Farrar's Building

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Aidan O'Brien

Aidan is ranked as a ‘Leading Junior’ in the Legal 500 (2022), where he is recognised as ‘… an excellent barrister who understands the client’s needs.’ He specialises in high-value personal injury, clinical negligence and commercial law. Aidan’s work is evenly split between claimants and defendants. He undertakes work throughout England and Wales. Aidan specialises in catastrophic claims, including brain injuries, tetraplegia and fatal accidents. He is adept at dealing with claims involving complex medical and causation issues. Aidan also has significant expertise in claims giving rise to allegations of fundamental dishonesty and fraud. In addition to his court work, Aidan has a busy paperwork practice, providing a swift turn-around for pleadings as well as advice on prospects, tactics and quantum. Aidan regularly represents clients at RTMs and mediations. Aidan is also a contributing editor of ‘The Law of Limitation’ (Bloomsbury Professional).

Andrew Morse

Andrew’s practice over recent years has been focused on high value, complex personal injury work. He has considerable experience in cases involving catastrophic injuries, spinal injuries, traumatic brain injury cases and fatal accident claims. His practice spans all aspects of personal injury work including employers’ liability, occupiers’ liability, road traffic accidents and industrial disease. Andrew is particularly adept in his ability to build a good rapport with lay and professional clients alike. In recent years Andrew has been instructed in many cases as a junior alone, valued in excess of £1million and has conducted numerous joint settlement meetings. Andrew is experienced in representing families, NHS bodies and health professionals at inquests. Andrew was appointed an Assistant Coroner in 2023. His practice includes clinical negligence work for Claimants and Defendants. Andrew has been recommended as a leading personal injury practitioner on the Wales and Chester Circuit in recent years in both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.

Andrew Peebles

Barrister with a wide experience of litigation in chancery, commercial, employment, regulatory and personal injury. His current practice has an extensive base in personal injury, acting for both claimants and defendants (with a caseload covering a broad spectrum in both complexity and value) in road traffic accidents, employer’s liability, multi-party litigation, catastrophic injury claims, fatal accident claims, occupational disease claims, leisure sport claims, claims arising out of occupier’s liability and defective housing and highway-related claims.

Andrew Wille

Barrister with an exclusively civil practice primarily in the fields of personal injury and clinical negligence. Has a particular interest in claims concerning brain injury and associated capacity issues. Also experienced in relation to catastrophic spinal injury, amputation and claims arising out of fatal accidents.

Andrew Arentsen

Andrew Arentsen’s practice is predominantly personal injury, with a focus on high value and complex claims usually involving conflicting medical evidence. It also includes professional and clinical negligence. He is also highly regarded for his work on commercial and contractual disputes, including insurance disputes as well as cases involving sports law and sporting disciplinary regulation.

Carwyn Cox

Carwyn is an experienced personal injury practitioner, regularly instructed in high value, complex road traffic, public liability, employers’ liability and fatal accident claims in the UK and abroad, where major physical or psychological injuries have occurred. Carwyn also specialises in the complimentary areas of clinical negligence, civil fraud and health and safety, and is particularly experienced in inquests and HSE prosecutions. Additionally, Carwyn is well regarded for his work across a broad range of general common law, including boundary disputes, rights of way and trespass. He is happy to consider instructions on a Public Access basis. In 2018, Carwyn was appointed as a Recorder to the northern circuit.

Christopher Quinlan KC

Specialises in crime, sport and regulatory work.

David Roderick

David specialises in high value personal injury work, acting for both claimants and defendants. Current instructions include several severe brain injury, spinal injury, amputation, chronic pain, and fatal accident cases. He is regularly instructed by leading solicitor firms, major insurers, and local authorities and combines a busy practice advising in relation to liability, quantum and tactics with regular advocacy in court at CCMCs, interlocutory hearings, and trials. David has extensive experience representing claimant and defendant clients at joint settlement meetings and mediations in claims with multi-million-pound valuations. David also has a specialist practice in clinical negligence claims, and expertise appearing at inquests, and in inquiry work.

Emma Sole

Emma Sole joined Farrar’s Building in 2007 after a pupillage at Littleton Chambers, which focused primarily on employment law.Emma continues to specialise in employment law, but now also undertakes work in the fields of personal injury and general common law.

Frederick Lyon

Frederick is a barrister specialising in Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence, Coroner’s Inquests, Commercial and Cross-Jurisdictional work. He has particular expertise in fatal accidents, civil fraud, cross jurisdictional disputes and liability disputes arising out of participation in supervised high risk sports/activities. He is regularly instructed in high value claims for both claimants and defendants and often appears against more senior opponents including silks. Frederick is also highly regarded for his insurance work and is the author of two practitioner texts in this area.

Geoffrey Williams KC

Geoffrey Williams QC has specialised exclusively in the field of professional disciplinary and regulatory work for some 30 years. Geoffrey was admitted a Solicitor in 1978. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2003 being then one of the few Solicitors to have taken Silk. He was called to the Bar in 2013 and became a Tenant at Farrar’s Building in January 2014. Geoffrey acts almost exclusively for regulated professionals and regularly appears before the High Court and professional disciplinary tribunals. Geoffrey is best known for representing Solicitors but also acts for Accountants (ICAEW & ACCA), Dentists, Pharmacists, Doctors and Chartered Surveyors.

Gordon Cole

Gordon Cole QC specialises in all types of serious crime. He has appeared for both the prosecution and defence in numerous cases, including; for charges of murder, serious sexual abuse, drugs, gross negligence manslaughter, regulatory work and fraud.

Grant Goodlad

Specialist areas of practice include employment law; personal injury and clinical negligence; inquests, particularly where medical issues are involved; and mediator of civil and commercial disputes. Cases include: Spencer v Prime Time EAT 2006 – interpretation of Sex Discrimination Act 1975; Two Shires Ambulance NHS Trust v Mr A N Brooks EAT 2003 – capability dismissal; Two Shires Ambulance Trust v Ms J A La Motte EAT 1998 – tribunal procedure.

Hannah Saxena

Hannah Saxena is a well respected 'Leading Junior', ranked in both the personal injury and clinical negligence editions of Legal 500. Hannah is instructed in a range of high value multi track matters in the High Court and County Court. She is experienced in the handling of cases involving catastrophic injury, fatal accidents and chronic pain. She has a busy paperwork practice advising on liability, tactics and quantum as well as drafting statements of case. She represents parties at JSM and mediation. In addition she is in court regularly conducting trials, applications and other interim hearings. Hannah is regularly against opposition of more senior call, including silks. Ranked as ’Tier 3’ in Chambers & Partners 2021. Testimonials include: "She is very thorough, well prepared and provides sound advice” "Hannah approaches matters in a manner that fills you with complete confidence and she's very personable and approachable. She makes her clients and instructing solicitors feel very comfortable” “The service that she provides is completely excellent in every respect, as is the standard and detail of her advice.” “She’s very smart, to the point and has a very smooth style.”

Howard Cohen

Barrister specialising in personal injury and motor insurance fraud; general common law (tort, contract, sale of goods).

Huw Davies

Huw Davies has a predominantly civil practice and is regularly instructed on behalf of both claimants and defendants. His current work has a particular emphasis on high value personal injury claims, health and safety matters and employment disputes, though with his very broad range of experience he is willing and able to undertake work with the broad range of Chamber’s practice.Huw also sits as a Deputy District Judge.

James Plant

James’ practice consists of three main areas of work: Personal Injury, Property Damage and Product Liability. James is instructed by Claimants and Defendants in a wide range of Personal Injury matters involving serious injury and death. He has extensive experience of (and a particular interest in) accidents at work. His quantum caseload generally consists of claims involving subtle brain injuries, amputation, serious orthopaedic injuries, pain conditions, psychological and/or neuropsychological injuries. James has a growing Property Damage practice and is, again, instructed by Claimants and Defendants. The majority of his work is acting in claims for damage caused by fire and flood where allegedly defective work, plant or products are blamed. James’ Product Liability work overlaps with the two areas above. He is involved in bringing and defending product liability claims in contract and in tort. He has particular expertise in automotive / motorcycle / bicycle cases, building products, plant / machinery, consumer goods and food. In all practice areas James is regularly instructed to advise, draft pleadings, attend interlocutory hearings and conduct trials. James is frequently asked to assist with expert technical / medicolegal evidence, to advise on strategy / tactics, where liability is in issue and in complex quantum disputes. He is described as an “excellent advocate” who “provides unequivocal, well-considered advice” by clients who have “no hesitation at all in recommending [him]”. He regularly writes articles and gives talks on subjects within his practice areas. His London practice and home near York means that he is ideally placed to undertake court work particularly in the capital and in the North of England but also throughout England and Wales.

James Pretsell

James’s practice consists largely in multi track personal injury work. He also has expertise in professional negligence and disciplinary work having represented individuals before a variety of professional regulatory bodies as well as the Administrative Court. As a fluent French speaker, James has also developed an interest and practice in cases with a French element and more generally cases involving questions of foreign jurisdiction.

Joel McMillan

Joel has a busy and successful general common law practice. His particular focus is on personal injury and employment, but his interests are wide ranging and he has considerable experience in contractual disputes, property, credit hire, insurance, and travel law. He is in court or tribunal every day and has a thriving paperwork practice alongside.

John Brown

John practices mainly in the areas of personal injury (including injuries abroad), clinical negligence and property damage. He acts for both claimants and defendants in complex and high value claims and appears regularly in the High Court and County Court. John’s personal injury practice focuses on catastrophic, spinal injuries and those involving chronic pain. He has a particular interest in claims involving brain injury. He has considerable trial experience and is well regarded by Instructing Solicitors as a tenacious and extremely effective courtroom advocate. In all his practice areas he is regularly instructed to provide advice (often at a very early stage) on complex issues of liability, quantum, evidence and tactics as well as attending joint settlement meetings and mediations.

John Meredith-Hardy

Areas of work undertaken for claimants and defendants include personal injury, insurance and commercial disputes. Personal injury: accidents at work including factories, workshops, shops and offices; occupational disease including asbestos-related conditions; road traffic accidents involving heavy goods vehicles, cars and motorbikes; employment and holiday accidents abroad whilst on-land and on-ship; jurisdictional issues and the conduct of claims in England by reference to foreign law; brain injury, cerebral palsy and spinal injuries of the utmost severity; complex injuries resulting in lifetime care and therapy, adaptive housing and ancillary services. Insurance: coverage, indemnity & related disputes (including the duty of fair presentation) instructed by insurers, the insured and insurance brokers in relation to non-consumer and consumer insurance. Instructions include issues arising from: Insurance Act 2015, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 & ICOBS. RTA insurance coverage, s.151 enforcement of judgments & recovery claims, the MIB, Article 75, uninsured & untraced drivers, and the Green Card scheme. Recovery claims include damage by flood, fire, storm and theft. Underlying causes of action include negligence, nuisance and Rylands v Fletcher. Product related claims include the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994, Sale of Goods Act 1979, Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, Consumer Rights Act 2015 & Consumer Protection Act 1987. Commercial: sale of goods including a special interest in engines and mechanical devices; building disputes involving the construction of domestic housing and commercial property; property disputes involving shops, auctions, clubs, hotels and farms; sale of services including waste disposal, work wear, clothing and estate agency; other contractual disputes involving a wide range of subject matter; conflict of law and jurisdictional issues; fraud in the civil context.

Joshua Hedgman

Josh acts for defendants in catastrophic injury work. He is instructed in matters with a particular focus on brain injury, spinal column damage, amputation and fatal accident cases. Josh is instructed in cases of the utmost severity and frequently appears as sole counsel in multi-million pound claims. He routinely attends JSMs or achieves success at trial where there is a liability defence or where the Claimant holds unrealistic aspirations on quantum. He has secured numerous findings of fundamental dishonesty, some of which have led to committal proceedings.

Kamran Khan

Barrister at Farrar's Building

Laura Fitzgibbon

Laura has a busy practice in line with Chambers’ areas of expertise, with particular emphasis on personal injury and clinical negligence. Laura appears in court most days, in interim hearings and trials on all tracks. Personal injury work makes up the greater part of Laura’s practice. She is regularly instructed in trials and interim hearings, including CCMCs, on all tracks. Her practice spans a range of personal injury work including road traffic accidents, employers’ liability and public liability claims. She has considerable experience of cases where fundamental dishonesty is alleged. She has a busy paperwork practice, drafting pleadings and providing advice on liability and quantum.

Lee Evans

Lee Evans has a busy personal injury practice, with particular emphasis on serious brain injury, spinal injury and amputation cases. His work includes cases that have arisen from serious industrial accidents, road traffic accidents and industrial diseases. He has a particular interest in the interpretation of workplace regulations.He is a contributor to a number of the leading personal injury textbooks, including Kemp & Kemp and the Personal Injury Handbook. He has co-written editions of Munkman on Employers’ Liability and he is a member of the Health and Safety Executive’s panel of counsel.

Leslie Millin

Leslie specialises in all aspects of employment law, where she represents both employer and employee in claims including discrimination, unfair dismissal, whistle blowing, TUPE, redundancy, holiday pay and breach of contract and restraint of trade. In addition to private organisations and individuals, she is instructed by NHS Trusts and Borough Councils . She also specialises in inquests and personal injuries and is a Public Access barrister listed by the Bar Council. Leslie also deals with EAT appeals where she is often instructed at the appeal stage and is a member of ELAAS.

Lindsey Hogg

Barrister specialising in personal injury and clinical negligence; with particular interest in industrial disease and noise induced hearing loss.

Martin Ferguson

Barrister specialising in personal injury, commercial and general common law.

Matthew Kerruish-Jones

Coroner’s inquests/public (representing insured parties), Health and safety (defending), personal injury (defendant work), crime (general/motor/fraud/corporate), regulatory crime/civil.

Michael Dougherty

Barrister specialising in personal injury, employment and education law.

Nick Blake

Nick Blake has experience of a broad range of civil matters.

Nigel Spencer Ley

Nigel is a highly experienced barrister who undertakes high value clinical negligence, personal injury, and related professional negligence work, acting for both Claimant and Defendants. In the field of clinical negligence he has specific experience in: cauda equina syndrome encephalitis claims consent cases haemochromatosis claims negligence while undertaking spinal surgery failure to diagnose cancer (including claims against GPs) wrongful birth He continues to undertake some personal injury work including: head and spinal injury claims sporting accidents both in the UK and abroad Directory Entries and Quotes "...clients endorse Nigel Spencer Ley for ‘eye for detail' and ‘excellent paperwork'." Legal 500 “puts his detailed knowledge of the NHS to good use” Legal 500 Listed as a leading junior at the London Personal Injury Bar by The Legal 500

Patrick Harrington KC

Barrister specialising in Crime (general and serious fraud); prosecution and defence; health and safety; spmis law. Has appeared for prosecution or defence in over two hundred homicide cases. Instructed in a number of high-profile homicide cases. Instructed in several major fraud cases for prosecution and defence. Examples of recent work: Crime (general): R v Richards and Hope (trial and retrial of contract killing of wrong victim) R v Mason (torture murder of lady in own home); R v Bentham (causing death by dangerous driving: sentence and AG’s Reference); R v Iestyn Davies (murder of young woman); R’v Lipski (murder involving identical twin DNA); R v Cunnah (murder involving complex medical issues); R v Bate (Garry Newlove murder); R v Reed (manslaughter arising from accident at work); R v Pmier (health and safety prosecution of school headmaster, first instance and successful conviction appeal); R v Lewis Engineering (successful abuse of process, case arising from fatal accident at work); R v Fryer (defence of ship’s skipper after multiple deaths at sea). Crime (serious fraud): R v Evans and others (successful defence dismissal application in SFO prosecution of three solicitors, a QC and others for alleged mining fraud); Operation Valgus 1 and 2 (mortgage fraud); R v Johnson and Johnson (tax and money laundering); R v Boult (multimillion-pound IKEA fraud); R v James (multimillion-Pound VAT fraud); R v Roope (multimillion-pound investment fraud); R v Robinson & Ors (multimillion-pound legal aid fraud). Older cases include R v Morris (murder of three generations of one family); R v Hampson) high-profile historic murder); R Gafoor (high-profile historic murder); R v Howard Hughes (Sophie Hook murder). International work: advising high-ranking politician in The Turks and Caicos; British Virgin Islands documents case; instructed to advise in Far East for VIP client.

Paul Lewis KC

Paul has appeared in over 200 homicide cases and in many major frauds. His practice also includes serious sexual offences, sports law and Health and Safety work. Recently, Paul has developed a particular speciality and expertise in representing children and young persons. He acted in the trial of a 12-year old child who was tried for murder; and has regularly acted for defendants under the age of 18 years, facing serious criminal charges. His criminal law cases include: R v Joel Smith (the Toni-Ann Byfield murder trial); R v Abu Hamza (the Kyra Ishaq trial); R v Osborne & ors (contract killing); R v Actie & ors (the Cardiff three murder trial); R v Beckford (the Birmingham riots triple murder case).

Peter Savory

Peter is a barrister specialising in personal injury, clinical negligence and commercial matters. He has a particular interest and experience in costs and other complex procedural disputes.

Richard Ive

Richard specialises in regulatory and disciplinary law, inquests, and public inquiries. He is regularly instructed in a range of court matters, including inquests, regulatory and disciplinary hearings, trials, and applications.

Robert Golin

Robert Golin’s practice focuses on personal injury, employment, commercial and insurance, and general common law. He is in court on a daily basis, acting for both claimants and defendants, in trials, interim applications and costs related hearings. In terms of paperwork Robert advises regularly on liability, evidence and quantum, and drafts pleadings and other court documents.

Shabbir Lakha

Has practised almost exclusively in employment law work for over ten years. Acts for local authorities as well as private institutions. Previously instructed in a number of cases arising out of the collapse of the BCCI Bank. For the last few years, he has also been the standing counsel for a couple of local authorities in employment law matters. In this role he has been instructed in a number of very complex and wide ranging employment law cases. Within the last 12 months he has been acting for a local authority in a large group action involving over 1,000 claimants as part of equal pay claims. Recently completed a long and complex hearing involving DDA claims, again acting for a local authority – the local authority had an emphatic victory. Has developed a considerable amount of experience in dealing with very complex and sensitive cases. After one of the long-running complex race discrimination claims in which he was representing a local authority, with documentation running into a couple of thousands of pages, the chairman of the tribunal wrote to his then head of chambers commending his ‘encyclopaedic knowledge’ of the facts and the law and that he would have no hesitation in recommending Shabbir to any solicitor. With a predominant practice in employment and discrimination law, he covers a wide range of employment issues, including: discrimination, whistleblowing claims, equal pay, TUPE, unfair and wrongful dismissal.

Simon Hughes

Simon practices across the spectrum of personal injury claims in cases of high value and/or significant importance and in claims of industrial disease. He specialises in cases of serious injury (both organic and non-organic) and fatal accidents. He has extensive experience in representing insurers in cases where fraud and fundamental dishonesty is alleged. He is regularly instructed by the leading firms in the Country. Simon lives in South Wales and practised at the Welsh bar for many years prior to moving to Farrar’s Buildings. He maintains strong links with the Welsh legal community and is always keen to receive instructions in Wales. In addition to his work as Barrister, Simon sits as both a Recorder (Wales) and Deputy District Judge (Midlands) (Civil). These roles give him an alternative perspective on the presentation of cases and appropriate tactical decisions. His expertise has been recognised for well over a decade in the leading Legal Directories. The most recent editions describe him as having; “particular expertise in cases involving industrial disease and fatal accident claims. He is also regularly instructed in cases involving elements of fraud.” (Chambers UK – Tier 2) and “…very calm and considered which helps put clients at ease. He is pragmatic and sensible, taking into consideration the difficulties with litigated case loads, as opposed aggressive and antagonistic which does not necessarily serve in the best interests of the client.” (Legal 500 – Band 1)

Sorcha Dervin

Sorcha is a barrister specialising in employment law and personal injury. In her employment practice Sorcha advises and represents clients across the full range of employment disputes, with particular interest and experience in discrimination and whistleblowing detriment claims.

Stuart Brady

Stuart is a civil practitioner who prides himself on his approachable, clear and decisive approach in court, in conference and on paper. Stuart’s sports law work enables him to draw on his expertise across personal injury, disease and employment and combine that with his experience as a former professional rugby player with the Saracens. Stuart enjoys a significant paperwork practice alongside his advocacy at trials on the fast-track and multitrack, on appeal, at inquests, and at multiday professional discipline and employment hearings.

Tim Found

Tim specialises in clinical negligence and personal injury, regularly appearing in the High Court and County Courts for claimants and defendants in the public and private sectors. The financial value of the cases he is instructed in, whilst rarely exceeding the importance of the case to the individual claimant or clinicians involved, is usually six to seven figures, with one case in the last year exceeding £20m. Complexity is often not linked to value, with Tim acting in cases of high complexity involving numerous fields of expertise. He has experience in a broad spectrum of matters including delayed / missed diagnoses, the consent process, missing records, negligent treatment and / or surgery, in the settings of primary and / or secondary care, dentistry, and care in the community. More specifically in the two years he has been instructed in cases involving amputation, cancer, cauda equina syndrome, chronic pain and central sensitising syndromes, complications following childbirth, cosmetic procedures, diabetic foot ulcers, emboli, hip dysplasia, mental health disorders, shoulder dystocia, stroke / TIA, suicide, traumatic brain injury and vascular matters. Procedural issues he has acted or advised on in the last year include: steps to take when suspecting the wrong defendant has been sued in multi-defendant cases; deployment of and response to surveillance evidence; seeking permission to change experts (both in respect of one who became ill and another in whom all confidence was lost); how to address conflict in drafting agendas.

Tom Bourne-Arton

Tom Bourne-Arton specialises in high value and complex personal injury claims, including claims involving fatality, brain injury, spinal injury, amputation, chronic pain, and psychiatric injury. Tom acts for Claimants and Defendants. Tom's case load includes road traffic accidents, workplace accidents, Highways Act claims, and occupiers' liability claims; with a recent emphasis on serious workplace accidents. Tom is regularly instructed by Defendant insurers in claims involving fraud and/or fundamental dishonesty; such claims include those involving occupancy fraud, induced collisions, false injury, low velocity impact, and surveillance. Tom was called to the bar in 2005, undertook his pupillage at Farrar's Building and has practiced from Farrar's Building ever since. Whilst Tom's chambers and the majority of his attendances at Court are in London, he lives in North Yorkshire and as such he is equally happy to accept instructions to attend Court in the north of England.

Victoria Logue

Victoria Logue (Tory) joined Farrar’s Building in 2017 after 10 years as a tenant at Parklane Plowden in Leeds. Her practice focuses predominantly on personal injury, civil fraud, clinical negligence and inquests. She is regularly in Court on fast and multi-track trials. She also deals with interim hearings including applications and costs and case management hearings. All types of paperwork are undertaken by Tory, including advising on liability, quantum, evidence, procedural issues, tactics and drafting statements of case.

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