Dr Nick Armstrong > Matrix Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

Matrix Chambers is ‘a very strong public law and human rights set‘. Claimant work forms the key pillar of the practice, and the set reports an increase in mandates relating to government policies. Jessica Simor KC ‘clearly and concisely articulates complex legal arguments, and she is always prepared to challenge the status quo‘. In recent work for the team, Simor KC led Emma Foubister for the claimants in R (Friends of the Earth Ltd and others) v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, a judicial review challenging the legality of the Government’s Net Zero Strategy; the High Court ruled that the strategy breached the Government’s obligations under the Climate Change Act. Edward Craven  is ‘an exceptional barrister with an incredible mind‘. In a boost to chambers, Nick Armstrong KC, Claire Darwin KC and Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC were all elevated to silk in March 2023. Sarah Sackman was elected as Member of Parliament for Finchley and Golders Green in the 2024 general election.

Matrix Chambers has strong expertise in community care matters, often at its interface with civil liberties. and works with a wide range of clients, including individuals, local authorities, government, healthcare regulators, care providers and NGOs. Nick Armstrong KC was appointed silk in 2023.

Matrix Chambers boasts a ‘strong team with strength in depth‘ and an excellent track record in appearing in high-profile inquests and inquiries. Danny Friedman KC continues to be involved in the Grenfell Tower and COVID-19 inquiries, leading Raj Desai in the former. Jonathan Glasson KC has expertise in cases involving national security and has been instructed in the Bloody Sunday and Mark Duggan inquests, while Phillippa Kaufmann KC represented the family of Jermaine Baker into the public inquiry into his death – Baker was shot dead by armed police while engaged in a plot to free two prisoners being transported to Wood Green Crown Court. At junior level, Ifeanyi Odogwu often acts for families in controversial cases involving the police, and has recently been instructed by the family of a woman who was killed in a crush outside the Brixton Academy prior to a concert by Afrobeats act Asake. Adam Straw KC and Nick Armstrong KC both took silk in 2023.

Matrix Chambers is noted for its wide-reaching expertise in education law, with a growing reputation for acting in case law-shaping cases for schools, universities, individuals, and governmental bodies. Recent highlights include David Wolfe KC‘s appearance challenging the Government’s conversion of London’s Holland Park School into part of a multi-academy trust, with notable implications for the national academisation program. Sarah Hannett KC advised the University of Essex on a high-profile threatened judicial review surrounding the university’s harassment policies. Daniel Squires KC conducted a noteworthy investigation into an independent school’s teaching of politically sensitive issues, while Helen Mountfield KC represented a visually impaired student in a race and disability discrimination claim against the Oxford Union after he was removed from a debate by security staff. The set’s profile was further bolstered with Claire Darwin KC and Nick Armstrong KC taking silk in 2023.