Martin Goudie KC
Martin Goudie KC is a remarkable barrister and managed to balance his extensive legal knowledge with impeccable advocacy skills.
Crucible Chambers is active across both prosecution and defence work. Martin Goudie KC has a track record of work concerning aviation safety - for the Civil Aviation Authority, he prosecuted a retired commercial pilot who flew a small private plane through an area of the English Channel where live-fire military exercises were due to take place. Leila Gaskin defended in an attempted murder case involving serious violence and extensive psychiatric evidence, requiring detailed consideration of the defendant’s mental health. Oliver Renton acted in a prosecution involving allegations of organising kidnap and false imprisonment from within prison, supported by intricate electronic evidence including recordings, cell site data, and communication analysis
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- Crucible is a great set of Chambers. Led by Neil Hawes KC, the set has developed in its strength of junior counsel since its inception in 2020.
- Crucible is deservedly becoming a well-regarded and busy set. It has an impressive array of highly competent barristers.
- James Hall, in particular, is a very engaging, switched-on, proactive clerk who is well attuned to the market and to the needs of his professional clients.
- Chambers are going from strength to strength and are really starting to hold their own in the market despite being a relatively new set. They recognize their place in the market and quote aggressively to secure instructions.
- An excellent service that rivals the more established sets.
- Crucible is growing an impressive set with a solid reputation for high-quality advocacy. Counsel is always well prepared, with an excellent ability to deal effectively with any challenging issues. They are always professional, responsive, and have strong client care.
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.
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.
Oliver Renton
Oliver has a natural charismatic charm. A fantastic trial advocate who makes the jury listen to him intently. He is always on top of the case, has read all the material, and knows all the finite details about the case. Clients are always in very safe hands. His written work and legal submissions are always of high quality, well-argued, and excellently presented. I am surprised he is not already King's Counsel!
Leila Gaskin
Leila is a very competent and hardworking barrister. She prepares cases very thoroughly and is excellent at drafting legal arguments. She expertly handles difficult witnesses. Her advocacy style is clear and robust without losing the human touch.
Libby Anderson
Libby Anderson has first-class attention to detail and a fine legal mind. To work with her is to be reassured that neither evidential subtleties nor legal points will be missed. She is trusted with work of considerable gravity and complexity and is seen as a safe and trusted pair of hands by solicitors.
Julia Flanagan
Julia is a highly experienced and hard-working barrister. Her attention to detail, especially in 'paper-heavy' cases, is excellent, and her technical legal knowledge is second to none. She is a master trial practitioner and a fantastic trial advocate. She has delivered some of the best closing speeches to juries that I have seen.
Claire Robinson
Claire is particularly good with challenging clients and pays meticulous attention to detail when considering evidence and legal issues with cases.
Andrew Frymann
Sebastian Cox
He has a very good knowledge of the law.