Old Square Chambers > Bristol, England > Set Profile

Chambers of Mark Sutton QC
Old Square Chambers
9 QUEEN SQUARE
BRISTOL
BS1 4JE
England

Email firm Visit website 0117 930 5100 0117 927 3478

London Bar > Employment Tier 1

Old Square Chambers was recently particularly active in relation to Covid-19's impact on employment. Oliver Segal QC and Stuart Brittenden acted for Unite in the Carluccio's insolvency case, the first to consider the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme's application; and Ben Collins QC, and senior juniors Eleena Misra and Nadia Motraghi, appeared for the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain in the High Court, seeking to extend the furlough scheme's scope to gig economy workers. In other areas, several chambers' members (arguing on both sides), Lord Hendy QC, Ben Collins QC, Ben Cooper QC, Katharine Newton QC, Robert Moretto and Madeline Stanley, acted in the Court of Appeal in a test case on whether foster carers have worker status; and Ben Cooper QC acted for the claimant in Forstater v CGD Europe & others, a high-profile case concerning protection against discrimination in employment for expressing philosophical beliefs in the public debate about biological sex and trans rights.

Rising stars

Benjamin Jones – Old Square Chambers ‘Ben is a junior of choice. He has forensic research skills, combined with a can-do attitude and a creative intelligence – he will go far. ‘

Ranked: Tier 1

Tara O’Halloran – Old Square Chambers

Ranked: Tier 1

Adam Ross – Old Square Chambers ‘Adam quickly gets to grips with the complexities of the case, and offers pragmatic and sensible advice throughout. ‘

Ranked: Tier 1

Madeline Stanley – Old Square Chambers ‘ She has extensive knowledge of trade union law, a very tactical and analytical approach, and is a delight to work with. She is generous with her time and expertise, understands instinctively which points would be attractive to the judicial audience (and which would not), and backs up her views with very prompt, yet thorough, research as new points arise. ‘

Ranked: Tier 1

Leading Silks

John Hendy QC – Old Square Chambers

Ranked: Tier 1

Oliver Segal QC – Old Square Chambers ‘ Oliver is an intellectual giant, who has the ability to assimilate reams of information and spot the key point- and then explain it all back in a simple way – this makes him extremely popular with lay clients. He marshals his arguments and he delivers, whether we are talking about cross-examination of key witnesses, delivering arguments to the judges in the higher court systems, or producing written pleadings. His written work is clear, precise and readable. ‘

Ranked: Tier 1

Ben Collins QC – Old Square Chambers ‘ Ben is unflappable and provides a calm reassurance. He provided not only legal advice but strategic support in a tricky equal pay claim, and was able to cut across the noise to keep in mind the central issues. ‘

Ranked: Tier 2

Ben Cooper QC – Old Square Chambers ‘ He is a superlative technical lawyer, who can cut through difficult legal issues and really get to the heart of something complex quickly. He is also excellent with clients and approachable to lawyers of all levels within the team. ‘

Ranked: Tier 2

Michael Ford QC – Old Square Chambers ‘ Michael is phenomenally bright and has a huge knowledge of anything industrial relations-related. He is a fantastic advocate, with his submissions always being clear, concise and extremely persuasive. He is also well liked by clients and has a good sense of humour. ‘

Ranked: Tier 2

Mark Sutton QC – Old Square Chambers ‘ Mark is clear, concise and carries immense gravitas. He explains the process and legal issues in precise terms, and always inspires confidence. He is calm and measured, giving extremely persuasive submissions. ‘

Ranked: Tier 2

Simon Cheetham QC – Old Square Chambers ‘ Simon is a first-class advocate. Extremely bright and brings real skill to complex cases with a lot of detail. Particularly skilled at complex, sensitive whistleblowing cases, very responsive and works cases hard. Always impeccably prepared, Simon has phenomenal client care skills, combining an authoritative presence with an approachable and personable manner. ‘

Ranked: Tier 4

2020 Silks

Katharine Newton QC – Old Square Chambers ‘ A great eye for detail, meticulously prepared, and a clear and articulate advocate. A worthy addition to the employment silks’ Bar. ‘

Ijeoma Omambala QC – Old Square Chambers ‘ Thoughtful, down to earth, approachable and always calm. She knows her stuff on discrimination in particular. Ijeoma is a real team player and happy to get stuck in as needed, notwithstanding her recent QC status! Ijeoma approaches complex situations with good sense and, importantly, good humour. ‘

Deshpal Panesar QC – Old Square Chambers ‘ Deshpal has excellent advocacy skills, is persuasive in all arguments, and can think extremely quickly when under pressure. His written submissions are clear, detailed and convincing, and he has the ability to grasp complex evidential points quickly and to adapt tribunal strategy to deal with unexpected developments, always acting in the best interests of the client. Deshpal’s work ethic is also outstanding – the amount of preparation and work dedicated to a case is impressive and reassuring to the client. ‘

Rebecca Tuck QC – Old Square Chambers ‘ She provides intellectual clarity, is able to process huge amounts of detail, and is a fantastic cross-examiner. ‘

2022 Silks

Betsan Criddle QC – Old Square Chambers ‘A formidable advocate, whose advice is robust, practical, approachable, accessible, and extremely client friendly. ‘

Leading Juniors

Stuart Brittenden – Old Square Chambers ‘ The best junior in the business by a distance. Always mucks in, is incredibly speedy and always right – a go-to for difficult issues. ‘

Ranked: Tier 1

Nadia Motraghi – Old Square Chambers ‘ Nadia is extremely knowledgeable and practical with her management of legal issues. She is diligent, approachable, and readily gets herself involved with matters as an integral part of the team. ‘

Ranked: Tier 1

Melanie Tether – Old Square Chambers ‘ Melanie has a fantastic legal mind – her written arguments were absolutely first class. ‘

Ranked: Tier 1

Louise Chudleigh – Old Square Chambers ‘ Louise is considered, as well as challenging, in the advice she provides, and uses her substantial experience of the relevant statute and case law to great effect, while also sustaining a practical approach to the detail of the work involved. She is approachable and personal at all times, while providing authoritative and valuable advice. ‘

Ranked: Tier 2

Eleena Misra – Old Square Chambers ‘ Eleena is extremely responsive, helpful and knowledgeable, and wraps it all up with a calm personality that immediately puts clients at ease. Her manner in tribunal is effective, persuasive and professional. She is a go-to barrister for all complex tribunal matters. ‘

Ranked: Tier 2

Spencer Keen – Old Square Chambers ‘ A great thinker and high-quality appellate advocate. Highly authoritative in all things to do with disability discrimination. ‘

Ranked: Tier 3

Tom Kirk – Old Square Chambers ‘ Very bright, personable, committed to his clients and level headed. An excellent barrister and safe pair of hands in any litigation. ‘

Ranked: Tier 3

Jack Mitchell – Old Square Chambers ‘ Excellent eye for detail, collaborative in his working with us, extremely user friendly with clients and witnesses, and very measured with employment judges, but combative when he needs to be. Jack wears his learning lightly. ‘

Ranked: Tier 3

Robert Moretto – Old Square Chambers ‘ He has an ability to understand the issues quickly and to focus on the key areas of importance in the case. Good at developing a strong working relationship with the client and their witnesses in preparation for the hearing and during the hearing. Lay clients are impressed with Robert’s conduct of the case at the hearing and the successful outcome. ‘

Ranked: Tier 3

Nicola Newbegin – Old Square Chambers ‘ Nicola provides excellent, pragmatic advice, and is precise and effective in cross-examination. Nicola takes a client-centred approach and ensures that clients feel supported throughout. This is especially important in complex, rapidly-developing cases. ‘

Ranked: Tier 3

Sarah Keogh – Old Square Chambers ‘ Extremely responsive, completely reliable, very thorough and knowledgeable. Gives clear and decisive advice – an invaluable adviser. ‘

Ranked: Tier 4

Robin White – Old Square Chambers ‘ Robin is a formidable opponent – calm and clear, but ruthless in cross examination. She has a forensic grasp of the case and exploits all the best points. ‘

Ranked: Tier 4

Laith Dilaimi – Old Square Chambers ‘ Professional and friendly, easy to negotiate with, and with a knowledge of the law beyond his call. ‘

Ranked: Tier 5

Christopher Edwards – Old Square Chambers ‘ An excellent advocate who is able to distil complex issues into the relevant key components. He provides consistently pragmatic advice and is always realistic about the prospects of success – very good client management skills that inspire confidence in witnesses. ‘

Ranked: Tier 5

Lance Harris – Old Square Chambers ‘ Lance does a fantastic job, leading to a complete vindication of our position. As well as the expected levels of professionalism, Lance was really easy/fun to work with (the witnesses particularly valued his understanding of how difficult it can be as a lay person), and very good at remembering who is the client. He was very happy to muck in, as necessary, in a way that some counsel would feel beneath them! ‘

Ranked: Tier 5

Elizabeth Melville – Old Square Chambers

Ranked: Tier 5

Rosalie Snocken – Old Square Chambers ‘ She is a talented junior, who has an outstanding and detailed knowledge of employment and discrimination law. ‘

Ranked: Tier 5

Testimonials

Set

‘Good availability of counsel, and always with a range of experience and brief fees so that the client has lots of options. They also deliver regular training sessions with topical content, engaging speakers and useful insights.‘

‘A well-regarded set, with a strong range of barristers who rarely disappoint.‘

‘Very friendly, pleasant and skilled employment set with excellent juniors and QCs.‘

‘A great chambers for employment work, with a number of talented barristers on offer.‘

‘There are some brilliant counsel at Old Square.‘

Clerking

‘They always deliver a prompt response to queries, and have been willing to be flexible on fees in certain circumstances, which has been most appreciated by the client.‘

Western Circuit > Employment Tier 1

'First-class employment set' Old Square Chambers has 'real strength in depth', and houses a team which maintains a presence in London and Bristol. Michael Ford QC has 'a fantastic brain' and is 'an absolutely superb advocate, in both trials and appeal work'. Jack Mitchell has established expertise in whistle blowing cases, while the 'incredibly focussed' Spencer Keen is regularly sought after for his 'encyclopaedic knowledge and understanding of disability discrimination issues'. Melanie Tether is 'a brilliant advocate' and 'extremely committed'; she is adept at representing employers and employees across the full range of employment law issues, with particular strength in TUPE, unfair dismissal, equal pay and discrimination matters.