)
Members of Chambers	LEAR, Estelle (2006)
Members of Chambers	WALSH, Michael (2006)
Members of Chambers	EVANS, Gwyn (2007)
Members of Chambers	JABBARI, Sara (2007)
Members of Chambers	MADGE-WYLD, Sam (2008)
Members of Chambers	DOLIVEUX, Diane (2011)
Members of Chambers	ALFORD, Richard (2011)
Members of Chambers	HAMERTON-STOVE, James (2012)
Members of Chambers	GRANBY, Richard (2012)
Members of Chambers	GRAY, Katie (2013)
Members of Chambers	CUNNINGHAM, Robyn (2014)
Members of Chambers	BEETSON, Will (2015)
Members of Chambers	CASTLE, James (2015)
Members of Chambers	SHERIDAN, Chloe (2015)
Members of Chambers	BLAKENEY, Edward (2017)
Members of Chambers	HAYDEN-COOK, Mitchell (2016)
Members of Chambers	EDMONDS, Ceri (2017)

Name	Position	Profile
Richard Alford	Employment; general commercial litigation; company law	View Profile
Phillip Aliker	His practice comprises multi-jurisdictional commercial contractual disputes for corporations and governments of…	View Profile
Michael Bailey	Michael qualified in 1986 and has always had a wide ranging common…	View Profile
Christopher Bamford	Christopher’s practice focuses on personal injury and employment, as well as gaming…	View Profile
Will Beetson	Having established a busy practice at another leading set, Will was recruited…	View Profile
Edward Blakeney	Edward joined Chambers in September 2018, having been supervised by Timothy Polli QC, Mark…	View Profile
Robert Bowker	Robert Bowker has nearly 20 years’ experience in property-related work. He was…	View Profile
Kerstin Boyd	Kerstin has three principal areas of practice: private client, clinical negligence and…	View Profile
Kerry Bretherton	Kerry’ s work Is in the field of commercial and residential property…	View Profile
John Buck	Junior Counsel	View Profile
Michael Buckpitt	Property litigation in particular: Real property – all issues concerning real property…	View Profile
Andrew Butler	All aspects of commercial and property litigation, with a particular emphasis on…	View Profile
Tom Carpenter-Leitch	Tom has built up a niche area of expertise within Insolvency law,…	View Profile
Adrian Carr	Adrian has broad experience in all aspects of landlord & tenant, real…	View Profile
James Castle	James Castle accepts instructions in all areas of property law, with a…	View Profile
Rebecca Cattermole	All aspects of commercial and residential property litigation (including agriculture and housing).…	View Profile
Christopher Coney	In addition to general common law and Chancery work, all areas of…	View Profile
Robyn Cunningham	Robyn Cunningham completed pupillage at Tanfield Chambers under the supervision of Adrian Carr, Piers…	View Profile
Mark Dencer	Mark Dencer is Counsel of choice for a variety of London and…	View Profile
Diane Doliveux	Diane joined Tanfield in September 2015 on successful completion of her pupillage.…	View Profile
Daniel Dovar	Specialising in real property and leasehold law with an emphasis on landlord…	View Profile
Ceri Edmonds	Ceri Edmonds joined Chambers in September 2019 on successful completion of her…	View Profile
Gwyn Evans	A member of the private client team at Tanfield Chambers, Gwyn specialises…	View Profile
Carl Ian Fain	Property and chancery practice with a focus on landlord and tenant. Work…	View Profile
James Fieldsend	Landlord and tenant (both commercial and resldential): property ownership (legal and equitable);leasehold…	View Profile
Stuart Frame	Stuart Frame has a Real Property practice based on neighbouring land disputes…	View Profile
Stan Gallagher	Practice is exclusively in the field of real property and related areas,…	View Profile
Ellodie Gibbons	Property litigation (including property-related professional negligence). Particular expertise in leasehold enfranchisement, right…	View Profile
Marc Glover	All aspects of property, commercial and company litigation. Within property, a particular…	View Profile
Amanda Gourlay	All areas of landlord and tenant, with particular emphasis on residential and…	View Profile
Richard Granby	Richard Granby’s practice encompasses all of Chambers’ core practice areas spanning the…	View Profile
Katie Gray	Having completed pupillage in Chambers, Katie became a junior tenant in 2014…	View Profile
David Guy	Every type of commercial and common law case in the High Court…	View Profile
James Hamerton-Stove	James has a busy practice in the full range of Chambers’ work.…	View Profile
Tim Mark Hammond	Property – litigation; property – landlord and tenant.	View Profile
Piers Harrison	Piers’s practice covers all areas of property law. He has a particular…	View Profile
Mitchell Hayden-Cook	Mitchell Hayden-Cook commenced his third-six pupillage at Tanfield in September 2018, having…	View Profile
Christopher Heather	Landlord and tenant (commercial, residential, and enfranchisement) real property and associated professional…	View Profile
Alejandra Hormaeche		View Profile
Nicholas Isaac	As a property litigator with extensive experience in all aspects of property…	View Profile
Sara Jabbari	Sara Jabbari joined Chambers in 2011 and developed a specialist property practice…	View Profile
Karen Jones	As former chief legal adviser to the Country Land and Business Association…	View Profile
Gareth Jones	Gareth is an associate tenant at Tanfield and focuses his practice on…	View Profile
Charles Joseph	Commercial and business law; real property and related areas; arbitration; bankruptcy and…	View Profile
Estelle Lear	Estelle has experience in all areas of family law and has appeared…	View Profile
Mark Loveday	Property law, with a particular emphasis on enfranchisement, service charges and management,…	View Profile
Catriona MacLaren	Catriona’s practice divides between private client and employment law. Private Client Within…	View Profile
Sam Madge-Wyld	All aspects of residential and commercial landlord and tenant and real property…	View Profile
Christopher Maynard	Specialist advice and advocacy, principally in the field of property litigation, for…	View Profile
Iain Mitchell	Iain G Mitchell QC was called to the Scottish Bar in 1976,…	View Profile
Stephen Monkcom	Stephen has been included as an expert in licensing, particularly betting, gaming…	View Profile
Nicola Muir	All aspects of residential and commercial property litigation including landlord and tenant…	View Profile
Olivia Murphy	Olivia Murphy has been a specialist Family practitioner since pupillage. She has…	View Profile
Timothy Polli	Real property disputes concerning boundaries, adverse possession, easements and restrictive covenants (for…	View Profile
Philip Rainey	All aspects of commercial and residential property litigation (including social housing); also…	View Profile
Sebastian Reid	Civil common law with occasional forays into matrimonial finance and children. Main…	View Profile
Chloe Sheridan	Chloe Sheridan is developing a broad property and commercial practice. In March…	View Profile
Jonathan Upton	Jonathan specialises in property disputes. He has been recognised as a Leading…	View Profile
Michael Walsh	Michael’s practice encompasses all aspects of the law of property and associated…	View Profile
Gerald Wilson	Gerald Wilson specialises in family and property law, focusing on matrimonial finance,…	View Profile
Gemma de Cordova	Property litigation (commercial and residential); business and commercial; general chancery; mediation. Gemma…	View Profile