St John’s Chambers

St John’s Chambers remains the leading set when it comes to agricultural work on the Western Circuit. Members have broad experience acting in connection with farming partnership disputes, proprietary estoppel and Inheritance Act claims, and various property disputes. Christopher Jones is noted for his experience in proprietary estoppel claims concerning large farms, some with additional partnership issues. He also regularly appears in disputes related to rights over and use of land, recently acting for the claimant in Tamplin v Elwynd Properties & David Terrence Jones, a Court of Appeal case concerning a vast area of mountain land in Caerphilly registered under the Commons Registration Act 1965 and subject to a large windfarm scheme. He successfully established the claimant’s grazing rights on the land and the defendant’s obligation to remedy damage caused to the land by excavation and ploughing. Alex Troup KC’s leading Chancery practice regularly sees him act for and against members of the farming community. James Pearce-Smith has a strong track record in disputes over farming partnerships and food production businesses.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Paul Bennett is always very responsive and very helpful. He is a go-to clerk.'
'Paul Bennett is always very friendly and helpful. When you need to book a conference with counsel he has full control of the diary and he is able to do this there and then on the phone. Paul always follows through on any requests so you rarely ever need to chase.'
'The service provided by St John’s clerks is consistently exemplary. Specifically, Paul Bennett and Simon Lyons provide an excellent service and are on hand to assist with any queries that arise either at the outset or during the progression of a case.'
'The clerks at St Johns are great. Both Paul Nuttall and Simon Lyons are fantastic. Their response times are impeccable and no query is ever too much trouble. They deal with instructions quickly and are always friendly.'
'Counsel is always readily available. They have a clear and thorough understanding of the challenges faced by the agricultural sector, which is always appreciated by clients and instructing solicitors.'
'The quality of their juniors is impressive. They are consistently strong and have a range of options.'

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.

Alex Troup KC

‘Alex is a highly regarded barrister who is both technically very sound and excellent on his feet. His manner is authoritative and reassuring for clients, which makes him a particularly good mediator as well as an effective advocate.’

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.