Set Profile > 1 Hare Court > London, England

Chambers of Timothy Bishop QC
1 Hare Court
TEMPLE
LONDON
EC4Y 7BE
England

Email firm Visit website 020 7797 7070 020 7797 7435

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

Joshua William Viney - 1 Hare Court ‘Is incredibly calm and measured. Nothing fazes him and he has the patience of a saint in dealing with difficult individuals. He has assurance and client handling skills far beyond his years' call. He has a quick and agile mind, often getting to the point quicker than others in the room.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Leading Silks

Nicholas Cusworth QC - 1 Hare Court ‘Is the paradigm of the "heavyweight QC". He is calm, suave and highly competent. He is a formidable advocate with gravitas and a brilliant laid back cross-examination style in court. He has seen everything and nothing unnerves or panics him.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Nigel Dyer QC - 1 Hare Court ‘A robust advocate and detailed preparer of papers and reads all that is sent before him. Not afraid to work without a Junior.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Richard Todd QC - 1 Hare Court ‘Has an instant and encyclopaedic knowledge of the law, which he deploys with the utmost skill, and often takes on the most difficult of cases with spectacular results. He is instructed by all the magic circle firms and also maintains a premier practice in Hong Kong.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Deborah Bangay QC - 1 Hare Court ‘A fantastic silk with an eye for detail. Great with the lay client and a formidable opponent in Court.’

Ranked: Tier 2

Timothy Bishop QC - 1 Hare Court ‘His experience and analytical approach to matters are overwhelmingly good.’

Ranked: Tier 3

Justin Warshaw QC - 1 Hare Court ‘His advocacy skills are second to none. He leaves no stone unturned and has excellent attention to detail. He takes no nonsense from his opponents, has the ear of the Judge and is what you need from a leading QC.’

Ranked: Tier 3

Nicholas Yates QC - 1 Hare Court ‘Is an exceptional talent and has already marked himself as a go-to silk for complex finance work. A master of the courtroom, he has the respect of the bench and the bar alike.’

Ranked: Tier 4

Ann Hussey QC - 1 Hare Court ‘An intellectually gifted and razor sharp advocate at the top of her game. Our first choice for HNW clients with complex assets where her ability to bring all the threads together to achieve the optimum outcome for the client is outstanding.’

Ranked: Tier 4

Stephen Trowell QC - 1 Hare Court ‘His capacity for remembering details is astonishing. He is not afraid to give clients tough advice, so they have a fully informed view. He is frighteningly intelligent.’

Ranked: Tier 4

2020 Silks

Rebecca Carew-Pole QC - 1 Hare Court ‘Her written work is second to none and when on her feet she blazes a trail behind her. She is a force to be reckoned with whether in the negotiation room or the courtroom. Judges adore her clear presentation. She makes everything sound simple however difficult it may be.’

Simon Webster QC - 1 Hare Court ‘Shrewd advisor with wisdom beyond his years. Persuasive advocate with first class client management skills. Consistently operating at the top of his game.’

Leading Juniors

Nichola Gray - 1 Hare Court ‘A very hard working and determined Senior Junior who has the skills to be a successful QC if she chose to take Silk. Paperwork, judgement and advocacy skills are all excellent.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Richard Sear - 1 Hare Court ‘Is an intellectual colossus. Utterly dependable he works like a Trojan. Confident and persuasive in court he is charming with a good sense of humour which goes down very well with Judges. He is respected by Judges and opponents alike.’

Ranked: Tier 1

Phillip Blatchly - 1 Hare Court ‘He is taking on the top cases and going toe to toe with giants of family law. He is superbly user friendly and accessible.’

Ranked: Tier 3

Emma Sumner - 1 Hare Court ‘A calming presence, Emma is a gifted advocate and it is a joy to instruct her. Emma has a wealth of experience and as well as providing superb legal advice she also has a very practical approach.’

Ranked: Tier 3

Rebecca Bailey-Harris - 1 Hare Court ‘Her strength is the detailed preparation and reassurance to clients. If I have a jurisdiction nightmare brewing, she is my first call!’

Ranked: Tier 4

Kyra Cornwall - 1 Hare Court ‘Calm under fire. Measured in her demeanour. Kind and empathetic to clients. A smiling assassin in the courtroom. Underestimate her at your peril!’

Ranked: Tier 4

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:

Steve McCrone (Senior Clerk); Michael Lay (First Junior Clerk); Daniel Barnett (First Junior Clerk)

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.’

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.

Department	Name	Email	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

Name	Position	Profile
Jude Allen	All areas of family law, with a focus on matrimonial finance, cohabitation…	View Profile
Rebecca Bailey-Harris	Barrister specialising in family law. Important cases include: Miller v Miller; McFarlane…	View Profile
Deborah Bangay QC	Barrister specialising in money, private children work and pre-nuptial agreements. Cases include:…	View Profile
Timothy Bishop QC	Barrister specialising in financial remedies and matrimonial jurisdiction disputes; cases include: Xydhias;…	View Profile
Nicholas Carden	Barrister specialising in financial remedies, including cohabitation and pre-nuptial agreements; Inheritance Act;…	View Profile
Rebecca Carew Pole	Barrister specialising in divorce; ancillary relief; private law children disputes; cases include:…	View Profile
Tom Carter	Barrister specialising in all areas of family law.	View Profile
Katherine Cook	Specialising in all areas of private family law, including financial remedy proceedings;…	View Profile
Kyra Cornwall	Family law barrister.	View Profile
Nicholas Neville Grylls Cusworth QC	Chair of the Family Law Bar Association 2012-2013 and head of chambers…	View Profile
Katharine Davidson QC	Barrister specialising in family law.	View Profile
Nigel Dyer QC	Barrister specialising in financial remedy claims across a broad spectrum, ie big…	View Profile
Nichola Jayne Gray	Barrister specialising in matrimonial finance, family provision and property disputes between cohabitees.	View Profile
Eleanor Harris	Barrister specialising in all areas of family law.	View Profile
Ann Hussey QC	Barrister specialising in family law, primarily high-net-worth cases including farming.	View Profile
Madhavi Kabra	Family law (including divorce, ancillary relief and children law). Case includes Traversa…	View Profile
Christian Edward Mackenzie Kenny		View Profile
Geoffrey Kingscote	Barrister specialising in financial remedies applications, particularly those involving marital agreements and…	View Profile
Lily Mottahedan	Lily joined chambers as a tenant in October 2013 following the successful…	View Profile
Richard Sear		View Profile
Roger Gavin Abbey Smith	Barrister specialising in financial remedies on divorce; domestic and international enforcement; jurisdiction…	View Profile
Rachel Spicer	Barrister specialising in all areas of family law, including matrimonial finance, Private…	View Profile
Emma Sumner	Barrister specialising in ancillary relief and private child disputes.	View Profile
Richard Todd QC	Barrister specialising in matrimonial finance, Trusts of Land Act, Married Women’s Property…	View Profile
Stephen Trowell QC	Barrister specialising in financial relief ancillary to divorce, private Children Act work,…	View Profile
Joshua Viney	All areas of family law with a focus on financial remedies.	View Profile
Justin Warshaw QC	Barrister specialising in all aspects of divorce work; cases include: MET v…	View Profile
Simon Webster	Barrister specialising in all areas of private law family disputes with a…	View Profile
Nicholas Wilkinson	Practises in matrimonial finance; private law children; jurisdiction matters; TOLATA’96; FLA’96. High…	View Profile
John Wilson QC	Barrister specialising in matrimonial finance, professional negligence, inheritance claims, trusts, and matrimonial…	View Profile
Christopher Wood	Barrister specialising in family law, mostly ancillary relief; cases include: A v…	View Profile
Nicholas Yates	Nicholas specialises in financial remedy cases (including civil partnership and Schedule 1…	View Profile