Set Profile > Chambers of Simon Readhead QC > London, England

Chambers of Simon Readhead QC > The Legal 500 Rankings

Chambers of Simon Readhead QC > Firm Profile

1 Chancery Lane is a leading set specialising in claims involving professionals of all disciplines (including coverage issues) and public authority and police liability; travel/cross border/conflict of law claims and technically complex personal injury litigation. Members of chambers have been instructed in many of the leading novel contractual and tortious liability claims over the last 60 years, commencing with the professional liability case of Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] through to Brownlie v Four Seasons [2015] (private international law).

The set: In its core areas of practice, members of chambers offer expertise at all levels. They are accustomed to working constructively and co-operatively with one another in teams, providing complementary skills and levels of experience. They also recognise the importance of working with clients, are sympathetic to the pressures on a solicitor’s time, and seek to provide a cost-effective and efficient litigation or advisory service. Flexibility and teamwork contribute to the set’s ability to undertake cases on a variety of fee bases. Additionally several members of chambers are registered on the Public Access Scheme. 1 Chancery Lane is consistently recognised as providing a client-focused service. The set occupies modern, state-of-the-art premises on the corner of Chancery Lane and Fleet Street.

Types of work undertaken: In the field of professional liability disputes, members are regularly instructed in claims for and against lawyers, accountants, construction professionals, surveyors, valuers, insurance brokers and financial advisers. The claims against lawyers frequently involve property, probate and intestacy issues and coverage issues. This area of work includes representations at disciplinary hearings.

Medical law is a leading specialism in chambers and covers clinical negligence claims, public liability claims against health professionals, human rights claims involving hospitals and care providers and disciplinary and other regulatory hearings. Appearances at inquests are a further aspect of this specialism.

A significant proportion of the work undertaken at 1 Chancery Lane relates to disputes involving public authorities and police bodies. Members of chambers have appeared in a number of ground-breaking claims for damages against local education authorities, social services departments and police forces, which regularly encompass human rights issues and arguments as to the existence and scope of a duty of care. Representations at inquiries involving such bodies is an important adjunct to this area of work.

1 Chancery Lane has a highly praised travel law team that deals with all aspects of conflict of laws and cross-border issues, including overseas accident litigation (acting for claimants, defendants and their insurers), travel insurance claims, travel terms and conditions issues, package holiday and other international convention claims, as well as contractual recovery actions against overseas suppliers and international and national regulatory compliance issues.

The set has special expertise in technically complex personal injury matters. These include disputes about the existence and scope of legal duties of care, disaster litigation, industrial injuries and asbestos-related diseases, road traffic claims, stress-related illnesses, allegations of emotional, physical and sexual abuse, multi-party claims and complex issues of assessment of damages and implementation of structured settlements.

There is a property team which is well known for its landlord and tenant work and its commercial property work which specialises in banking (possessions, receiverships) work. It also deals with real property matters, including land registration and matters relating to agricultural holdings and housing. The set undertakes all forms of claims in tort relating to land, particularly those involving issues of nuisance, professional negligence, public liability and statutory duty. These include interference with property rights, pollution and environmental claims, geotechnical surveys and disputes relating to the contamination of land. The team also undertakes work involving trusts and probate.

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