1 King's Bench Walk

1KBW is a leading chambers specialising in family law, with a pre-eminent reputation in this field, both nationally and internationally. 1KBW is consistently ranked by the legal directories in the top tiers of leading sets for family law. 1KBW barristers have been at the cutting edge of the development of family law and have been in most of the ground-breaking cases over the last two decades. 1KBW also has one of the most innovative and experienced dispute resolution teams in the country.

1KBW has a dedicated and professional clerking team, led by its senior clerk Chris Gittins, which is able to deal with any enquiry and is widely regarded as one of the most helpful and reassuring clerking teams in the field. Also supporting 1KBW barristers is a team of fees clerks, administrators and other support staff.

The set: 1KBW comprises  60 barristers, including 14 KCs. The set is widely acknowledged to have an unrivalled breadth of talent, with leading and junior practitioners at every level of seniority. As well as some of the most eminent practitioners at the family bar, former members of 1KBW have included Baroness Hale, the current President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, Dame Judith Parker, DBE and numerous other members of the judiciary. The set adopts a highly professional, supportive and responsive service to clients. There is a tremendous sense of commitment at this set, both to the development of the law and to the needs of clients. The clerking at this set is second to none, with highly experienced and dedicated clerks offering a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise, all of which is applied when assisting clients with cases honestly, openly and rigorously.

Types of work undertaken: 1KBW specialises in family law, and our reputation is founded in this field. In matrimonial finance, members of 1KBW have appeared in many of the leading and landmark cases of the last two decades, such as Owens, White, Moore, McFarlane, Miller, Radmacher, Imerman, Charman and many more. Its members continue to act in some of the most high-profile cases in the field of matrimonial finance. In children law, the set boasts many of the current ‘stars’ in this field, both silks and juniors. Members of 1KBW regularly appear in the leading cases across every aspect of children law: private law children, Hague and non-Hague abduction, wardship and care and adoption proceedings. Members of the set also undertake work in the Court of Protection. Their experience in dealing with sensitive public and private children cases and finance cases means that its members have a unique set of skills to deal with Court of Protection work. The set’s history of advocacy in the criminal courts is often said to give it the edge over its rivals within the family courts.

1KBW has one of the most innovative and experienced dispute resolution teams in the country.