1 Crown Office Row stands out as 'a first class set and a leader in the clinical negligence field'. The team is active across the full range of complex and high value clinical negligence disputes, often involving complex birth injury claims, surgical negligence and failure to diagnose issues. The group is well versed in acting for private healthcare providers, NHS trusts and medical defence organisations in domestic and cross-border mandates. Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel KC is 'an incredible advocate', with an excellent track record in appearing for claimants in cases involving catastrophic injuries, as well as birth and neonatal injury claims. Richard Booth KC is 'excellent with high-value quantum work'. Clinical negligence specialist Cara Guthrie is 'a star'.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Andrew Tull is excellent and always goes the extra mile.'
- 'Andrew Tull is brilliant.'
- 'John McLaren is excellent and always helpful.'
- 'The clerks are always efficient and provide an excellent service. They are always keen to assist wherever possible.'
- '1COR are a great set- well respected and reliable.'
- '1COR is a consistently outstanding set for clinical negligence work.'
Lawyers
Leading Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Paul Rees KC
'One of the best silks in clinical negligence, particularly for quantum.'
Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel KC
‘Elizabeth is an absolute star. Her knowledge of birth injury claims is second to none.’
John Whitting KC
Richard Booth KC
‘Richard is a first class silk. He has an amazing grasp of the most complex medical issues.'
Clodagh Bradley KC
‘Clodagh is a superb advocate. She is always prepared and has exceptional attention to detail.’
Robert Kellar KC
‘A silk who is extremely personable and approachable in addition to being brilliantly clever.’
Angus McCullough KC
‘Angus is approachable, thorough, and very user friendly, as well as an excellent tactician and advocate.’
Shaheen Rahman KC
‘Shaheen has great attention to detail. A hard working, well prepared and bright barrister.’
Henry Witcomb KC
‘Henry is detail driven, there is nothing that escapes his attention. He is persuasive and persistent.'
David Evans KC
‘Always well prepared and thorough. A real pleasure to work with.’
Andrew Kennedy KC
‘Andrew is really personable and easy to work with. He has an impressive breadth of knowledge around clinical negligence claims.’
Sarah Lambert KC
‘Sarah’s advice is second to none for very complex issues. She has an excellent way with clients.’
Owain Thomas KC
Margaret Bowron KC
Jeremy Hyam KC
‘Jeremy’s attention to detail is superb. He is reliable and communicates well.’
Neil Sheldon KC
‘Neil is absolutely outstanding. A first class barrister who is excellent with clients and hugely empathetic, as well as being a tenacious advocate and negotiator.’
2024 Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
David Manknell KC
Leading Juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
Cara Guthrie
‘She is extremely intelligent and decisive.’
Matthew Barnes
‘Intelligent, hard working, knowledgeable and committed to his client’s cause.’
Paul Reynolds
‘Paul is forensic. He never leaves a stone unturned.’
Shahram Sharghy
‘Shahram is a pleasure to work with. He has a way with clients that puts them at ease.’
John Gimlette
Suzanne Lambert
‘She never misses even the smallest thing, and is kind and compassionate with clients.’
Pritesh Rathod
Excellent with clients and experts, and particularly strong on quantum work.'
Judith Rogerson
‘Judith is an absolute joy to work with. She is detailed, calm and thorough.’
Richard Smith
‘Richard is charming to work with and remains calm under pressure, especially when dealing with sensitive cases.’
Leanne Woods
tenacious and not afraid of tackling difficult issues.’
Gideon Barth
‘Gideon is extremely professional and yet personable. He perfectly balances an ability to get to the core issues of a case while expertly managing a client’s expectations.'
Marcus Coates-Walker
‘Marcus is fantastic. He has a brilliant combination of technical expertise and client care skills, and is highly approachable and responsive.’
Darragh Coffey
‘Darragh handles complex clinical negligence issues with confidence. He puts forward arguments that are focused, well-reasoned, and persuasive.’
Dominic Ruck Keene
‘He is very bright and thorough in preparation. He has excellent cross examination skills.’
Jessica Elliott
Rachel Marcus
Jonathan Metzer
'Jonathan is very reliable as he pays attention to all the details in complex clinical negligence cases. He has a calm, confident manner that makes clients feel at ease.'
Rory Badenoch
‘Rory is a very detailed and careful clinical negligence barrister, he understands the law and application of it and is able to explain this to clients and experts alike.'
Jim Duffy
‘Jim gives clear advice, and approaches issues creatively to find solutions. Great with clients.’
Emma-Louise Fenelon
'Emma is obviously bright and great at getting to grips with the detail. She is compassionate when discussing sensitive matters with lay clients, as well as highly articulate and informed when discussing technical issues with experts.'
Matthew Hill
'Good with clients and experts. Advice is detailed, clear and logical.'
Isabel McArdle
‘Isabel is personable, intelligent and pragmatic in her approach. Her advocacy is clear, concise and persuasive.’
Robert Mills
‘Robert is an exceptional barrister. He is extremely knowledgeable and responsive, empathetic with clients, and his attention to detail is admirable.’
Jo Moore
‘Jo is extremely bright and has excellent judgement. Her pleadings are superb.’
Richard Mumford
Hannah Noyce
Rising stars
Rising stars at the Bar are defined as barristers between four and eight years’ call who are seen as up-and-coming members of the Bar in their respective practice areas by clients and peers alike. They will already be instructed in high-profile, complex, and high-value contentious and non-contentious matters, working with and opposite more experienced leading counsel.
Thomas Beamont
‘A strong advocate, who is always able to assist the court in the most pressured situations.'