Set Profile > Chambers of Andrew Thomas QC > Manchester, England
Chambers of Andrew Thomas QC Offices
Lincoln House Chambers
TOWER 12, BRIDGE STREET, SPINNINGFIELDS
MANCHESTER
M3 3BZ
England
Chambers of Andrew Thomas QC > The Legal 500 Rankings
Crime
Considered by many to have 'top-class practitioners from the bottom up', Lincoln House Chambers is a fixture in courts across the circuit and nationally. In addition to violent, sexual and drug-related offences, the set houses practitioners with more niche specialisms, such as Richard Dawson who handles some of the most serious and legally complex motoring cases. Recent notable cases include defence specialist Simon Csoka QC's defence of the first prison officer to be charged with gross negligence manslaughter, in which he secured an acquittal after a prisoner took his his own life in HMP Woodhill, a Category A prison near Milton Keynes.
Leading Juniors
Leading Silks
Inquests and inquiries
Lincoln House Chambers is home to Austin Welch, who represents the families of three victims in the Manchester Arena bombing inquiries. Welch is particularly experienced with inquests that contain a health and safety element, in addition to frequently representing government departments in inquests.
Leading Juniors
Regulatory, health and safety, and licensing
Members of Lincoln House Chambers are particularly prominent in health and safety prosecutions, professional disciplinary cases and environmental criminal work, as well as more general regulatory matters. Notable recent cases include a health and safety prosecution after two employees fell from ladders and broke their backs at the company's warehouse in the space of a year, in which Austin Welch acts for the company, and Arunachalam v General Medical Council, an appeal against erasure in which Simon Gurney acted for the appellant.
Leading Juniors
Set overviews: England and Wales
Lincoln House Chambers is for many, ‘a go-to set in the North’, with ‘wonderful practitioners who are capable across the full range of regulatory and criminal law’, the primary area of work for the set. Director of clerking David Wright is ‘at the top of profession’; ‘he is friendly and always willing to accommodate requests for particular counsel including on training matters’, while Andy McGuiness is ‘very reliable and efficient’. Offices in: Manchester
Regional Bar > Northern Circuit > Crime
Considered by many to have 'top-class practitioners from the bottom up', Lincoln House Chambers is a fixture in courts across the circuit and nationally. In addition to violent, sexual and drug-related offences, the set houses practitioners with more niche specialisms, such as Richard Dawson who handles some of the most serious and legally complex motoring cases. Recent notable cases include defence specialist Simon Csoka QC's defence of the first prison officer to be charged with gross negligence manslaughter, in which he secured an acquittal after a prisoner took his his own life in HMP Woodhill, a Category A prison near Milton Keynes.
Leading Juniors
Leading Silks
Regional Bar > Northern Circuit > Inquests and inquiries
Lincoln House Chambers is home to Austin Welch, who represents the families of three victims in the Manchester Arena bombing inquiries. Welch is particularly experienced with inquests that contain a health and safety element, in addition to frequently representing government departments in inquests.
Leading Juniors
Regional Bar > Northern Circuit > Regulatory, health and safety, and licensing
Members of Lincoln House Chambers are particularly prominent in health and safety prosecutions, professional disciplinary cases and environmental criminal work, as well as more general regulatory matters. Notable recent cases include a health and safety prosecution after two employees fell from ladders and broke their backs at the company's warehouse in the space of a year, in which Austin Welch acts for the company, and Arunachalam v General Medical Council, an appeal against erasure in which Simon Gurney acted for the appellant.
Leading Juniors
Chambers of Andrew Thomas QC > Firm Profile
Lincoln House Chambers fields advocates across a range of practice areas from its stylish, modern premises in Manchester’s city centre. It prides itself on its ethos of excellence in advocacy and in meeting the demands of its clients.
For 40 years this approach has allowed Lincoln House Chambers to maintain a lead over its rivals. Its team of advocates practises in a variety of regulatory and disciplinary fields plus civil litigation, where it has established practice teams with a particular strength to meet the demands for this type of work. Its criminal caseload includes many of the major criminal cases of the day. Planned expansion and organic growth now mean that there are 14 Queen’s Counsel and 61 juniors in chambers. A number of members hold judicial appointments in tribunals and in the higher courts. Most members of chambers are qualified to accept work on a direct access basis.
The set: Considered a predominantly criminal and regulatory set, Lincoln House Chambers has an enviable reputation for its work in the prosecution and defence of regulatory crime and fraud. Additionally, chambers has developed a strong civil wing. There is particular expertise in inquiry work, inquests, professional disciplinary work, complex personal injury and industrial disease claims.
Members include specialists in health and safety, trading standards, environmental regulation and financial regulation. Lincoln House’s reputation in these fields attracts a nationwide clientele.
Types of work undertaken:
Crime: chambers remains a strong resource for those needing advice and representation in all fields of criminal practice, members are regularly instructed in cases of the utmost gravity and public interest. Members are often involved at an early stage when strategic advice is required about the investigation itself, or challenging restraint orders. Chambers has attracted praise for its work in business crime & fraud.
Regulatory: chambers has a deserved reputation as a leader in criminal regulatory work. A strong team is fielded in health and safety litigation and in waste and environmental hazard work. The team is routinely instructed in cases that give rise to fatalities and there is particular expertise in the niche area of corporate responsibility. Additionally, members of chambers have also appeared in cases that arise in a medical context.
The combination of specialisms available through chambers ensures any complex technical issues are understood and mastered. Members have advised for both the regulators and the professionals accused.
Inquiries & Inquests: Members are frequently instructed in issues arising in ancillary jurisdictions, notably inquests and public enquiries. Six members of chambers were instructed to act in the Hillsborough inquests (predominantly for senior police officers) and chambers has a presence in many of the more substantial inquest hearings which take place in the north of England. Members have been instructed by the Home Office and Department of Health to assist with substantial public and independent enquiries. The work undertaken in other regulatory areas (CQC, H&S, police and medical practitioner disciplinary) often extends to representation in Coroners Courts.
Civil: the civil team unites a number of fields of practice. The work covered includes general common law but there is an established specialist team with a national reputation that concentrates on complex personal injury, including industrial disease work (eg British coal respiratory disease litigation, miners’ knee litigation, and surface dust) and catastrophic injury claims. Members have experience of the conduct of actions for and against the police, and the public law team regularly challenges unlawful decisions that arise in a criminal context by way of judicial review. Members also welcome instructions in a range of tribunals (e.g. immigration, VAT/employment/Traffic Commissioners).
Professional disciplinary: LHC barristers advise and appear regularly in General Medical Council cases (both prosecution and defence), nursing and dental councils, HCPC, accountancy issues through the AADB, or police disciplinary issues.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director of Clerking | David Wright | ||
| Criminal Clerk | Andy McGuinness | ||
| Criminal Clerk | David Gibbons | ||
| Civil Clerk | Ty Price | ||
| Professional Discipline Clerk | Sigourney Lomax | ||
| Junior Clerk | Laura Nicholson | ||
| Junior Clerk | Abigail Lockett | ||
| Accounts Manager | Bernadette Duggan | ||
| Members of Chambers | THOMAS QC, Andrew (1989) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WEBSTER QC, Alistair (1976) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HUSSAIN QC, Mukhtar (1971) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GOZEM QC, Guy (1972) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WRIGHT QC, Peter (1981) | ||
| Members of Chambers | PICKUP QC, James (1976) | ||
| Members of Chambers | REID QC, Paul (1973) | ||
| Members of Chambers | CSOKA QC, Simon (1991) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BLACKWELL QC, Katherine (1992) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DAW QC, Christopher (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | ROBERTS QC, Lisa (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | IQBAL QC, Abdul (1994)* | ||
| Members of Chambers | HARRISON QC, John (1994)* | ||
| Members of Chambers | KEALEY QC, Simon (1991)* | ||
| Members of Chambers | LASKER, Jeremy (1976) | ||
| Members of Chambers | NUTTALL, Andrew (1978) | ||
| Members of Chambers | ELIAS, Robert (1979) | ||
| Members of Chambers | NADIM, Ahmed (1982) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BLOOMER, Charles (1985) | ||
| Members of Chambers | STUART, Mark (1985) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BUTCHER, Richard (1985) | ||
| Members of Chambers | TAYLOR, Alan (1986) | ||
| Members of Chambers | McMEEKIN, Ian (1987) | ||
| Members of Chambers | JOHNSON, Kathryn (1989) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BARTON, Hugh (1989) | ||
| Members of Chambers | FRYMAN, Neil (1989) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BOWLEY, Ivan (1990) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SIMONS, Richard (1991) | ||
| Members of Chambers | FORD, Mark (1991) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DONNELLY, Kevin (1991) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BOYD, Philip (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | USHER, Neil (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | STORRIE, Timothy (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WARNE, Peter (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DORAN, Gerard (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BLACKSHAW, Henry (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HOLDEN, Philip (1994) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HOLLAND, Ricky (1994) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WILLIAMS, Paul (1994) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HACKETT, Martin (1995) | ||
| Members of Chambers | NAWAZ, Mohammed (1995) | ||
| Members of Chambers | KEARNEY, Robert (1996) | ||
| Members of Chambers | RIGGS, Samantha (1996)* | ||
| Members of Chambers | DUCKWORTH, Shirlie (1997) | ||
| Members of Chambers | PIERPOINT, Katherine (1998) | ||
| Members of Chambers | KITCHIN, Louise (1998) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WHITE, Rachel (2000) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DAWSON, Richard (2001) | ||
| Members of Chambers | LEACH, Alexander (2001) | ||
| Members of Chambers | FRIEND, Mark (2002) | ||
| Members of Chambers | ENGLISH, Richard (2003) | ||
| Members of Chambers | JONES, Katie (2003) | ||
| Members of Chambers | FARYL, Alaha (2003) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WELCH, Austin (2005) | ||
| Members of Chambers | THOMAS, Daniel (2005) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HEYWORTH, James (2006) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GURNEY, Simon (2006) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BARBOUR, Laura (2006) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HUGHES, Lee (2006) | ||
| Members of Chambers | COOPER, Rachel (2007) | ||
| Members of Chambers | O'LEARY, Brendan (2007) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GILSENAN, Emma (2008) | ||
| Members of Chambers | COWEN, Louise (2010) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GHAHHARY, Leila (2010) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WRIGHT, Lucy (2011) | ||
| Members of Chambers | ASPINALL, Heather (2011) | ||
| Members of Chambers | JONES, Samuel (2011) | ||
| Members of Chambers | MCCAFFREY, Lara (2011) | ||
| Members of Chambers | THOMAS, Isobel (2012) | ||
| Members of Chambers | KHAN, Anam (2013) | ||
| Members of Chambers | ALTON, Marianne (2014) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SHAW, Ellen (2014) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HOWARTH, Matthew (2016) | ||
| Members of Chambers | CHESTNUTT, Anna (2016) | ||
| Members of Chambers | MAGILL, Sarah (2016) |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Mr Katherine Blackwell QC QC | View Profile | |
 |
Simon Gurney | View Profile | |
 |
Mukhtar Hussain QC | View Profile | |
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Andrew Thomas QC | View Profile | |
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Austin Welch | View Profile |
Top Tier Set Rankings
Top Tier Set Rankings
Set Rankings
- Regional Bar Crime
- Regional Bar Inquests and inquiries
- Regional Bar Regulatory, health and safety, and licensing
- London Bar Set overviews: England and Wales