1 King’s Bench Walk has 'exceptional strength in depth across all areas of family law, with a consistently high calibre of counsel at every level'. Deborah Eaton KC is 'a premier silk for private law children work’, and the 'excellent' Frank Feehan KC is well versed in advising on complex public child law matters and abduction cases. Charles Howard KC has an excellent reputation for handling cases involving issues of surrogacy. At the junior end, the 'charismatic' Jay Banerji has expertise in handling cases involving allegations of forced marriage and leave to remove applications. Nicola Fox is well known for advising on complex private child law cases concerning allegations of harm and international relocation issues.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'The clerks at 1KBW are wonderful. They go above and beyond to assist you and to try to identify counsel even at the last minute. Mark Betts is extremely professional, approachable and friendly and always wants to assist and ensure that excellent service is provided.'
'Mark is always on hand to assist whenever necessary.'

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.

Richard Anelay 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.

Jay Banerji

‘Jay is a fantastic advocate who can make even the most complex and tricky submissions look effortless. He is always fully on top of the details and is constantly strategising about what the next step should be.'

Caroline Lister

‘Caroline is a very calm advocate.’

Nicola Fox

‘Nicola is a powerhouse. She is formidably bright, leaves no stone unturned in her preparation, and her cross-examination is second-to-none.’

Jennifer Perrins

‘Jennifer is the complete package: sharp, analytical and persuasive. Judges listen to what she says and agree with her. An absolute star of the Bar.'

Charlotte Hartley

‘Charlotte is an exceptional barrister. She is fiercely intelligent, meticulously prepared, and an incredible advocate. She is talented beyond her years.'

Katherine Kelsey

‘Katherine combines empathy, judgement and resolve in equal measure. Clients are immediately at ease and know that they are in the very best of hands with her. In court, she is persuasive, sticking to her guns, but without irritating judges.’

Nicholas Anderson

‘Nicholas thinks outside of the box. He is tenacious in court yet able to read the tribunal well, and clients love him because they feel he is fighting their corner.’

Victoria Green

‘Victoria is extremely knowledgeable in all areas of children law and particularly international matters, such as child abduction and international relocation cases.'

Markanza Cudby

Stephen Jarmain

‘Stephen is a calm and experienced advocate who is well known for his client care. He is reassuring but firm with those who instruct him, ensuring that they feel heard and supported at every stage, and this is matched by his strength in advocacy, which is impressive even in the most complex and demanding cases.’

Andrea Watts

‘Andrea is brilliant. She is astute, empathetic, unflappable and quietly confident.'

Katy Chokowry

‘Katy is very strategic. She is extremely well prepared, her advocacy is thoughtful and considered, and her cross-examination skilful.’

Naomi Wiseman

‘Naomi is extremely bright and a ferocious advocate with a personable, reassuring and warm manner towards clients.'

Thomas Dance

‘His written work is flawless and his advocacy is fluent and persuasive. He is universally liked by judges, opponents and clients, and makes even the most difficult of cases a joy to work on.’

Lucia Crimp

‘Lucia’s preparation is second-to-none. Her ability to build a rapport with clients, particularly when in highly emotional states, is excellent, and her advice is clear and focused, which really helps clients to feel heard and supported by her approach. Her advocacy is impressive and persuasive.’

Graham Crosthwaite

‘Graham is phenomenal and always prepared. Calm, reasonable and respected by judges, clients like him and have confidence in him.’

Martha Holmes

Martha is detailed in her preparation, combined with forensic, long-term working knowledge of her cases, and excellent communication skills.’

Imogen Lloyd-Thomas

‘Imogen is unflappable and a clever negotiator.'

Kate Ozwell

‘Kate’s style of advocacy is thoughtful and measured, and as a result she commands respect and judges listen to her. She disarms more flamboyant opponents with her calm, measured approach.'

Elizabeth Selman

‘Elizabeth is a fantastic strategist who gets stuck into a case and immediately puts everyone at ease. She takes a no nonsense approach when required, and is not afraid to go up against senior KCs.’

Emma Wilson

‘Emma is exceptionally meticulous in her preparation, ensuring no detail is overlooked. Her thorough approach means she is always well-equipped with the necessary facts and legal arguments, which significantly strengthens her advocacy, and she has an excellent rapport with clients, demonstrating empathy and clear communication skills that helps put them at ease.’

Victoria Halsall

‘Victoria is a class act - a fearsome advocate with excellent client care skills.’

Helen Pomeroy

‘Clients love her warmth and her judgement is spot on, she has the ability to make the answer to a case sound obvious with her confident, direct and compelling advocacy, and she is simply brilliant.’

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.

Tadhgh Barwell O’Connor

‘Tadhgh is extremely industrious. His advocacy is highly accomplished, and he is equally brilliant with lay clients who utterly adore him.'

Elle Tait

‘Elle brings a high level of technical expertise, sound judgement, and a practical approach to resolving issues. Her advocacy is persuasive and well-prepared and she is always meticulously informed about the case.’

Leonie James

‘Unflappable, assured and articulate under pressure, Leonie is an exceptionally effective and authoritative advocate.'