Profile
Position
Dr Mark Friston is a leading expert on the law of costs and is the general editor of the leading textbook on the topic, Friston on Costs. His book, published by Oxford University Press is frequently cited in court, both in this jurisdiction and elsewhere. For further details or to order please see here.
Mark is now in full-time practice where he advises on all aspects of costs and litigation funding. Legal 500 2021 states that Mark ‘’has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law and the costs judges respect him. He has a gentle manner and style but is not afraid to be persistent.”
Career
Memberships:
Former Vice Chair of the Bar Council’s Remuneration Committee (2012 – 2018)
Member of the Royal College of Physicians (1993)
Registered medical practitioner (non-practising) (1989)
Trustee of the Behçet’s Syndrome Society
Memberships
Education
Qualifications:
Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (Medical Science Tripos) (1986)
The Royal London Hospital Medical College (1989)
Member of the Royal College of Physicians (1993); University of Westminster (CPE) (1996)
Costs lawyer (non-practising) (2008)
Legal Project Practitioner (2018)
Content supplied by Hailsham Chambers
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The service provided by Hailsham Chambers is consistently excellent. A notable feature of the Hailsham clerks’ room is their role in supporting and facilitating the set’s exceptional in-house training programme. The clerks and support staff are closely involved in organising bespoke seminars, briefing sessions, and more informal knowledge-sharing events, often tailoring these to client needs. This integrated approach between the barristers and clerking team adds real value and reinforces the set’s reputation for thought leadership and client service.'
- 'Clerks are professional, helpful and responsive. Stuart Paley has been of great assistance in helping us set up a training seminar on maximising costs recovery for our Dispute Resolution Division.'
- 'The Clerks and wider Chambers team are 'chefs kiss' superb. Jan Yogeswaran deserves a special mention, she is superb at what she does of course but also the most down to earth person who makes everyone feel special. Lee Reynolds, Stuart Paley, Lewis Merison, Leah Ashcroft, James Defries are all superb.'
- 'The service from the clerk's room is excellent.'
- 'Hailsham Chambers stands out as a pre-eminent set in the field of costs law, particularly across high-stakes and technically demanding matters. The set is unique in combining deep specialisation with broad commercial and litigation expertise, allowing its members to handle costs disputes with a sophisticated understanding of the wider legal and strategic contex.'
- 'Hailsham have the best reputation of all costs sets, in our view and from speaking with industry peers. Strength-in-depth is a strong point, but outcomes are what influence their reputation the most.'
- 'Hailsham Chambers Costs Team is incredibly strong with phenomenal expertise.'
- 'Hailsham Chambers has an excellent costs set with an absolute wealth of knowledge and experience. They are the go to set for any high profile/complex costs issues.'