Chambers UK Bar 2025 listings
We are delighted to have 42 members and 10 departments ranked in the 2025 edition of Chambers UK Bar, an impressive increase from our 2024 rankings. Some of the highlights are below, and the individual rankings are listed on the Chambers UK Bar website.
Our Family team sees six KCs ranked and 12 juniors. In our Family: Children team, Frances Heaton KC is described as “a legend. She’s a superb all-round top barrister,” Karl Rowley KC is “… the best children silk bar none” and Lorraine Cavanagh KC is “…absolutely excellent. She will fight tooth and nail and her preparation is extremely thorough.” Shaun Spencer KC is equally praised for being “…an outstanding advocate. He’s very knowledgeable with outstanding advocacy skills at the highest level.” Penelope Stanistreet-Keen is described as “…a fantastic advocate. She is professional, well-organised and impeccable in her advocacy and witness handling.” “She is excellent with clients,” and Eleanor Keehan is “very clear and very passionate. I think she’ll be a KC before long.”
In Matrimonial Finance, Sally Harrison KC is “without compare. Calling her the leader in her field barely does her justice.” Samantha Hillas KC is “…a fantastic advocate and negotiator. She gets to the nub of the problem quickly and is excellent at putting clients at ease.” And a number of our junior counsel receive fantastic praise, including Archna Dawar, Simon Charles, Neil Montaldo, Hannah Wood, Charles Eastwood and Elisabeth Cooper.
For Court of Protection: Health and Welfare work, Joseph O’Brien KC “has encyclopaedic knowledge of all aspects of COP work, which inspires absolute confidence in his advice. His case preparation leaves no stone unturned and is a truly compelling advocate.” Lucinda France-Hayhurst received the comment that “Her drafting is second to none and her advice is logical and practical. She is my go-to barrister for complex queries.” And Jonathan Bellamy “is noted for his expert handling of health and welfare cases concerning contact with others, residence and deprivation of liberty. He regularly acts for the Official Solicitor, as well as local authorities and family members.”
In the Crime practice group, Richard Thyne KC “has superb decision-making skills and very strong interpersonal skills.” Gemma Maxwell is “a top-class barrister” and Keith Harrison is a “brilliant and a robust advocate.”
For his work in Commercial Dispute Resolution, Pépin Aslett received the accolade: “Pépin’s presence in court is compelling. He maintains an air of calm whilst making the strongest of arguments, and he is persuasive.” Pépin is also recommended in banking and finance litigation.
Our Employment team features Jason Searle, who is described as “simply my go-to barrister. He is excellent on all counts,” and Ghazan Mahmood, who has “…excellent client care and attention to detail, is reassuring to clients and is completely on top of issues and instructions. He never disappoints.” Annette Gumbs and Tom Wood also receive high praise.
In Clinical Negligence, Richard Norton “consistently demonstrates vast experience and technical prowess. He quickly internalises facts and evidential issues, is well-prepared in conference and builds good rapport with clients.” Richard is also recommended as an expert in Personal Injury, as is Henry Vanderpump, who “is noted for his expert handling of complex medical negligence matters. He often acts for claimants in delayed diagnosis claims and inappropriate surgical intervention matters,” and it is commented that Henry “has the makings of silk in due course, I think he is very good.” Alastair Wright is described as “excellent and knowledgeable. He is always very helpful and manages clients well.”
In Personal Injury, Philip Grundy is “a master strategist. Gets great results in court and clearly highly regarded by the judiciary.” Philip is also recommended in Clinical Negligence and Industrial Disease. Peter Harrison is described as “an excellent barrister. He provides excellent client care and has his finger on the pulse in terms of the commercial sensitives that surround personal injury litigation.”
Congratulations to everyone who appeared in this year’s directory and thank you to our clients for their fantastic feedback.
