Outer Temple Chambers

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

• Outer Temple is a well-established and highly regarded set with considerable strength in personal injury and clinical negligence. My experience of the Chambers has been very positive, with a strong depth of expertise across complex injury work and a professional and collegiate approach. Sarah is clearly well supported by Chambers, and the breadth of expertise available is particularly valuable on cases involving significant injury and complex medical evidence.
• Outer Temple has real strength in complex personal injury litigation and offers good depth of expertise across different levels of seniority. Counsel work collaboratively, and the clerks provide an excellent service – they are responsive, pragmatic, and consistently quick to assist.
• Ian practises from Outer Temple Chambers, which is recognized as one of the leading sets for personal injury litigation and related practice areas. The set has significant strength in depth and consistently provides first-class advocacy and advice. The clerks are responsive, efficient, and commercially aware, and chambers are always willing to assist in finding practical solutions to complex issues. The overall quality of service is excellent.
• Eliot practices from Outer Temple Chambers, which is widely recognized as one of the leading sets for personal injury and related litigation. The set combines exceptional strength in depth with genuine expertise across the full spectrum of serious and complex injury work. Chambers offers an excellent range of counsel at all levels of seniority, ensuring that solicitors can access high-quality representation and advice regardless of the size or complexity of the case. The members are technically excellent, commercially aware, and consistently focused on delivering outstanding client service. The clerking team is professional, responsive, and solutions-focused. They work collaboratively with instructing solicitors, are proactive in identifying suitable counsel, and are always willing to assist with urgent or complex matters. Overall, Outer Temple Chambers provides a high-quality, reliable, and client-focused service that makes it a leading choice for personal injury work.
• Outer Temple Chambers is an excellent set for asbestos litigation. They offer strong expertise in complex asbestos-related disease claims, with barristers who are technically very capable, well-prepared, and practical in their approach. They are a strong choice for this area of work and provide a consistently high-quality service across asbestos litigation.

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.

1

Sarah Crowther KC

Sarah is an exceptionally knowledgeable and experienced barrister, with a very strong understanding of complex clinical negligence and catastrophic injury cases. She is thorough in her preparation and has an impressive ability to quickly grasp complicated factual and medical evidence, including cases involving spinal cord injury and difficult issues of breach and causation. As an advocate, Sarah is confident, persuasive, and tenacious. She is particularly effective when dealing with difficult or contested issues and has a very good instinct for the points that matter. She combines detailed preparation and rigorous analysis with a practical and commercially sensible approach. She is also very approachable, which makes her particularly easy to work with on complex cases.

1

Harry Steinberg KC

Harry Steinberg KC is an exceptional silk and a standout choice for high-value asbestos litigation. He is incredibly intelligent, strategically astute, and a superb tactician, with the ability to cut through complex legal and evidential issues and identify the strongest route to success. He is particularly fantastic at the higher end of asbestos-related disease claims, where his judgment, experience, and tactical insight are invaluable. Despite his considerable expertise, he remains very approachable and easy to work with. Clients love him, and he inspires real confidence from the outset.

1

Gerard McDermott KC

Gerard has an incredible manner with clients. His advocacy is calm, impressive, and powerful. His advice is tactically flawless. A go-to in any high-value, life-changing personal injury claim.

2

James Counsell KC

3

Nathan Tavares KC

Excellent advocate, highly experienced in complex and high-value personal injury and clinical negligence claims, with particular expertise in animal-related litigation.

3

Eliot Woolf KC

Eliot is an outstanding personal injury silk with exceptional technical expertise and strategic judgment. He has an impressive ability to distill complex factual and medical evidence into clear, persuasive arguments and quickly identify the issues that are likely to determine the outcome of a case. His advice is consistently practical, commercially astute, and focused on achieving the best outcome for the client. His advocacy is particularly impressive. He is calm, authoritative, and highly persuasive, combining meticulous preparation with the ability to respond effectively to developments during a hearing. He presents complex issues with clarity and precision, commands the confidence of the court, and is particularly effective in difficult or high-value cases where strategic thinking and forensic analysis are required. His submissions are concise, compelling, and focused on the points that really matter. In addition to his advocacy skills, Eliot is approachable, responsive, and excellent to work with. He works collaboratively with instructing solicitors, provides clear and pragmatic advice, and demonstrates a genuine understanding of the commercial and practical considerations facing clients. These qualities distinguish him from many other counsel in the market.

4

Matthew Phillips KC

4

Jonathan Hand KC

The 'go-to' Counsel for all cases involving serious injuries involving animals; Jonathan has an encyclopedic knowledge of the law in this area. Superb courtroom skills and a class act with clients.

2025 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.

1

Ben Bradley KC

Ben is a very effective operator. Smart, confident, insightful, and respected. His advocacy is friendly and disarming but effective. A real star of the Bar.

Personal injury - 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.

2

Harry Lambert

Harry's best quality, in my view, is his tenacity and fight. He has a combative attitude, which is exactly what is needed for a hard-fought case with some wider implications. He has had to grapple with very detailed and complex medical issues, including those involving experts in the fields of immunology, neuropathology, and toxicology.

2

Aliyah Akram

Aliyah provides clear and detailed advice on issues including limitation, liability, prospects, and procedural strategy, and her drafting is consistently excellent. Aliyah has very good judgment and an ability to cut through complicated factual and legal issues and identify what really matters. Her advocacy is measured, assured, and persuasive, and she is extremely well prepared. She is also great to work with – responsive, collaborative, and unflappable under pressure. I rate her very highly.

2

Ian Denham

Ian Denham is an excellent personal injury barrister with a strong combination of technical expertise, sound judgment, and practical commercial awareness. He quickly identifies the key issues in a case and provides advice that is clear, concise, and tailored to the client's objectives. His advocacy is effective and persuasive. He is particularly skilled at presenting complex arguments in a straightforward and accessible manner and has an impressive ability to deal with difficult evidential and procedural issues. He is calm under pressure, thoroughly prepared, and highly effective in both interlocutory hearings and more substantial contested proceedings. Ian is also extremely responsive and easy to work with. He collaborates well with solicitors, provides pragmatic solutions to challenging issues, and takes a genuinely proactive approach to litigation. His combination of technical strength and commercial realism sets him apart from many of his peers.

3

Daniel Clarke

3

Patrick Sadd

Patrick has enormous empathy and a superb way with clients, backed up by vast legal experience.

3

Will Young

Will is extremely thorough and technically sound. His decision-making is incisive and very well explained to clients who feel they are in safe hands. His advocacy skills are very well considered and effective.

4

Lorna Badham

Lorna is an outstanding junior with a formidable combination of technical ability, strategic judgment, and excellent advocacy. She has an exceptional grasp of complex personal injury and travel litigation matters and is particularly skilled at identifying the key issues that will determine the outcome of a case. Her advice is always thorough, commercially realistic, and focused on achieving the best possible result for clients. Her advocacy is a particular strength. She is highly persuasive, meticulously prepared, and presents complex factual and expert evidence with clarity and authority. She has an impressive ability to anticipate and address opposing arguments, and she remains calm and effective under pressure. I have seen her achieve excellent outcomes in challenging hearings through a combination of forensic analysis, strategic thinking, and strong courtroom presence. She is especially effective in complex group litigation and technically demanding cases where careful case management and tactical decision-making are critical. Lorna is also a pleasure to work with. She is responsive, approachable, and collaborative, taking the time to understand the client's objectives and providing practical solutions to difficult problems. Her written work is consistently of a very high standard, and she combines attention to detail with an ability to keep sight of the broader strategic picture.

4

Olinga Tahzib

Olinga stands out for his intellect, attention to detail, and clear, articulate presentation of issues. His written work is precise and well-structured, and he is an effective advocate on his feet. He is also notably approachable, humble, and easy to work with, which puts both professional and lay clients at ease. He combines strong legal ability with excellent client care, making him a reliable and impressive barrister.

4

David Haines

David has a background in medicine, which enables him to have a good understanding of complex medical issues. His combined medical and legal knowledge is invaluable when he is drafting agendas for the joint discussions of experts, examining or cross-examining experts in court, and when speaking with experts in conference.

4

James Aldridge

James Aldridge is an outstanding barrister. He is technically very able and goes above and beyond in the work he provides, which is always of the highest standard. He has an easy, calm manner that puts clients at ease, but in court, he can be devastating in cross-examination.

4

Robert Dickason

Personal injury - 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.

1

Carin Hunt

Carin is extremely diligent and provides careful advice and very thorough drafting of legal documents.