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Dere Street Barristers

Dere Street Barristers

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England - Regional Bar • North Eastern Circuit

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Family: children and domestic abuse

The family law members housed at Dere Street Barristers conduct cases across all levels of the family court system, and it is lauded as ‘a brilliant set’ that ’stands out in the region for its team of barristers and clerks‘. Tim Donnelly is highlighted as ’outstanding in his field’  and he represents local authorities, family members, and children and their guardians before the Family Court and the High Court in cases surrounding allegations of inflicting fatal injuries to children, sexual abuse, and shaking-related injuries. Pauline Moulder is highly adept at handling public law cases involving conflicting medical evidence, and she is also experienced in cases involving jurisdictional issues. Elizabeth Callaghan is especially skilled in acting for vulnerable clients, and she has experience in case surrounding fatal injuries to children, the murder of a parent, and poisoning; she is praised as a ‘tenacious advocate’. Ravinder Randhawa is another key junior at the set with notable expertise in cases surrounding FGM, forced marriage protection orders, and parental alienation. Christopher McKee’s ‘preparation work is exceptional and thorough’, and he practices in public law, with experience in case concerning radicalisation and serious injuries to children.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Every chambers needs a clerk like Sam Tattersall. He is always a first port of call. He is efficient, calm and manages his family barristers with great skill and strength. He does the work of at least four other clerks.'
  • 'Dere Street are a brilliant set of chambers. They only offer quality counsel and they are prepared to do Legal Aid work. This shows their commitment to helping and supporting those in dire need and not just racking up high-cost clients. There is a strong work ethic in the chambers.'

Lawyers

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.

Christopher McKee
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Christopher McKee
‘Christopher's preparation work is exceptional and thorough, and this continues throughout a case with no stone being left unturned in respect of both legal arguments and evidence. Chris is friendly and approachable to both legal services and the relevant client, a lot of time is taken in his practice to explore the views and position of clients to advise them accordingly, and in terms of advocacy, Chris adopts a calm, convincing and steady approach whilst quickly addressing the main issues within the case.'
Jennie Smith
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Jennie Smith
‘Jennie is an incredibly safe pair of hands for even the most of complex of cases. She is diligent in her preparation of a case and is able to translate the information from the documents filed to the discussions with the client with ease, her advocacy skills are exceptional, balancing the need to put across the clients case with the need to act with a collaborative approach to further the common aim of establishing what is in the child's best interests, and she can readily identify what is required to progress a case whilst managing expectations.'
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.