Pump Court Chambers > London, England > Set Profile

Pump Court Chambers > Set Profile

Established 75 years ago, Pump Court Chambers is a large and well-established common law set specialising in family, civil, criminal and international law, as well as forms of non-court dispute resolution such as commercial arbitration, family arbitration, mediation and private FDRs.

The set: Chambers has 104 barristers, including seven silks, based across its three offices in London, Winchester and Swindon. Each centre is staffed by an experienced clerking team which is known for providing a consistently high service. Although based in London and on the Western Circuit, the work done by the set’s barristers extends throughout the UK and abroad. Members of chambers appear in all levels of courts and offer the highest quality advocacy and advisory services. Many sit as part-time judges in a variety of courts and tribunals, and it has a proud record of having provided numerous accomplished and highly respected judges to the Circuit Bench and other senior judicial posts.

The set is highly regarded by its peers for the depth of its expertise across the full range of contentious legal services. Clients believe that what really sets chambers apart is its attitude to client service – barristers have an unstuffy approach, a ‘can do’ attitude and the ability to give clear advice that makes sense. Chambers is committed to professional excellence and always works to the highest ethical standards.

Types of work undertaken
Civil: The team, made up of over 40 practising members including two silks continues to growth in strength. Chambers has particular expertise in all areas of business and commercial, employment, inheritance, property, personal injury and clinical negligence, professional negligence, regulatory and transport law.

The team also undertakes a large amount of professional negligence work, with a number of practitioners acting as legal assessors and representatives for the General Medical Council and other professional bodies.

Family: With over 60 members including three KCs, Pump Court Chambers has one of the largest specialist family law teams at the Bar. The team practises in four main areas: family finance, court of protection, children public law and children private law. To meet the growing need for a non-court-based resolution service for family finance cases, the team also provides services in family arbitration, mediation and private FDRs. The family finance team undertakes a wide spectrum of work, from complex high-net-worth ‘big money’ cases to actions with more modest assets and incomes. The private children law team specialises in residence and contact disputes and applications for permission to remove children from the jurisdiction. The team also has extensive experience in dealing with child abduction cases with international dimensions and matters involving serious domestic and sexual abuse. In public law it advises and represents local authorities, parents and guardians in all areas of children work, including applications for care and supervision orders, applications for placement and adoption orders, applications under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court, and disputes where local authorities have been joined as parties to applications for judicial review.

International: Oba Nsugbe KC, SAN is widely acknowledged as one of the UK’s and Nigeria’s leading barristers and commercial arbitrators. He has a broad international practice with a particular interest in Africa. He is qualified as a barrister and a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He advises the Nigerian federal government, several state governments and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, as well as having appeared as an expert witness in several UK cases involving Nigerian law. In addition, he routinely works in other overseas jurisdictions such as Germany, the Cayman Islands, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. He is frequently involved in multi-jurisdictional cases. Anthony Akiwumi is admitted as an attorney of the Cayman Islands and has practised in this jurisdiction since 1997. He has an excellent command of the issues arising in the context of an increasingly regulated offshore environment. In 2002 Anthony was part of the team that successfully represented the Cayman Islands in its presentations to the OECD/FATF, resulting ultimately in the removal of the Cayman Islands from the list of non-co-operating jurisdictions. Jason Nickless enjoys cases with an international flavour and has advised clients both on- and offshore. He has been called to the Bar in the British Virgin Islands and appeared there before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, where he was involved in two appeals dealing with the interrelationship between insolvency rules and arbitration clauses. He has dealt with a number of cases involving African mobile telephone companies. He regularly advises on conflict of law matters both inside and outside the EC jurisdictions. Naima Asif has spent significant time in Pakistan gaining experience in cases involving forced/child marriage, domestic/honour based violence, stranded spouse, international child abduction and Islamic law. Naima is regularly instructed to provide expert advice on Pakistani law and Islamic law.

Regulatory: Our regulatory and disciplinary barristers represents businesses and professionals in disputes over their adherence to or application of the standards and rules that govern and guide their operation.

These disputes often run in parallel with proceedings involving commercial, employment or criminal litigation. Our regulatory and disciplinary team are adept at handling these complex, multi-dimensional cases to ensure that our clients receive the best-possible representation on each aspect of the dispute.

Businesses and professions are more closely regulated than ever before and failure – or even the suggestion of a failure – to comply with the relevant regulations and standards can have very significant, even career-ending, financial and reputational consequences. So, it is vital when proceedings are initiated against a business or professional that they access expert representation as quickly as possible, especially where matters progress to a tribunal.

Criminal: Pump Court Chambers’ criminal advocates enjoy an outstanding reputation. Over the last 20 years more than 15 of the group have become circuit judges. In the same period 15 members of chambers have been appointed as King’s Counsel. From these solid foundations chambers has developed into one of the most modern and forward-thinking sets. The team is made up of four silks and 22 junior tenants.

Alternative dispute resolution: Chambers offers a range of services to assist parties to resolve their issues in a modern, focused and cost-effective manner. These services include commercial arbitration, civil and family mediation, family arbitration under the IFLA scheme and private FDRs.

Barrister Profiles

Photo	Name	Position	Profile
	Mr Mark Ablett	Mark Ablett has a specialist practice in family law, appearing at all…	View Profile
	Ms Naima Asif	Naima specialises in children law, public law and human rights. She has…	View Profile
	Ms Siân Beaven	Siân is a specialist criminal practitioner. She has developed a practice prosecuting…	View Profile
	Ms Amy Berry	Amy is a probate and property specialist on the Western Circuit. Her…	View Profile
	Mr Edward Boydell	Edward Boydell is highly experienced in all aspects of family law but…	View Profile
	Ms Samara Brackley	Samara is a specialist family practitioner. She accepts instructions across the full…	View Profile
	Ms Helen Brander	Helen Brander has extensive experience in all aspects of family law and…	View Profile
	Ms Catherine Breslin	Catherine has considerable expertise in complex and challenging matrimonial finance work. She…	View Profile
	Mr John Chapman	John’s specialises in resolving financial disputes upon the breakdown of relationships.  He…	View Profile
	Mr Jesse Cook	Jesse Cook is known for his personable, down to earth style and…	View Profile
	Mr Mark Dubbery	Inheritance, wills and probate, real property particularly constructive and resulting trusts, undue…	View Profile
	Ms Catherine Ellis	Catherine has a wealth of experience in both public and private law…	View Profile
	Ms Victoria Ellis	Victoria Ellis’s practice encompasses all aspects of family law and the overlapping…	View Profile
	Ms Antonia Ford	Antonia Ford draws from over 18 years of experience as a lawyer,…	View Profile
	Ms Claire Fox	Claire is a family practitioner with a particular specialism in public law…	View Profile
	Mr Adam Gadd	Adam Gadd has a common law background and undertakes a wide range…	View Profile
	Mr Justin Gau	Justin Gau has practiced in Ecclesiastical law for many years. He is…	View Profile
	Ms Daniela Gilbert	Daniella Gilbert is an experienced practitioner specialising in employment law and commercial…	View Profile
	Mr Andrew Grime	Andrew specialises in family law, trusts of land, inheritance, wills and probate,…	View Profile
	Ms Naomi Gyane	Naomi is a dual practitioner specialising in Employment law and Criminal law.…	View Profile
	Mr Kevin Haven	Previously a solicitor and partner in a central London firm, Kevin subsequently…	View Profile
	Mr Henry Hawkesworth	Henry joined Pump Court after a period of tenancy in a leading…	View Profile
	Ms Maria Henty	Maria Henty is building a practice in all areas of family law,…	View Profile
	Ms Penny Howe	Penny Howe QC acts in all aspects of the law relating to…	View Profile
	Ms Naznin Islam	Naznin specialises in public and private children law proceedings. She has particular…	View Profile
	Mr Stephen Jones	Specialist practitioner in property law. Some recent significant cases: Lankester & Son…	View Profile
	Mr Geoffrey Kelly	Geoffrey specialises in all areas of family finance litigation. He appears regularly…	View Profile
	Mr John Ker-Reid	Child AbductionChildren Law Public & Private	View Profile
	Ms Helen Khan	Child AbductionChildren Law (Private)Children Law (Public)Court of ProtectionDomestic Violence	View Profile
	Mr Simon Lane	Simon Lane is a property and estates barrister and mediator, with a…	View Profile
	Ms Jennifer Lee	Jennifer is a specialist family law practitioner. She has a thriving practice…	View Profile
	Ms Alejandra Llorente Tascon	Alejandra Llorente Tascon is a specialist Criminal practitioner. She has a busy…	View Profile
	Ms Tara Lyons	Barrister specialising in matrimonial finance, financial provision for child, claims by cohabitees,…	View Profile
	Dr Ezra Macdonald	Ezra MacDonald has a broad civil practice, with particular expertise in employment,…	View Profile
	Mr Paul Mertens	Paul Mertens has a busy practice, encompassing civil, family and public law. …	View Profile
	Ms Lucy Morrell	Lucy is a specialist criminal barrister. She undertakes all areas of criminal…	View Profile
	Mr Conor Mullan	Conor Mullan’s practice focuses on two main areas; Civil and Criminal law,…	View Profile
	Mr James Newton-Price	James Newton-Price QC has a busy practice with particular experience in cases…	View Profile
	Mr Oba Nsugbe	Widely acknowledged as one of the UK’s and Nigeria’s leading barristers, he…	View Profile
	Ms Stephanie Painter	Stephanie Painter is developing a mixed common law practice, accepting instructions across…	View Profile
	Ms Margaret Pine-Coffin	Child AbductionChildren Law (Private)Children Law (Public)Court of ProtectionDomestic Violence	View Profile
	Ms Heather Platt	During over a decade at the Bar, Heather has built an impressive…	View Profile
	Ms Lucy Plumpton	Lucy Plumpton enjoys a busy practice across the spectrum of Chambers’ work,…	View Profile
	Mr Ricky Powell	Ricky Powell has broad common law experience across numerous practice areas. He…	View Profile
	Mr Julian Reed	Julian Reed practices in the areas of family and civil law, specialising…	View Profile
	Mr Timothy Salisbury	Timothy Salisbury has a civil and commercial practice encompassing commercial litigation, personal…	View Profile
	Mr Leslie Samuels	Children public law: Leslie undertakes complex and high-profile public law children cases…	View Profile
	Ms Alice Scott	Alice Scott joined Chambers in October 2019 following the successful completion of…	View Profile
	Mr Neelo Shravat	Neelo Shravat is an experienced child law barrister. He specialises in acting…	View Profile
	Ms Leonorah Smith	eonorah Smith is a family practitioner, who specialises in Children Act matters…	View Profile
	Ms Charlotte Street	In family law Charlotte enjoys a broad practice encompassing all aspects of…	View Profile
	Miss Jennifer Swan	She specialises in all aspects of children law with particular emphasis on…	View Profile
	Mr Hugh Travers	Child AbductionChildren Law (Private)Direct AccessFamily Finance	View Profile
	Mr Richard Tutt		View Profile
	Ms Cordelia Williams	Cordelia is a specialist family practitioner with a particular interest in financial…	View Profile