Set Profile > 1 Hare Court > London, England
1 Hare Court Offices
1 Hare Court
TEMPLE
LONDON
EC4Y 7BE
England
1 Hare Court > The Legal 500 Rankings
Family (including divorce and financial remedy) Tier 1
1 Hare Court is a ‘brilliant set with excellent people from top to bottom. All the barristers are approachable and always helpful when last-minute emergencies occur.’ The set is variously described as one of the 'top divorce and finance sets that is led from the front by the very best advocates' and is also praised for its range of 'stellar individuals who are questionably leaders in their field', including the newly promoted Nicholas Neville Grylls Cusworth QC, as well as 'some future stars in its junior ranks', such as Joshua William Viney. Among its ‘huge range of excellent barristers’ is Nigel Dyer QC who is advising on an interesting case dealing with the legal status of a wife who stayed in the property owned by the husband pending its sale post-divorce. The sale was delayed and the question centred on whether or not the wife was a trespasser during this period. Simon Webster QC and Rebecca Carew-Pole QC have further strengthened the set following their elevation to silk.
Rising stars
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
2021 Silks
Nichola Gray QC - 1 Hare Court ‘A very hard working and determined barrister who has the skills to be a successful QC. Paperwork, judgement and advocacy skills are all excellent.’
Leading Juniors
Set overviews: England and Wales
1 Hare Court is a leading family law chambers with a particular emphasis on matrimonial and civil partnership finance which benefits from a specialist private dispute resolution practice containing 13 mediators and 11 arbitrators. In recent news, Rebecca Carew-Pole QC and Simon Webster QC took silk in early 2020, further strengthening the set at the top end and bringing the total number of silks in chambers to 14.Clerks:
Testimonials
Clerks:
‘All clerks are professional, diligent, organised, efficient. They provide a top-class service to supplement the outstanding legal services their barristers provide.’
‘All of the clerks in the Chambers are first class, from Ryan to Steve McCrone. They are pragmatic and helpful.’
‘The best in the business – they really are. They go above and beyond to help on cases.’
‘Daniel Barnett is brilliant – he is the best of all of the family clerks in London! Nothing is too much trouble, he is organized and on top of everything and always does what he says he will.’
‘Excellent clerks’ room led by Steve McCrone and ably supported by his team including Max Brian who is very responsive on providing timely fee estimates and confirming availability of Counsel.’
‘Steve McCrone, Daniel Barnett and Mike Lay offer a first class clerking service.’
‘The clerks’ room is exceptional and available 24/7. They have a full insight in respect of Family Law procedures. Steve Mccrone, Dan Barnett and Mike Lay are always one step ahead when dealing with a solicitor’s needs.’
Set:
‘1 Hare Court are an excellent chambers for matrimonial finance work and for other complex cases and I use a number of their barristers at all levels.’
‘1 Hare Court are one of the leading sets of chambers dealing with financial remedy work in the country.’
‘1 Hare Court are our go to chambers. The strength of barristers they have at both senior and junior levels is unmatched.’
‘1 Hare Court is a brilliant set. They have excellent people from top to bottom. The barristers I work with from this set are approachable and always helpful when last minute emergencies occur.’
‘1 Hare Court is, by a huge margin, the best family law and financial remedy set in the country. It has best silks and juniors and has strength in numbers.’
‘1HC are one of the top family sets around. They are particularly known as being very cerebral, technical lawyers.’
‘1HC’s QC offering is unparalleled with stellar individuals who are questionably leaders in their field.’
‘A great set. I have used them for decades and they never disappoint.’
‘An unrivalled collection of specialist financial remedy barristers with many excellent people to chose from at both senior and junior level.’
‘Great set, especially at the more senior end but also throughout, all round the best set in London. The set I always go to first since it has the sharpest, most talented barristers but also generally best with clients and very professional.’
1 Hare Court > Set Profile
The âoutstandingâ specialist family law set (The Legal 500). Chambers prides itself on having been the family law market leader in every legal guide for every year since those guides were first published. It is a position earned and retained by an unrivalled expertise in relationship generated disputes. A large proportion of the specialist matrimonial money Silks in England and Wales are at 1 Hare Court. They have an array of talent at every level among the juniors. The annual Chambers Seminar is an important fixture in the family law year which all the top professionals attend, providing up-to-date analysis of the law from the setâs expert barristers.
The set: Chambers traces its history back more than 200 years. Its former members include Law Lords and Lords Justice of Appeal. Recent past members include Baroness Butler-Sloss and Sir Nicholas Wall, former presidents of the family division, Lord Justice Thorpe, High Court Judges, Nicholas Mostyn and Philip Moor and former High Court Judge Mary Hogg.
Members write or contribute to the leading text books and leading periodicals. It is the home of the leading practitionersâ work Rayden & Jackson. Chambers now numbers 12 Silks, 31 juniors and an 11 strong clerks team.
Types of work undertaken: Chambers provides cutting edge expertise at every level. Recent important Supreme Court private family law cases have been dominated by members of chambers; whether in international divorce (where Nigel Dyer QC and Eleanor Harris were for the successful Mrs Agbaje), the nine Justice Supreme Court decision in Radmacher v Granatino (where Richard Todd QC and Geoffrey Kingscote were pitted against fellow member of chambers, Nicholas Mostyn QC) or before seven Justices in the case of Petrodel v Prest (where Richard Todd QC and Stephen Trowell acted for Mrs Prest). Martin Pointer QC was also recently in the cases of Sharland and Vince v Wyatt in the Supreme Court. Martin Pointer QC and Nigel Dyer QC have also been involved in cases in the Privy Council and Tim Bishop QC and Nicholas Cusworth QC have just been against each other in Work v Gray, a case concerning special contribution.
Members of chambers have had an active part as advocates in all the most celebrated divorce cases of recent years: White, Cowan, Lambert, Miller, McFarlane, Charman and McCartney. 85% of the hundreds of reported cases referred to in âAt a Glanceâ have had involvement by members of chambers. Obviously the higher court cases attract greater publicity but chambers maintains a strong representation at every level of litigation and, increasingly alternative dispute resolution.
The majority of Chambersâ work takes the form of resolving disputes on divorce, both financial and regarding arrangements for children. The breakdown of civil partnerships or property disputes arising from unmarried partiesâ cohabitation also represents an important part of Chambersâ work. Hare Court has an excellent reputation in drafting nuptial agreements. 1 Hare Court also deals with a large number of international jurisdiction disputes and members of chambers have acted in many of the leading authorities in this field.
In addition to traditional court work, Chambers has a strong offering in private dispute resolution services. 1 Hare Court offers private mediation services through a large and expert team of specialist barrister-mediators. Chambers has been at the forefront of the new family arbitration movement and has the largest number of family law arbitrators under one roof. Senior members of Chambers regularly act as evaluators in âprivate FDRâ hearings, and some members are also associates of collaborative law pods.
Chambers also has an impressive international presence with its members providing representation or expert evidence in many other jurisdictions. In the last ten years members of Chambers have acted in 30 foreign jurisdictions. In recent years members of Chambers have been found advocating in cases as geographically far apart as the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong.
Members are supported by a highly efficient clerksâ room run under the supervision of Steve McCrone. They won the Clerks Team of the Year award in 2015.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior clerk | Steven McCrone | ||
| First junior clerk | Michael Lay | ||
| Junior clerks | Daniel Barnett | ||
| Junior clerks | James Collier | ||
| Chambers administrator | Sarah Hardwicke | ||
| Members of Chambers | POINTER QC, Martin (1976) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BANGAY QC, Deborah (1981) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DYER QC, Nigel (1982) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HUSSEY QC, Ann (1981) | ||
| Members of Chambers | CUSWORTH QC, Nicholas (1986) | ||
| Members of Chambers | TODD QC, Richard (1988) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WILSON QC, John (1981) | ||
| Members of Chambers | DAVIDSON QC, Katharine (1987) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BISHOP QC, Timothy (1991) | ||
| Members of Chambers | TROWELL QC, Stephen (1995) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WARSHAW QC, Justin (1995) | ||
| Members of Chambers | KINGSCOTE QC, Geoffrey (1993) | ||
| Members of Chambers | CARDEN, Nicholas (1981) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SMITH, Gavin (1981) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WOOD, Christopher (1986) | ||
| Members of Chambers | PLATTS, Rachel (1989) | ||
| Members of Chambers | TODD, Elisabeth (1990) | ||
| Members of Chambers | GRAY, Nichola (1991) | ||
| Members of Chambers | YATES, Nicholas (1996) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WEBSTER, Simon (1997) | ||
| Members of Chambers | CAREW POLE, Rebecca (1999) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SUMNER, Emma (1999) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BRADLEY, Michael (1999) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BAILEY-HARRIS, Rebecca (2000) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HARRIS, Eleanor (2000) | ||
| Members of Chambers | CARTER, Tom (2001) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SPICER, Rachel (2002) | ||
| Members of Chambers | KENNY, Christian (2003) | ||
| Members of Chambers | ALLEN, Jude (2004) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SEAR, Richard (2005) | ||
| Members of Chambers | SUGDEN, Amelia (2006) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WILKINSON, Nicholas (2006) | ||
| Members of Chambers | COOK, Katherine (2007) | ||
| Members of Chambers | BRUNSDON TULLEY, Matthew (2007) | ||
| Members of Chambers | KABRA, Madhavi (2008) | ||
| Members of Chambers | CORNWALL, Kyra (2011) | ||
| Members of Chambers | PERKINS, Amy (2010) | ||
| Members of Chambers | MOTTAHEDAN, Lily (2011) | ||
| Members of Chambers | VINEY, Joshua (2013) | ||
| Members of Chambers | HARVEY, Thomas (2013) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WOOLDRIDGE, Ben (2013) | ||
| Members of Chambers | LITTLEJOHNS, Sam (2014) | ||
| Members of Chambers | WEBB, James (2015) | ||
| Members of Chambers | Associate members | ||
| Members of Chambers | SINGER QC, Sir Peter |
Barrister Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
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Jude Allen | All areas of family law, with a focus on matrimonial finance, cohabitation… | View Profile |
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Rebecca Bailey-Harris | Barrister specialising in family law. Important cases include: Miller v Miller; McFarlane… | View Profile |
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Deborah Bangay QC | Barrister specialising in money, private children work and pre-nuptial agreements. Cases include:… | View Profile |
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Timothy Bishop QC | Barrister specialising in financial remedies and matrimonial jurisdiction disputes; cases include: Xydhias;… | View Profile |
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Nicholas Carden | Barrister specialising in financial remedies, including cohabitation and pre-nuptial agreements; Inheritance Act;… | View Profile |
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Rebecca Carew Pole | Barrister specialising in divorce; ancillary relief; private law children disputes; cases include:… | View Profile |
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Tom Carter | Barrister specialising in all areas of family law. | View Profile |
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Katherine Cook | Specialising in all areas of private family law, including financial remedy proceedings;… | View Profile |
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Kyra Cornwall | Family law barrister. | View Profile |
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Nicholas Neville Grylls Cusworth QC | Chair of the Family Law Bar Association 2012-2013 and head of chambers… | View Profile |
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Katharine Davidson QC | Barrister specialising in family law. | View Profile |
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Nigel Dyer QC | Barrister specialising in financial remedy claims across a broad spectrum, ie big… | View Profile |
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Nichola Jayne Gray | Barrister specialising in matrimonial finance, family provision and property disputes between cohabitees. | View Profile |
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Eleanor Harris | Barrister specialising in all areas of family law. | View Profile |
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Ann Hussey QC | Barrister specialising in family law, primarily high-net-worth cases including farming. | View Profile |
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Madhavi Kabra | Family law (including divorce, ancillary relief and children law). Case includes Traversa… | View Profile |
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Christian Edward Mackenzie Kenny | View Profile | |
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Geoffrey Kingscote | Barrister specialising in financial remedies applications, particularly those involving marital agreements and… | View Profile |
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Lily Mottahedan | Lily joined chambers as a tenant in October 2013 following the successful… | View Profile |
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Richard Sear | View Profile | |
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Roger Gavin Abbey Smith | Barrister specialising in financial remedies on divorce; domestic and international enforcement; jurisdiction… | View Profile |
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Rachel Spicer | Barrister specialising in all areas of family law, including matrimonial finance, Private… | View Profile |
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Emma Sumner | Barrister specialising in ancillary relief and private child disputes. | View Profile |
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Richard Todd QC | Barrister specialising in matrimonial finance, Trusts of Land Act, Married Women’s Property… | View Profile |
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Stephen Trowell QC | Barrister specialising in financial relief ancillary to divorce, private Children Act work,… | View Profile |
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Joshua Viney | All areas of family law with a focus on financial remedies. | View Profile |
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Justin Warshaw QC | Barrister specialising in all aspects of divorce work; cases include: MET v… | View Profile |
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Simon Webster | Barrister specialising in all areas of private law family disputes with a… | View Profile |
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Nicholas Wilkinson | Practises in matrimonial finance; private law children; jurisdiction matters; TOLATA’96; FLA’96. High… | View Profile |
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John Wilson QC | Barrister specialising in matrimonial finance, professional negligence, inheritance claims, trusts, and matrimonial… | View Profile |
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Christopher Wood | Barrister specialising in family law, mostly ancillary relief; cases include: A v… | View Profile |
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Nicholas Yates | Nicholas specialises in financial remedy cases (including civil partnership and Schedule 1… | View Profile |