Guildford Chambers > Guildford, England > Set Profile

Chambers of George Coates
Guildford Chambers
STOKE HOUSE, LEAPALE LANE
GUILDFORD
GU1 4LY
England

Email firm Visit website 01483 539131 01483 300542

South Eastern Circuit > Family: children and domestic violence Tier 2

Guildford Chambers is ‘a strong set with a range of counsel with varying call years and the clerks who go above and beyond to utilise counsel and provide availability wherever they can’. Fiona Griffin is instructed in cases involving serious child injuries, sexual abuse and domestic abuse, while Christine Julien similarly is active in public law child work.

Leading Juniors

Fiona Griffin –Guildford Chambers ‘Fiona is efficient, provides constant updates on a case to keep the solicitor informed and goes out of her way to advise on steps to assist the client’s case following the hearing. She is knowledgeable in care proceedings matters and does her best for her client.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Christine Julien –Guildford Chambers

Ranked: Tier 2

Claire Shrimpton –Guildford Chambers

Ranked: Tier 2

Andrew Austin –Guildford Chambers 'Andrew has clear written and verbal communication skills. He is well-liked by clients and solicitors and builds rapport easily. He has strong negotiation skills and aims to resolve disputes at the earliest possible stage.'

Ranked: Tier 4

Dominique Gillan –Guildford Chambers 'Dominique is quick to grasp the key issues in all cases. She is always well-prepared and very approachable. Her drafting of position statements and orders is good, and she is quick to build a rapport with any clients she represents.'

Ranked: Tier 4

Suzanne Kelly –Guildford Chambers 'Suzanne has a sympathetic but direct way of working. She is comfortable in challenging opponents and is a strong advocate, obtaining good results for her clients.'

Ranked: Tier 4

Sophia O’Hagan –Guildford Chambers ‘Sophia is an extremely skilled and persuasive advocate who goes the extra mile for her clients. She is tenacious and dedicated and achieves fantastic results through her calm but robust approach. Her preparation is impeccable, with meticulous attention to detail.’

Ranked: Tier 5

Testimonials

‘Gavin Street is a shining star and will do his utmost to assist clients when needed, particularly when needing urgent cover or when cases have been listed at short notice. He is always able to help and is extremely flexible, which assists given the nature of the work.’

‘Simon Morris and Gavin Street work hard to provide an excellent service within chambers as the first point of contact.’

‘Guildford Chambers always tries to accommodate clients’ requests for representation (even at short notice) and has a good quality range of advocates. They do offer training courses as well.’

‘Excellent set with a good mix of counsel.’

‘The chamber has a good range of barristers with expertise in different areas of family law.’

Work highlights

South Eastern Circuit > Family: divorce and financial remedy Tier 3

Guildford Chambers has a ‘good range of barristers with expertise in different areas of family law’ who are ‘friendly, helpful and professional’. George Coates heads up the practice and is highly regarded for his excellent track record of handling high-value matrimonial finance cases. Hannah McSorley is also recommended.

Leading Juniors

George Coates –Guildford Chambers

Ranked: Tier 2

Andrew Austin –Guildford Chambers ‘Andrew is an extra miler. He provides a good rapport with the client and instructs solicitors.’

Ranked: Tier 4

Dominique Gillan –Guildford Chambers 'Dominique is always considered and thoughtful in her dealings with both acting solicitors and clients. She has good analysis and awareness of the law.'

Ranked: Tier 4

Hannah McSorley –Guildford Chambers 'Hannah is particularly good with clients and managing their expectations. She explains complicated law in a clear and precise manner.'

Ranked: Tier 4

Testimonials

‘Gavin Street and Simon Morris are very good.’

‘Clerks are exceptionally helpful. Gavin Street and Simon Morris go above and beyond.’

‘Gavin Street is a shining star and will do his utmost to assist the client, particularly when needing urgent cover or when cases are listed at short notice. He is always able to help and is extremely flexible, which assists given the nature of the work.’

‘The chambers has a good availability of counsel and a strong clerking team.’

‘Guildford Chambers is an excellent set with a good mix of counsel.’

‘Guildford Chambers are a strong set, and there is a range of counsel with varying call years, and the clerks go above and beyond to utilise counsel and provide availability wherever they can.’

Work highlights

South Eastern Circuit > Property and construction

Leading Juniors

Rowan Morton –Guildford Chambers 'Rowan is second to none on TOLATA cases. She is very knowledgeable about the complexities of construction disputes and is always on hand to help with tactical and procedural decisions. She is a robust advocate and can deal with changes.'

Ranked: Tier 1

Guildford Chambers is a progressive, multi-disciplinary set of barristers, uniquely positioned to provide competitive and effective advocacy for individuals and businesses in the South East.

The set’s portfolio of clients value its collaborative approach and strong and successful working relationships. Guildford Chambers operates a system of specialist practice groups which ensure clients receive the best advice and advocacy from their chosen barrister. The set’s barristers and its experienced and responsive clerking team share an uncompromising attitude to quality and client service, with a sensible approach to cost. Chambers’ core fields of specialism are family, children and finance; property; wills, trusts and probate; commercial; personal injury and employment and regulatory.

Established in 1976, Guildford Chambers has a deserved reputation for excellence in its fields of practice, and a friendly, down-to-earth approach. It accepts instructions from solicitors in private or corporate practice and local authorities and prosecutes on behalf of many agencies. Its members appear in courts and tribunals, chair arbitrations and attend conferences at venues throughout the country, and some are part-time judges. We have the latest IT facilities and can conduct conferences and hearings remotely or from Chambers. We undertake direct professional access work and welcomes direct instructions from surveyors, accountants, and members of other approved professional bodies. Members also undertake public access work.

Department	Name	Email	Telephone
Senior Clerk	Simon Morris
First junior Clerk	Gavin Street
Head of Chambers	COATES, George (1990)
Member of Chambers	SMALLWOOD, Laura (1987)
Member of Chambers	JULIEN, Christine (1991)
Member of Chambers	SELLERS, Robin (1994)
Member of Chambers	O'HAGAN, Sophia (1996)
Member of Chambers	MOULDER, Paul (1997)
Deputy Head of Chambers	GILLAN, Dominique (1998)
Member of Chambers	MITCHELL, Christian (2001)
Member of Chambers	GRIFFIN, Fiona (2003)
Member of Chambers	MORTON, Rowan (2004)
Member of Chambers	McLAUGHLIN, Victoria (2004)
Member of Chambers	WALKER-HAWORTH, Jamie (2005)
Member of Chambers	AUSTIN, Andrew (2009)
Member of Chambers	McCAULEY, Christopher (2009)
Member of Chambers	McSORLEY, Hannah (2010)
Member of Chambers	HOLLAND, Nicola (2010)
Member of Chambers	MOON, Sarah (2013)
Member of Chambers	TRIM, Luke (2014)
Member of Chambers	NOTHNAGLE, Nikola (2014)
Member of Chambers	KHAN, Bilawal (2017)
Member of Chambers	KELLY, Suzanne (2018)
Member of Chambers	MATTHEWS, Ruth (2021)

Name	Position	Profile
Andrew Austin	Family Andrew accepts instructions in family law, specialising in private children and…	View Profile
George Coates	Family George Coates specialises in financial remedies in divorce proceedings and related…	View Profile
Dominique Gillan	Dominique has developed an extensive practice in the field of ancillary relief.…	View Profile
Fiona Griffin	Fiona has considerable experience representing parents, grandparents, guardians and local authorities in…	View Profile
Janet Haywood	Janet practises exclusively in family law, including children’s cases and domestic violence…	View Profile
Nicola Holland	Nicola was graded ‘outstanding’ on the Bar Vocational Course and awarded the…	View Profile
Michael Jones	Family: Michael has experience in ancillary relief and conducting all matters in…	View Profile
Christine Julien	Christine has specialized in all areas of family law for the past…	View Profile
Suzanne Kelly	Suzanne represents clients in all aspects of Family Law in particular children…	View Profile
Mr Bilawal Khan	Profile Bill is a barrister whose practice combines court advocacy and advisory…	View Profile
Miss Ruth Matthews	Profile Ruth joined Guildford Chambers as a tenant in October 2023 following…	View Profile
Chris McCauley	Commercial and Company Christopher’s commercial practice has a chancery focus and his…	View Profile
Victoria McLaughlin	Ancillary relief: advising and acting in all aspects of ancillary relief and…	View Profile
Hannah Mcsorley	Hannah joined Chambers in 2011, having completed her pupillage in a leading…	View Profile
Christian Mitchell	Family: Christian Mitchell has extensive experience in both public and private aspects…	View Profile
Sarah Moon	Sarah accepts instructions in all areas family law and has experience in…	View Profile
Rowan Morton	Property Rowan has a diverse property practice that incorporates ToLATA, proprietary estoppel,…	View Profile
Paul Moulder	Property Paul is regularly instructed by landlords and tenants in relation to…	View Profile
Miss Nikola Nothnagel		View Profile
Miss Sophia O'Hagan	Profile Sophia has developed an extensive and respected practice in both public…	View Profile
Robin Sellers	Crime: Robin has practised as a criminal barrister for over 20 years,…	View Profile
Laura Smallwood	Laura practised in London and then at Guildford Chambers, predominantly in landlord…	View Profile
Luke Trim	Luke joined Guildford Chambers in 2018 as a civil law pupil. Luke…	View Profile
Jamie Walker-Haworth	Personal Injury Prior to joining chambers, Jamie spent 8 years as an…	View Profile