Civitas Law > Cardiff, Wales > Set Profile
Civitas Law Offices

THE MEWS, 38 CATHEDRAL ROAD
CARDIFF
CF11 9LL
Wales
Civitas Law > The Legal 500 Rankings
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Chancery, probate, and tax Tier 1
Civitas Law's members have a wide range of expertise of Chancery work. Owain Rhys James deals with family estate disputes involving rural property and farms. Kate Parker also focuses on succession, trusts, and real property issues.
Leading Juniors
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Clinical negligence Tier 1
The clinical negligence team at Civitas Law offers adept practitioners with a wide range of specialisms in the practice area. Bryan Thomas and Ian Meikle have extensive experience in delayed and missed diagnosis cases concerning cancer and other conditions. Victoria Hiller has developed a niche within the orthopaedic, gynaecological and obstetrics fields, as well as some matters concerning cosmetic surgery.
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Commercial litigation Tier 1
The 'friendly' commercial litigation team at Civitas Law offers advice and representation across a wide range of matters. Headed by Cathrine Grubb, members' practices encompass debt disputes, civil fraud, mortgage issues, and insurance-related litigation . Names of note in this practice area are Anthony Vines - a regular face in high-value applications - and Owain Rhys James.
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘A very friendly set – barristers are very approachable with a good level of specialism and service provided across different areas. .’
Clerking
‘Clerks are professional and friendly. They offer an efficient and good service.’
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Employment Tier 1
Members of Civitas Law offer a comprehensive service, with specialists across all employment matters with juniors of a range of experience acting for employees and public and private sector employers. Joanne Williams is instructed by the Ministry of Defence Police in a disability discrimination claim, raising issues of the treatment of mental health is viewed in the context of armed police officers (the force being one of two routinely armed police forces in Wales alongside the Civil Nuclear Constabulary).
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘Civitas Law offers a great selection of junior employment barristers based in Cardiff and is usually our first port of call for cases listed in Cardiff Employment Tribunal.’
‘Civitas is my chambers of choice for employment matters with strength in depth.’
Clerking
‘We always find Civitas Law’s clerks to be very responsive and down to earth.’
‘The clerks are friendly, communicative, and respond very quickly.’
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Personal injury Tier 1
Civitas Law includes members regularly instructed in high-value, complex. and catastrophic matters by local authorities, individuals, and businesses. Recent instructions for Simon Hughes and Ian Meikle involve industrial illness claims.
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘They are accommodating and knowledgeable and I would say this is my go-to set for claimant work in Cardiff.’
Clerking
‘The clerks at Civitas are helpful and personable. They are accommodating and willing to go the extra mile to assist.’
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Planning and environment Tier 1
Civitas Law's planning and construction work covers a wide range of matters including wildlife, historical sites, parklands, and planning. Members are instructed in proceedings for local authorities and the Welsh government. Anthony Vines continues to be instructed in a public inquiry regarding the development of the A40 in West Wales between Llandewi Velfrey and Penblewin. Owain Rhys James and Matthew Paul are also active in this practice area. Paul recently advised Brecon Beacons National Park Authority on the development of a biomethane plant.
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Administrative and public law (including civil liberties and human rights) Tier 2
Civitas Law is regularly acts for UK and Welsh Governments across a range of public law areas. Owain Rhys James is a name of note with a broad public law practice able to conduct cases both the English and Welsh languages. Anthony Vines is a senior-junior active in this area who is regularly instructed in public law matters by both local authorities and the Welsh government.
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Business and regulatory crime (including health and safety)
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Company and insolvency
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Immigration
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Inquests and inquiries
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Licensing
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Professional disciplinary law
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Property and construction
Leading Juniors
Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Social housing
Civitas Law > Set Profile
Civitas Law is an award-winning, leading specialist civil and public law barristers’ chambers serving clients across Wales and England. It believes clients are best served by a set of highly specialist lawyers offering excellence and innovation in advisory work, drafting, mediation and advocacy. With the support of its dedicated, experienced and highly responsive clerks and client support teams, barristers are able to provide a full range of counsel services in personal injuries and clinical negligence; employment; public, planning and regulatory; chancery, business, consumer; and ADR matters. The wide range of experience within each group allows the set to work successfully with clients from small-track cases to a complex appeal. The set continues to develop its reputation by attracting the best of the Bar and aims to provide a cutting-edge service while maintaining traditions of independence and integrity. Civitas Law is a Law Society-accredited course provider and regularly hosts CPD training, seminars and conferences, either in-house, at clients’ offices or in collaboration with sector organisations.
The set: Civitas Law puts itself at the heart of the evolution and development of legal services, the civil and public law process and the communities in which it and its clients operate in. Working closely with clients and understanding their legal and business needs has allowed chambers to create valuable client benefits that add to its pure counsel capacity.
Its professional standards and advice are supported by a first-class client care team and service-oriented approach to help deliver and support clients beyond all expectations. The provision of providing clear legal advice which is easily understood by the set’s lay clients is a founding principle of Civitas Law, established in 2008 as Wales’ first focused civil and public law set. The set works closely with its professional clients to ensure that chambers’ services are tailored to their unique requirements and business objectives.
Among its members are barristers who write or contribute to leading practitioner texts and publications, act as mediators and arbitrators and are appointed as Treasury Counsel, to the Attorney General’s Panel and as counsel to the Welsh Government.
Civitas Law has set for itself the highest standards in the delivery of services to its clients; that of excellence. The set aims to be professional and approachable and to provide legal advice which is clear and easily understood by lay clients.
Types of work undertaken: The personal injury and clinical negligence division consists of more than 12 practitioners at all levels of experience acting for claimants and defendants, including major trade union and insurance clients, central, local and the Welsh Government and NHS trusts. The group has specialists in occupational deafness and disease work and in injuries of maximum severity.
Chancery practitioners specialise in all aspects of probate, inheritance and property disputes, including extensive advisory work.
Practitioners in the employment division specialise in all aspects of employment law, ranging from basic unfair dismissal claims to the more complex discrimination and equal pay and breach of contract claims.
The public law and regulatory division brings together practitioners from public and administrative law, civil aspects of public authority work and criminal enforcement, reflecting patterns of change in local government. It serves the requirements of public bodies of all descriptions and provides appropriate specialist knowledge tailored to the individual issues. From advisory work, inquiries and court appearances at all levels to judicial review, regular instructions cover the breadth of public law and include health and safety, trades descriptions, care standards, food hygiene and licensing.
In addition individual members practise extensively in town and country planning and environmental work.
The dispute resolution division provides expert and experienced mediation, arbitration and adjudication services in civil and commercial disputes.
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
---|---|---|---|
Senior Clerk | Sandra Harvey | ||
Office Manager | Marie Durbin | ||
Clerk | Jonathan Mytton | ||
Fees Clerk | Deborah Tully | ||
Members of Chambers | WIILLIAMS QC, Sir Wyn (1974)* | ||
Members of Chambers | THOMAS, Bryan (1978) | ||
Members of Chamnbers | WALTERS, Jonathan (1984) | ||
Members of Chambers | JONES, Nicholas D (1987) | ||
Members of Chambers | COOMBES DAVIES, Mair (1988)* | ||
Members of Chambers | KING, Lucy (1992) | ||
Members of Chambers | VINES, Anthony (1993) | ||
Members of Chambers | MARSHALL, Elizabeth (1995)* | ||
Members of Chambers | HOWELLS, Christopher (1999) | ||
Members of Chambers | WILLIAMS, Joanne (1999) | ||
Members of Chambers | COLE, Richard (2000) | ||
Members of Chambers | PAUL, Matthew (2000) | ||
Members of Chambers | HUGHES, Simon (2003) | ||
Members of Chambers | BAYOUMI, Mona (2004) | ||
Members of Chambers | HILLIER, Victoria (2005) | ||
Members of Chambers | MANSELL, Rebecca (2005) | ||
Members of Chambers | DYSON, Dan (2007) | ||
Members of Chambers | GRUBB, Cathrine (2007)* | ||
Members of Chambers | PARKER, Kate (2010) | ||
Members of Chambers | JAMES, Owain Rhys (2011) | ||
Member of Chambers | WILLIAMS, Alys (2016) | ||
Members of Chambers | EVANS, Dominic (2016) | ||
Members of Chambers | KNIGHT, Isabelle (2019) | ||
*Door tenant |
Barrister Profiles
Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Mona Bayoumi | Mona’s practice is extensively based within the public, planning and regulatory and… | View Profile |
![]() | Richard Cole | Richard is instructed by the Force Solicitors of the police forces across… | View Profile |
![]() | Mair Coombes Davies | Mair specialises in dispute resolution. She has conducted many hundreds of separate… | View Profile |
![]() | Dan Dyson | Dan specialises in commercial and property litigation. His practice features business disputes… | View Profile |
![]() | Cathrine Grubb | Barrister specialising in chancery, commercial and public law. Cathrine also accepts instrucion… | View Profile |
![]() | Victoria Hillier | Victoria is ranked in the Legal 500 2011 and 2012 directory for… | View Profile |
![]() | Christopher Howells | Chris is ranked as a Chambers UK Guide ‘Leader in their field’… | View Profile |
![]() | Simon Hughes | Simon practices in the field of personal injury law. He appears in… | View Profile |
![]() | Owain James | Owain has a busy advocacy and advisory practice across all of chambers’… | View Profile |
![]() | Nicholas Jones | Nick acts on behalf of claimants and defendants (including central government and… | View Profile |
![]() | Kate Parker | Kate has a specialist chancery and commercial practice with a particular focus… | View Profile |
![]() | Matthew Paul | Matthew Graham Paul practices within Civitas Law’s public, planning and regulatory group.… | View Profile |
![]() | William Rees | Will practices in the areas of commercial, public law, construction law and… | View Profile |
![]() | Bryan Thomas | Bryan is a Chambers UK Bar Guide and Legal 500 ‘Tier 1’… | View Profile |
![]() | Anthony Vines | Anthony has an extensive practice and is a member of the Public,… | View Profile |
![]() | Graham Walters | Practice is essentially concerned with property, planning and public and administrative law.… | View Profile |
![]() | Joanne Williams | Joanne is recommended as leading counsel for personal injury and employment law… | View Profile |
Languages
English (fluent) Arabic Welsh- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Chancery, probate, and tax
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Clinical negligence
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Commercial litigation
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Employment
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Personal injury
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Planning and environment
Top Tier Set Rankings
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Administrative and public law (including civil liberties and human rights)
Set Rankings
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Business and regulatory crime (including health and safety)
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Company and insolvency
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Immigration
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Inquests and inquiries
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Licensing
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Professional disciplinary law
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Property and construction
- Regional Bar > Wales and Chester Circuit > Social housing