1 Chancery Lane > London, England > Set Profile
1 Chancery Lane Offices

1 Chancery Lane
LONDON
WC2A 1LF
England
1 Chancery Lane > The Legal 500 Rankings
London Bar > Travel law (including jurisdictional issues) Tier 1
1 Chancery Lane ‘at the forefront of cross-border high value personal injury claims’, assisting both claimants and defendants on major cases. Among these include ‘superstar’ Matthew Chapman QC and John Ross QC representing the widow of Sir Ian Brownlie, who died from injuries sustained in a road collision in Egypt, in her case against the Four Seasons in Cairo, a case which reached the United Kingdom Supreme Court. Alongside personal injury work, the team is also adept in handling package travel and conflict cases as well as recoveries against overseas suppliers.
Rising stars
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘They really know their stuff on international travel. Perhaps the best travel law set.’
‘1 Chancery Lane are the set that is at the forefront of cross-border high value personal injury claims and they are who I go to as my preferred choice.’
‘They are a good strong set at all levels – with some very promising junior Juniors.’
‘Always contactable, helpful and amenable. Great programme during the pandemic of free online training, webinars and legal updates.’
‘The set provides regular useful travel related newsletter updates and the webinars they provided during lockdown were informative and dare I say entertaining at the same time.’
Clerking
‘I found that all of the clerks I talk to are very engaging, willing to do as much as possible to assist and up front about matters, especially when it comes to issues such as fees.’
London Bar > Police law (forces and constables) Tier 2
1 Chancery Lane is an 'excellent set from top to bottom', with solid expertise in handling judicial review claims and claims brought under the Human Rights Act. The 'excellent' Andrew Warnock QC is well known for acting in high profile cases, such as representing South Yorkshire Police in defending a civil claim regarding the Hillsborough disaster. At the junior end of chambers, Geoffrey Weddell is 'extremely persuasive in writing'; Lisa Dobie and Laura Johnson are noted for defending forces in personal injury claims brought by officers; and Paul Stagg acts in proceedings concerning appropriate use of force. Ian Clarke has specialist expertise in handling data protection claims within the policing space.Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘Excellent set, from top to bottom.’
‘Excellent counsel.’
London Bar > Clinical negligence Tier 3
1 Chancery Lane houses 'top quality clinical negligence practitioners with skills to suit a variety of cases'. The set has a strong reputation for acting in medical malpractice claims; for example, Edward Faulks QC successfully appeared for the defendant in the landmark vicarious liability case Barclays Bank v Various Claimants, which was heard before the Supreme Court. Laura Johnson successfully represented the claimants in Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, an appeal case involving secondary victim claims. In another matter, Edward Bishop QC is representing the defendant trust in C v South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, a case concerning the duties of public bodies to protect third parties from the criminal acts of people ostensibly under their control.
Rising stars
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘This set has some top quality clinical negligence practitioners with skills to suit a variety of cases.‘
‘Excellent clinical negligence counsel, from QCs to juniors.‘
‘An excellent set, with good strength in depth, and expertise from both the claimant and the defendant perspective.‘
‘There is a broad range of experience amongst counsel which they share by their co-operation with each other.‘
Clerking
‘The clerks are friendly, efficient, approachable and provide a first class service that cannot be bettered.‘
‘The clerking team is without rival.‘
London Bar > Personal injury, industrial disease and insurance fraud Tier 3
A 'host of top go-to counsel' can be found at 'wonderful set' 1 Chancery Lane. The chambers continues to be particularly well regarded for its expertise in public authority work. Andrew Warnock QC is representing the South Yorkshire police in group litigation for psychiatric injuries brought by 600 claimants, who allege that they were victims of a police cover-up arising out of the Hillsborough litigation. 'Tour de force trial advocate' John Ross QC is noted for his specific expertise in acquired brain injuries, while Matthew Chapman QC is highly regarded for his extensive experience in defending complex stress at work and employers’ liability cases.
Leading Silks
Personal injury - Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘The set has great strength in depth, with some very talented juniors.’
‘Superb set with a host of top go-to counsel.’
‘1CL has a hugely talented team of barristers in the area of international law including some very promising juniors.’
‘An excellent set, providing a great service.’
‘Wonderful set of chambers.’
Clerking
‘Fantastic and helpful clerks’ room, under the formidable leadership of Clark Chessis.’
London Bar > Professional negligence Tier 4
1 Chancery Lane is 'a very good set for professional negligence', and has noted strength in handling professional negligence claims involving the education sector and local authorities. In recent highlights, Andrew Warnock QC successfully represented the respondent in the Supreme Court case of Stoffel & Co v Grondona, a solicitors' negligence claim which involved issues concerning the applicability of an illegality defence in a conveyancing transaction.
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘1 Chancery Lane goes the extra mile for you, and expectations are managed in relation to when you will get the advice. The juniors are always excellent, and the depth of experience and knowledge with all the barristers we have used shines through‘.
Clerking
‘The clerks are truly excellent and provide a first class service‘.
‘David Barrow and Clark Chessis are assets to the set‘.
‘Clark Chessis is extremely responsive and great to deal with‘.
London Bar > Construction
Leading Juniors
London Bar > Property litigation
Leading Juniors
1 Chancery Lane > Set 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) and Barclays Bank v Various Claimants [2020].
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.
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
---|---|---|---|
Senior clerk | Clark Chessis | cchessis@1chancerylane.com | 020 7092 2900 |
First junior clerk | David Barrow | dbarrow@1chancerylane.com | 020 7092 2900 |
Head of Chambers | Simon Readhead QC (1979) | ||
Member of Chambers | John Ross QC (1971) | ||
Member of Chambers | Edward Faulks QC (1973) | ||
Member of Chambers | Edward Bishop QC (1985) | ||
Member of Chambers | Andrew Warnock QC (1993) | ||
Member of Chambers | Matthew Chapman QC (1994) | ||
Member of Chambers | Keith Walmsley (1973) | ||
Member of Chambers | John Bryant (1976) | ||
Member of Chambers | Andrew Goodman (1978) | ||
Member of Chambers | Nicholas Yell (1979) | ||
Member of Chambers | Julian Waters (1986) | ||
Member of Chambers | Marc Rivalland (1987) | ||
Member of Chambers | Justin Althaus (1988) | ||
Member of Chambers | Geoffrey Weddell (1989) | ||
Member of Chambers | Maurice Rifat (1990) | ||
Member of Chambers | Angus Piper (1991) | ||
Member of Chambers | Paul Stagg (1994) | ||
Member of Chambers | Dr David Thomson (1994) | ||
Member of Chambers | Zachary Bredmear (1996) | ||
Member of Chambers | Sarah Prager (1997) | ||
Member of Chambers | Roger André (1999) | ||
Member of Chambers | Simon Trigger (2000) | ||
Member of Chambers | Dr Russell Wilcox (2000) | ||
Member of Chambers | Saleem Khalid (2001) | ||
Member of Chambers | Laura Johnson (2001) | ||
Member of Chambers | Ian Stebbings (2001) | ||
Member of Chambers | Ben Hicks (2001) | ||
Member of Chambers | Andrew Spencer (2004) | ||
Member of Chambers | Jack Harding (2004) | ||
Member of Chambers | Ian Clarke (2005) | ||
Member of Chambers | Lisa Dobie (2006) | ||
Member of Chambers | Roderick Abbott (2006) | ||
Associate Member of Chambers | Charlotte Davies (2007) | ||
Member of Chambers | Richard Cherry (2009) | ||
Member of Chambers | Robert Parkin (2009) | ||
Member of Chambers | Tom Collins (2010) | ||
Member of Chambers | Simon Newman (2010) | ||
Member of Chambers | Conor Kennedy (2011) | ||
Member of Chambers | Francesca O'Neill (2012) | ||
Member of Chambers | Ella Davis (2013) | ||
Member of Chambers | Christopher Pask (2013) | ||
Member of Chambers | Terence Wong (2013) | ||
Member of Chambers | Katie Ayres (2014) | ||
Member of Chambers | Dominique Smith (2016) | ||
Member of Chambers | Susanna Bennett (2017) | ||
Member of Chambers | Thomas Yarrow (2018) | ||
Member of Chambers | Henk Soede (2019) |
Barrister Profiles
Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
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![]() | Matthew Chapman | Barrister specialising in personal injury, travel claims and general common law. Cases… | View Profile |