Set Profile > Chambers of Jonathan Laidlaw QC > London, England
Chambers of Jonathan Laidlaw QC Offices
2 Hare Court
TEMPLE
LONDON
EC4Y 7BH
England
Chambers of Jonathan Laidlaw QC > The Legal 500 Rankings
Crime Tier 1
2 Hare Court 'boasts an impressive range of counsel and is able to offer a range of suitable options in relation to any enquiry'. Traditionally regarded as a prosecution set, chambers continues to receive Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) instructions for some of the most serious cases, but it also handles high-quality private defence and prosecution work, too. Recent instructions include Julia Faure Walker prosecuting three individuals for a sex trafficking conspiracy, including the "sale" of a prostitute for €10,000 in a case with issues as to the admissibility of Romanian intercept evidence. Turning to defence highlights, Martin Hicks QC and Scott Ivill represented a man who was acquitted of an alleged manslaughter after his brother died of a heart attack in the family home during a supposed exorcism. Also of note, Brendan Kelly QC defended Xeneral Webster, a 19-year-old drill musician who was acquitted of murder but received a 17-year sentence for manslaughter on a plea of guilty; this case is believed to be the first conviction for an acid attack killing in the UK. Turning to the juniors' unled work, Gudrun Young successfully represented well-known feminist activist Linda Bellos, who was privately prosecuted by a transgender rights activist for a supposed public order offence after indicating that she would defend herself against violent attack – the private prosecution was taken over and discontinued by the CPS.
Leading Juniors
Leading Silks
Fraud: crime Tier 1
2 Hare Court is a 'very strong' and 'talented' set with 'an impressive range of counsel'. Recent highlights include new silk David Whittaker QC successfully defending a businessman against two counts of alleged fraud and money laundering after £500,000 was found in his car at the time of his arrest and then at his home address. Meanwhile, Angus Bunyan successfully prosecuted businessmen Terrence Mitchell and Andrew Meikle, who were convicted of running an investment scam by offering investors a fixed interest plan with a guaranteed rate of return; the money was instead used by the defendants for personal means.
Leading Juniors
Leading Silks
Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations) Tier 2
Financial crime forms a core area of 2 Hare Court's expertise; recent highlights for its members include Jonathan Kinnear QC successfully representing the Serious Fraud Office in the prosecution of shipping company FH Bertling, including six directors and employees, over an oil project in Angola; the defendants were convicted of paying bribes to a local state oil official to secure shipping contracts worth $20m.
Leading Juniors
Leading Silks
Professional disciplinary and regulatory law Tier 2
2 Hare Court is 'a very strong set' with 'flair', and houses an 'excellent group of barristers with extensive experience in professional disciplinary work'. Healthcare is a core sector of expertise for the set, with members handling work for doctors, dentists, opticians, and osteopaths, and has also been active in the veterinary space. Andrew Colman defended a practitioner of Vaser liposelection (a form of liposuction) against 28 allegations – divided into over 100 sub-heads – of misconduct. However, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service tribunal found only six of the sub-heads amounted to misconduct, and only two to have a basis of impaired fitness to practise; the tribunal decided to take no action by way of sanction. Also of note, Tom Day acted for the General Optical Council in a misconduct case brought against an optometrist accused of harassment; the defendant was erased from the register. In March 2019 Andrew Hurst was appointed to the circuit bench.
Leading Juniors
Health and safety Tier 4
2 Hare Court houses ‘a strong cadre of health and safety counsel’. Noteworthy instructions include Jonathan Laidlaw QC acting for cladding company Harley Facades in the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry. Laidlaw QC also acted for Pret a Manger following the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse; the teenager collapsed and died on board a flight in July 2016 after having an allergic reaction to an "artisan" baguette purchased from the sandwich chain. Pret has announced it will include full ingredient labelling on all its products following Ednan-Laperouse’s inquest, while the government is considering a legislative change.
Leading Juniors
Leading Silks
Set overviews: England and Wales
Counsel at the ‘classy’ 2 Hare Court are ‘a cut above’ in the fields of criminal and professional discipline and regulatory law. Solicitors note it has ‘strengthened considerably its private prosecutions’ offering of late; its expertise in the field of health and safety law; and its ‘respected’ experts in the licensing and sport arena. The ‘first-choice’, ‘forward-thinking’ set boasts ‘an impressive range of clever, accomplished counsel’ who ‘instinctively understand the needs of the client’. In recent chambers news, Alison Levitt QC, the founder of Mishcon de Reya LLP’s white collar crime practice, has joined the set, while Narita Bahra QC, Zubair Ahmad QC, and David Whittaker QC took silk in 2019, further strengthening chambers at the senior end. Meanwhile, the junior ranks have been bolstered by the arrival of Merry Van Woodenberg and Nneka Akudolu, formerly of Foundry Chambers and 187 Fleet Street Chambers respectively. Leaving chambers, Andrew Hurst was appointed to the circuit bench. Chambers has a ‘strong’ clerking team which is ‘modern in its outlook’ and ‘recognises that the traditional flow of work is not going to apply in every case’. The team is led by director of clerking Julian Campbell, who is ‘widely recognised as being amongst the best in the business’ and ‘provides an extremely slick and professional service’. All the clerks are ‘attentive, quick’, and ‘efficient in sending through information and truthful regarding availability’. Senior practice clerk Ben Heaviside is an ‘A+ clerk; approachable, reasonable, and accommodating’. The ‘exceptionally efficient, prompt, and friendly’ Tara Shah has moved to Twenty Essex. Offices in: London
Chambers of Jonathan Laidlaw QC > Firm Profile
Described by The Legal 500 as “first class’ crime set“ that “will not let you down” and by Chambers UK as a set which is “outstanding” and “highly impressive“ with “very strong advocates” that “offers a complete service”, 2 Hare Court has been recognised consistently as one of the UK’s leading chambers specialising in crime, business crime, private prosecution, financial services, tax, professional discipline, health & safety, regulatory law, inquests and inquiries and sports law and other related fields.
The set: Chambers comprises 66 tenants including 21 Queen’s Counsel and 12 members who sit as recorders. Many former members of chambers have become High Court and District Judges. Chambers provides counsel of first choice to leading defence firms as well as principal prosecuting authorities in London, nationwide and abroad. It has a proven track record of delivering the highest standards of service to clients, together with excellence in advocacy and trial management in cases of the utmost gravity and complexity.
2 Hare Court is consistently recognised as one of the UK’s leading sets of expert barristers in their specialised practice areas with members and the set alike being shortlisted for numerous awards in both the Legal 500 and Chambers UK awards. The set’s barristers provide early and strategic analysis and advice, as well as advocacy of the highest quality where cases cannot be resolved at an early stage and need to progress to trial.
2 Hare Court was recognised as one of the top sets in the country for client service at the Bar in Chambers UK 2017 and were quoted as “very approachable, organised, contactable even late into the night, and always clear about what they can achieve and offer”.
“The clerks are outstanding. They bend over backwards to help and have an incisive understanding of specialist areas of law which enables them to tailor their assistance accordingly.”
More information on its barristers and work can be found at www.2harecourt.com.
Types of work undertaken:
Crime: the strength and depth of experience among 2 Hare Court’s specialist advocates sees them advising, defending and prosecuting in all forms of criminal work, particularly in serious and complex cases of terrorism (including special advocate work), murder, honour killings, international drug and human trafficking, serious organised crime and sexual offences (especially historic). Recent cases include: Paddy Jackson trial, Finsbury Park Attacker Darren Osbourne, the French nanny Sophie Lionnet murder trial, The Adam Johnson trial, Operation Tabernula, Operation Yew Tree, Operation Elveden (phone hacking), Huhne and Pryce, Lee Rigby and others.
Business crime and financial services: members of chambers are routinely instructed in the largest and most complex financial crime cases. Its experience includes all forms of fraud, MTIC/VAT tribunal hearings, market abuse (insider dealing, LIBOR and manipulation of other benchmark rates), asset recovery/forfeiture and restraint/confiscation proceedings. Recent cases include: Cambridge Analytica, Operation Amazon, SFO v Rolls Royce, FOREX, ‘Blue Index’, BA price fixing case, Operation Tabernula, SFO v Tchenguiz, lnnospec, and MP/Lords’ expenses.
Private Prosecution: 2 Hare Court is a pioneering set in the area of private prosecution and their private prosecution team have considerable experience of advising and representing clients on both sides of private prosecutions. Numerous members are senior former and current prosecutors, including those who have acted as First Senior, Senior and Junior Treasury Counsel. Recent cases: Swiss oil company Allseas Group (largest privately prosecuted fraud to have ever been brought), R v K (private prosecution brought following long running civil fraud proceedings, R v G, H & A (defence of a privately prosecuted fraud).
Professional Discipline: members have extensive expertise in this field, appearing, in particular, before all healthcare regulators, primarily defending members of all the major MDOs as well as other professionals. The set also appears in proceedings involving the police, accountants and actuaries, tax advisers, solicitors, sports professionals, telecommunications and others.
Regulatory crime: Members of 2 Hare Court advise and represent corporate and individual clients facing proceedings brought by regulators including the Health & Safety Executive, Environment Agency, Trading Standards and local authorities. The team advises at every stage of an investigation pre-charge on issues such as the approach to take in interview, evidence gathering and legal privilege. Recent cases: Grenfell, Chevron, Topcon, Monovan, Hillsborough, Essar Oil, Princes Sporting Club, Lion Steel, Cavendish Masonry and Hugo Boss.
Inquests: 2 Hare Court has a team of specialists with extensive experience of advocacy. Members of the Inquest & Public Inquiry team have acted in the most complex and high profile cases of recent times, including; Hillsborough, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the death of Alexander Litvinenko, the In Amenas hostage crisis, the London 7/7 bombings and the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.
Tax: With a long established background in tax litigation, the team at 2 Hare Court have established a formidable reputation in cases involving disputes in direct and indirect tax appeals. The disputes span the full spectrum of tax litigation before the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber), Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) and Court of Appeal, where members are instructed both by Taxpayers and by the Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs.
Sports law: Members of 2 Hare Court are instructed in cases involving gambling regulation, corruption, inquests and public inquiries, anti-doping, licensing, On-field and off-field violence, disorder by athletes. Members of the sports team regularly appear before the Football Association, the British Horse Racing Authority, International Association of Athletics Federations, National Anti-Doping Panel, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Recent cases: FA v Tony Henry, BHA v Jim & Suzie Best, BHA v Jim Best, FA v Joey Barton, IAAF v Valentin Balakhnichev & Ors and Hillsborough.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director of clerking | Julian Campbell | ||
| Members of Chambers | LAIDLAW QC, Jonathan (1982) | ||
| Members of Chambers | POWNALL QC, Orlando (1975) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HESLOP QC, Martin (1972) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WRIGHT QC, Peter (1981) | ||
| Members of Chambers | RADCLIFFE QC, Andrew (1975) | ||
| Members of Chambers | PICKUP QC, James (1976) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HICKS QC, Martin (1977) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BENNETT-JENKINS QC, Sallie (1984) | ||
| Members of Chambers | LEVITT QC, Alison (1988) | ||
| Members of Chambers | KELLY QC, Brendan (1988) | ||
| Members of Chambers | REES QC, Jonathan (1987) | ||
| Members of Chambers | O'NEILL QC, Brian (1987) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HAYTON QC, Michael (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | COLTART QC, Christopher (1998) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GLASGOW QC, Oliver (1995) | ||
| Members of Chambers | KINNEAR QC, Jonathan (1994) | ||
| Members of Chambers | MIAN QC, Naeem (2002) | ||
| Members of Chambers | COLMAN, Andrew (1980) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BELGER, Tyrone (1984) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DAWSON, James (1984) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WHITTAKER, David (1986) | ||
| Members of Chambers | LAMBIS, Marios (1989) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GRAFFIUS, Mark (1990) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GILLESPIE, Christopher (1991) | ||
| Members of Chambers | FERGUSON, Craig (1992) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GRAY QC (Scotland), Peter (1992) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HURST, Andrew (1992) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BUCHANAN, James (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | FOULKES, Christopher (1994) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BRASSINGTON, Stephen (1994) | ||
| Members of Chambers | AHMAD, Zubair (1995) | ||
| Members of Chambers | IRWIN, Gavin (1996) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BAHRA, Narita (1997) | ||
| Members of Chambers | IVILL, Scott (1997) | ||
| Members of Chambers | LOWNDS, Peter (1998) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HAWKINS, Quinn (1999) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BUNYAN, Angus (1999) | ||
| Members of Chambers | KAZAKOS, Leon (1999) | ||
| Members of Chambers | RINDER, Robert (2001) | ||
| Members of Chambers | RAWLINSON, Michael (2002) | ||
| Members of Chambers | YOUNG, Gudrun (2001) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HUMMERSTONE, Rebekah (2002) | ||
| Members of Chambers | FAURE WALKER, Julia (2004) | ||
| Members of Chambers | TANCHEL, Vivienne (2005) | ||
| Members of Chambers | PRZYBYLSKA, Sarah (2006) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DUMMETT, Emily (2006) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WATKINSON, Howard (2006) | ||
| Members of Chambers | TAMPAKOPOULOS, Alexandra (2007) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WARE, Christopher (2007) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BENTLEY, Harry (2007) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DAY, Tom (2008) | ||
| Members of Chambers | ROBERTSON, Fiona (2008) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GEERING, Christopher (2009) | ||
| Members of Chambers | RICH, Ben (2010) | ||
| Members of Chambers | MARTIN, Will (2010) | ||
| Members of Chambers | MCNEILL, Narita (2010) | ||
| Members of Chambers | STEPHENSON, Laura (2012) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WATTS, Charlotte (2012) | ||
| Members of Chambers | RENTEURS, Paul (2013) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DACRE, Robert (2013) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DOWER, Sophia (2013) | ||
| Members of Chambers | MACDONALD, Lewis (2014) | ||
| Members of Chambers | CAREY, Joshua (2015) | ||
| Members of Chambers | FORBES, Grace (2015) |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
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Zubair Ahmad | View Profile | |
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Narita Bahra | View Profile | |
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Tyrone Belger | View Profile | |
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Sallie Bennett-Jenkins QC | View Profile | |
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Harry Bentley | View Profile | |
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Stephen Brassington | View Profile | |
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James Buchanan | View Profile | |
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Angus Bunyan | View Profile | |
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Joshua Carey | View Profile | |
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Andrew Colman | View Profile | |
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Christopher Coltart QC | View Profile | |
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Robert Dacre | View Profile | |
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James Dawson | View Profile | |
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Tom Day | View Profile | |
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Emily Dummett | View Profile | |
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Julia Faure Walker | View Profile | |
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Craig Ferguson | View Profile | |
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Grace Forbes | View Profile | |
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Christopher Foulkes | View Profile | |
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Christopher Geering | View Profile | |
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Christopher Gillespie | View Profile | |
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Oliver Glasgow QC | View Profile | |
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Quinn Hawkins | View Profile | |
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Martin Heslop QC | View Profile | |
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Martin Hicks QC | View Profile | |
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Rebekah Hummerstone | View Profile | |
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Scott Ivill | View Profile | |
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Brendan Kelly QC | View Profile | |
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Jonathan Laidlaw QC | View Profile | |
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Marios Lambis | View Profile | |
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Peter Lownds | View Profile | |
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Lewis MacDonald | View Profile | |
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Nikita McNeill | View Profile | |
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Brian O’Neill | View Profile | |
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Orlando Pownall QC | View Profile | |
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Sarah Przybylska | View Profile | |
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Andrew Radcliffe QC | View Profile | |
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Jonathan Rees QC | View Profile | |
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Paul Renteurs | View Profile | |
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Ben Rich | View Profile | |
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Robert Rinder | View Profile | |
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Fiona Robertson | View Profile | |
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Laura Stephenson | View Profile | |
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Alexandra Tampakopoulos | View Profile | |
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Vivienne Tanchel | View Profile | |
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Christopher Ware | View Profile | |
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David Whittaker | View Profile | |
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Peter Wright QC | View Profile | |
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Gudrun Young | View Profile |