St John’s Chambers remains the ‘go-to set in Bristol’ for property litigation and is recognised as being ’able to compete with most London sets’ in this field. Brittany Pearce’s varied experience spans boundary disputes and adverse possession claims as well as claims concerning restrictive covenants and easements. Charles Auld recently acted for the respondent in McDonagh v Reeve, a High Court case concerning an application to demolish an existing house in Sandbanks and to build a larger replacement house on the land, which was subject to a restrictive covenant that ‘no additional buildings whatsoever shall be erected’ on it. Ultimately, the judge held that no ’additional’ buildings would be constructed and therefore the building project was not prevented by the restrictive covenant. Joss Knight has notable experience when it comes to disputed easement claims; he recently represented the respondent in Privett v Runic Holdings Ltd, in which the claimant sought to establish a right of way over land based on missing historic conveyances, while the respondent maintained that the right has never been exercised and in any case had been abandoned.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Paul Bennett and Rob Bocock are both excellent. They are responsive and they understand the instructing solicitor's requirements.'
  • 'Paul Bennett, Paul Nuttall, Simon Lyons, Rob Bocock and Elizabeth Champion are all excellent. They are easily accessible and go out of their way to help on a daily basis.'
  • 'Paul Bennett is a standout clerk but the others also provide an exceptional service. They are accommodating, helpful, clear on fees, quick to assist and also open to discussing BD initiatives.'
  • 'The clerks at St John's are great. Paul Nuttall and Simon Lyons are fantastic and are always happy to help. Their response times are extraordinary and they always go the extra mile to ensure that any query is addressed to the fullest in a timely manner.'
  • 'St John's Chambers in Bristol is a go-to set for property-related cases. Chambers offers a good selection of talented barristers who provide an excellent but reasonably-priced service.'
  • 'A great well-versed set that is able to compete with most London sets. Their property litigation offering ranges from junior juniors to experienced juniors and KCs. Their clerking is great and there is always a member of chambers who has experience in the matter at hand.'

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.

1
Charles Auld
‘Charles has a depth and breadth of land law knowledge which is encyclopaedic. He is a highly intelligent and effective advocate as well as brilliant and charming. He puts clients immediately at their ease and inspires absolute confidence. He is also pragmatic and commercial. Charles is an absolute first choice for real estate disputes.'
1
Brittany Pearce
‘Brittany is accurate and assertive.’
1
Christopher Jones
‘Christopher is excellent. He is extremely organised and has a great aptitude for digesting a brief very quickly and getting to the heart of issues. Christopher has a natural ability to communicate with clients and automatically put them at ease and let them understand that they are in safe and capable hands. As for advocacy, Christopher is extremely at ease and has a great ability to both manage a judge and opposing counsel in a professional but firm manner.’
1
John Sharples
‘John is an excellent barrister and is not merely outstandingly clever but is also incredibly hard-working and conscientious. He is one of the best, if not the best, in the country when it comes to property litigation. He is able to take the most complex of matters and simplify them for any lay client. He is exceptional on his feet and has an ability to make all clients feel at ease, as it is clear they are in more than a safe pair of hands with him.'
2
Adam Boyle
‘Adam is a hugely impressive advocate and his presence in a courtroom is always well received. He is confident and composed whilst also being extremely forward thinking and well prepared. Adam is great with clients and instructing solicitors alike and his advice is always well researched and pragmatic. Adam answers all queries and concerns effortlessly and it is a pleasure to work alongside him.’  
2
Natasha Dzameh
‘Natasha is always practical, precise and thorough. She is very commercial in her advice and cautious in her approach, making sure everything is lined up before jumping. She is open and friendly and puts clients at ease. Natasha also exudes gravitas that displays her expertise.’
2
Joss Knight
 ‘Joss is logical, cool and calm under pressure. He is good with clients and great in a mediation.’
2
Charles Shwenn
2
James Pearce-Smith
2
John Dickinson
‘John is an extremely skilled advocate. He is unrivalled when it comes to the technical detail of a case and is extremely skilled at cross-examination. John is excellent with clients and is a pleasure to work with.’
2
Daniel Soar
‘Dan is extremely competent, diligent and hard-working. He is extremely calm, which is a great help, and seemingly unflappable.’
2
Oliver Wooding
‘Oliver is a very good barrister who provides well-reasoned advice in an approachable way. He is brilliant with lay clients and really takes the time to explain issues to them on their level. Oliver is also a very sensible mediator who gets straight to the point and helps the parties to focus on what’s important to them in resolving the dispute.’

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
Kayleigh Bloomfield
‘Kayleigh is brilliant and great to work with. She is a bright spark. Kayleigh is confident and calm in her advocacy and hits all the right marks throughout the course of litigation. Her analysis is spot-on, she covers all the issues and is an excellent support for clients.’