Six Pump Court > Maidstone, England > Set Profile

Six Pump Court Offices

Chambers of Stephen Hockman KC
Six Pump Court
6-8 MILL STREET
MAIDSTONE
ME15 6XH
England
Visit website 01622 688094 01622 688096

Six Pump Court > The Legal 500 Rankings

South Eastern Circuit > Crime (general and fraud) Tier 1

Six Pump Court is a ‘solid set with a wealth of experience’ in all areas of criminal practice, with particular expertise in cases involving sexual offences and homicide. Experienced practitioner Richard Barraclough KC recently secured acquittal of a man being tried for murder and manslaughter in a case related to murder of a drug supplier by a competitor, and jointly heads the team with Nina Ellin KC, who is renowned for her ‘calm, confident and reassuring manner’ and successfully defended a young man, aged eighteen at the time of the alleged offence, accused of manslaughter after punching a man who was subsequently punched again by a co-defendant. Peter Alcock has extensive experience of acting for both the defence and the prosecution in criminal cases and acted as prosecutor in a two-handed corporate manslaughter case that involved a fatality at a waste management site (R v FDS Waste Limited & Phillip Pidgely). Danny Moore is a ‘first class defence barrister’ who also prosecutes. ‘Tenacious defender’ John Fitzgerald is known for ‘his meticulous preparation and written applications’ - he and Ellin KC represented a man who was charged with murder and only convicted of lesser offences after a homeless unregistered barrister was beaten to death with, among other objects, a gavel in a car park in Canterbury; a co-defendant was convicted of murder.

Leading Silks

Richard Barraclough KC – Six Pump Court 'Richard is meticulous in his preparation and leaves no stone unturned in his pursuit of the truth. He commands respect because he is a careful thinker who plans his cases in detail from the outset. His witness care skills are excellent: a balance of calm authority with human empathy.'
Ranked: Tier 1

2023 Silks

Nina Ellin KC –Six Pump Court 'Nina is a hardworking and committed advocate who has a way of putting clients at ease. Her legal arguments are robust and she leaves no stone unturned in her preparation.'

Leading Juniors

Danny Moore –Six Pump Court ‘Danny is well-liked by colleagues and the judiciary alike. He is tenacious and hard-working, with a tactician’s talent for identifying the issues that matter in a case. His written advocacy is focused and effective. His oral advocacy, delivered with his trademark charm, is nonetheless powerful and highly persuasive.’
Ranked: Tier 1
Peter Alcock –Six Pump Court 'Peter is an excellent and widely respected advocate.'
Ranked: Tier 1
John FitzGerald –Six Pump Court 'John is an outstanding barrister. He combines legal proficiency with a practical approach to secure the best possible outcome for his cases.'
Ranked: Tier 2
Ranked: Tier 3
Ranked: Tier 3
Kieran Brand –Six Pump Court 'Kieran is an exceptional barrister. He is concise with his cross-examination technique whilst maintaining professionalism and compassion throughout.'
Ranked: Tier 3
Ranked: Tier 4
Amy Nicholson  – Six Pump Court 'Amy has a great witness handling skills. She handles a particularly difficult and vulnerable defendant with great patience and skill.'
Ranked: Tier 4
Tanya Robinson – Six Pump Court 'Tanya is a robust advocate who will leave no stone unturned. Her advocacy is assured and powerful.'
Ranked: Tier 4
Ranked: Tier 4

Testimonials

‘Six Pump Court is a brilliant set of chambers, always willing to assist firms at the drop of a hat. Graham Collof is a friendly, helpful and extremely experienced clerk and a credit to the set.’

‘Six Pump Court is a strong Kent and Sussex practice with some excellent counsel at all levels.’

‘Six Pump Court is a leading set providing expert advice and advocacy in many common law disciplines.’

‘Six Pump Court is a highly regarded and long-established set of chambers.’

‘Six Pump Court is an excellent set, with a number of experienced and able criminal barristers. The clerks are helpful and efficient in their work.’

Work highlights

London Bar > Health and safety Tier 2

At Six Pump Court, members are often instructed by local authorities and regulatory bodies, such as the Health and Safety Executive, in cases involving allegations of manslaughter and regulatory breaches, among other areas. Mark Watson KC was instructed by CPS Special Casework in the prosecution of a waste company following a worker being fatally injured as a result of being run over by a reversing lorry; the company was convicted of corporate manslaughter and other related health and safety offences in 2022, and received a £640,000 fine in 2023. Elsewhere in chambers, Pascal Bates acted on behalf of Great Yarmouth Borough Council and the Health and Safety Executive in a joint prosecution arising from the death of a young child following the explosion of an inflatable trampoline.

Leading Silks

Ranked: Tier 1
Ranked: Tier 2

Leading Juniors

Pascal Bates – Six Pump Court ‘Pascal’s intellect and legal knowledge is formidable. He will leave no stone unturned and he is able to deal with anything on his feet. He works incredibly hard and will always go above and beyond to do the best job possible.’ 
Ranked: Tier 1
Ranked: Tier 2
Lee Bennett –Six Pump Court ‘Lee is a class act. An exceptional junior of silk quality.'
Ranked: Tier 2
David Hercock –Six Pump Court ‘An exceptional practitioner. He is technically excellent, commercial, and extremely personable and user friendly.'
Ranked: Tier 2
Gordon Menzies – Six Pump Court ‘A junior who is easy to work with, and provides practical solutions to complex cases.'
Ranked: Tier 2
Nicholas Ostrowski –Six Pump Court ‘Nicholas is a very able, articulate and intelligent barrister.’
Ranked: Tier 4

Testimonials

‘Richard Constable is the key individual, whose contacts within the health and safety world are unique.’ 

‘Excellent clerks’ room – their ability to liaise with courts to ensure convenient listing is a godsend.’

‘First rate service from a personable clerking team.’

‘A first-class set with extremely talented barristers from junior to senior. Both the clerking team and barristers show dedication to their clients and ensure availability to deal with instructions to keep matters progressing.’ 

‘This set is excellent. They have huge strength in depth.’

‘A go-to regulatory chambers in London.’

‘6 Pump Court is a great set with a barrister at every level of experience.’

South Eastern Circuit > Employment Tier 2

London Bar > Planning Tier 4

A set with ‘strong planning expertise with several excellent members’, Six Pump Court are noted for their capability in dealing with planning, environmental and regulatory work. The teams’ ‘strong expertise’ lends itself to working with a wide range of clients across England and Wales. Stephen Hockman KC has appeared in the Court of Appeal on behalf of a caravan resident on land designated green belt, who had been refused planning permission to retain her caravan in that location. Anne Williams has represented Bembridge Harbour Investments Ltd on the proposed residential development at Bembridge Harbour in the Isle of Wight.

Rising stars

Angelica Rokad  – Six Pump Court ‘Angelica is a barrister who can research a difficult case and prepare concise yet comprehensive recommendations and strategy. She is friendly and has good client skills.’
Ranked: Tier 1
Ranked: Tier 1

Leading Silks

Ranked: Tier 3
Stephen Hockman KC –Six Pump Court ‘Stephen has an excellent legal mind and is incredibly accessible to corporate clients. He adopts a hands-on approach which is most welcome.’
Ranked: Tier 3
William Upton KC – Six Pump Court  ‘William is very good on his feet. He has good knowledge of the law and can apply it strategically.’
Ranked: Tier 4
Megan Thomas KC – Six Pump Court  ‘Megan is approachable and an excellent listener. She is able to tailor her advice and advocacy to the audience regardless of their needs, level of understanding or particular circumstances. She has excellent recall of case law, and is able to succinctly drill down into the most complex parts of planning law and use this to provide excellent concise but detailed advice.’
Ranked: Tier 4

Leading Juniors

Ranked: Tier 2
Anne Williams  – Six Pump Court  ‘Anne is an experienced and capable barrister who is very much a people person, putting clients at ease in dealing with the complexities of the planning system. She structures a conference well and gives precise and to the point advice which clients appreciate. She is a skilled advocate who gets to the heart of a case.’
Ranked: Tier 2
Ranked: Tier 3
Giles Atkinson  – Six Pump Court ‘Giles is very good at listening to clients, he has a very clear sighted and no-nonsense approach. He is extremely expert and knowledgeable in planning law and practice. Clients greatly value his ability to explain difficult and complex concepts in a language they can understand.’
Ranked: Tier 3
Nicola Strachan  –Six Pump Court  ‘Nicola has a proactive approach to work, and conducts matters in a professional manner.’
Ranked: Tier 3
Noémi Byrd – Six Pump Court  ‘Noémi has the ability to pick up matters quickly and disseminate through large volumes of details to get to the point. She is very pragmatic and a solution provider which is welcoming to clients who look at making commercial decisions. Noémi is also very confident in her advocacy and is able to stand her ground.’
Ranked: Tier 4

Testimonials

‘Michael Hearn is helpful and efficient.’

‘Ryan Barrow is always very helpful and responsive.’

‘The Clerks are very helpful, and user-friendly. Richard Constable in particular is par excellent and always ensures that matters are dealt with swiftly. Ryan Barrow is also very approachable and always willing to help.’

‘The clerks are most helpful and Ryan Burrow is always there to provide advice and the availability of barristers.’ 

‘Six Pump Court are able to provide high quality barristers at all levels covering planning, environmental and highways law.’

‘A highly skilled set, offering excellent service. They are very welcoming and always keen to assist.’

‘The barristers and clerks at Six Pump Court are most helpful and diligent in their work. The availability is good and the responses are timely.’

‘This set has strong planning expertise with several excellent barristers.’

Work highlights

London Bar > Crime

Leading Silks

Richard Barraclough KC – Six Pump Court 'Richard has an enormous capacity for detail, his analytical skills are unique and he is empathetic - he cannot be faulted.'
Ranked: Tier 3

2023 Silks

Nina Ellin KC – Six Pump Court 'Nina is one of the most disciplined and hard-working barristers around. She leaves no stone unturned, no page unread, and nothing to chance. She is dedicated to the case she is fighting for.'

Leading Juniors

Danny Moore – Six Pump Court 'Danny is tactically outstanding; he is always three steps ahead of his opposition. If you need a barrister to go toe to toe in a case, you would ask for him.'
Ranked: Tier 3
Tanya Robinson – Six Pump Court ‘Tanya is an excellent advocate. She is always meticulously well prepared. Her legal submissions, both oral and written, are focussed and persuasive. She fights her corner hard without ever being discourteous to witnesses or the court. Tanya has the ability to have a jury eating out of her hand, however difficult and serious the case.’
Ranked: Tier 4

Western Circuit > Planning

London Bar > Administrative law and human rights

Leading Juniors

Charles Morgan   - Six Pump Court  'Charles is a fantastic environmental lawyer.'
Ranked: Tier 3

London Bar > Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations)

London Bar > Costs and litigation funding

London Bar > Employment

Leading Juniors

Ranked: Tier 4
Grace Cullen – Six Pump Court 'Grace is incisive and persuasive.'
Ranked: Tier 5

London Bar > Inquests and inquiries

Leading Juniors

Mark Davies - Six Pump Court 'Mark is a hardworking dedicated barrister who has the knack to make extraordinarily difficult tasks look easy'
Ranked: Tier 5

Six Pump Court > Set Profile

This is one of the leading common law sets in London and the south east, with particular specialist expertise in civil and commercial, criminal, employment, family, inquests and inquiries, licensing personal injury, public, planning and environmental, and regulatory law.

The set: Chambers was founded in the 1920s and whilst originally recognised as a specialist criminal, civil and family set, has evolved to become one of the strongest sets in environmental, local government, planning, health and safety and all forms of regulatory law as well.

The profile of chambers and the quality of work continues to be maintained at a very high level. Six Pump Court has an ethos of approachability and friendliness, as well as strong administration that delivers solutions. It offers a first-class team of advocates and advisers.

Types of work undertaken
Regulatory and competition law: chambers prosecutes and defends regulatory criminal offences particularly health and safety (including the construction, energy and transport sectors), food, consumer protection/trading standards, licensing, intellectual property protection, environmental protection, and planning enforcement. All financial litigation including fraud, confiscation, corporate governance and financial conduct.

Public: members undertake a full range of judicial review and related advisory work, often with a planning/environmental or regulatory subject matter.

Planning and environmental: members appear for and against regulators and public authorities. Proceedings include public inquiries and regulatory criminal proceedings. The team has established a particular niche in relation to work on the interface between environmental, planning and human rights law.

Personal injury: chambers covers all aspects of personal injury for both claimants and defendants. Cases include employers’ liability, RTA, clinical negligence and professional negligence arising out of the conduct of claims. Claims at all levels of value are conducted from the earliest stages through to trial including settlement through ADR.

Inquests: members appear for the full range of interested persons (including regulators, employers, site operators and families) at inquests and inquiries, tackling the wider issues raised by Article 2 inquests and reports to prevent future deaths.

Family: members of the family team advise and appear in the private and public law arenas. In private cases dealing with financial and child care applications, including removal from the jurisdiction. The expertise in matrimonial finance extends to corporate, agricultural and high-value matters, including overseas trusts.

Employment: the team covers all aspects of employment law and provide a service that is available from advising on the formation of company disciplinary and grievance procedures through to representing at Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Criminal: the team has a proven track record in the whole range of criminal work from pre-charge advice onwards, both for the prosecution and the defence. It undertakes publicly and privately funded work. Members represent individuals and corporations (and officers thereof) in proceedings brought against them; and also undertakes private prosecutions brought by business and local authorities, as well as by the orthodox prosecuting agencies.

Civil and commercial: commercial disputes (including arbitration), professional negligence, and landlord and tenant work. The work is split between claimants and defendants and undertaken, inter alia, on behalf of a range of substantial insurers, public companies, local authorities and government departments.

For more information visit www.6pumpcourt.co.uk.

Languages spoken: French, German, Russian and Japanese.

Main Contacts

Department Name Email Telephone
Senior clerk Richard Constable
Members of Chambers HOCKMAN KC, Stephen (1970)
Members of Chambers GRIFFITHS KC, Robert (1974)
Members of Chambers BARRACLOUGH KC, Richard (1980)
Members of Chambers THOMAS KC, Megan (1987)
Members of Chambers UPTON KC, William
Members of Chambers WATSON KC, Mark (1994)
Members of Chambers WRIGHT KC, Richard (1998)
Members of Chambers ARMSTRONG, Grant (1978)
Members of Chambers MORGAN, Charles (1978)
Members of Chambers HARRIS, Mark (1980)
Members of Chambers WILLIAMS, Anne (1980)
Members of Chambers BALDOCK, Nicholas (1983)
Members of Chambers TAYLOR, Paul (1985)
Members of Chambers WIGNALL, Gordon (1987)
Members of Chambers FORBES, Peter (1990)
Members of Chambers MOORHOUSE, Brendon (1992)
Members of Chambers THOMAS, Ian (1993)
Members of Chambers HOGBEN, Paul (1993)
Members of Chambers ELLIN, Nina (1994)
Members of Chambers MOORE, Danny (1994)
Members of Chambers BATES, Pascal (1994)
Members of Chambers ALCOCK, Peter (1995)
Members of Chambers STERN, Thomas (1995)
Members of Chambers BEARD, Mark (1996)
Members of Chambers ROBINSON, Tanya (1997)
Members of Chambers BANWELL, Richard (1998)
Members of Chambers MENZIES, Gordon William (1998)
Members of Chambers FITZGERALD, John (1998)
Members of Chambers BENNETT, Lee (1998)
Members of Chambers DUNN, Tom (1998)
Members of Chambers NICHOLSON, Amy (1999)
Members of Chambers LUTTMAN, Lucy (2001)
Members of Chambers HERCOCK, David (2001)
Members of Chambers ATKINSON, Giles (2002)
Members of Chambers JESSOP, Stuart (2002)
Members of Chambers STEVENSON, Daniel (2002)
Members of Chambers BADGER, Christopher (2002)
Members of Chambers BYRD, Noémi (2004)
Members of Chambers CULLEN, Grace (2005)
Members of Chambers NICHOLSON, Amy (1999)
Members of Chambers KHAN, Thaiza (2006)
Members of Chambers IRWIN, Ben (2006)
Members of Chambers STRACHAN, Nicola (2006)
Members of Chambers CROWDY, Isabella (2007)
Members of Chambers BRAND, Kieran (2007)
Members of Chambers REES PHILLIPS, Ian (2009)
Members of Chambers OSTROWSKI, Nicholas (2009)
Members of Chambers WILLIAMS, Fiona (2009)
Members of Chambers EVANS, Craig (2010)
Members of Chambers ROKAD, Angelica (2014)
Members of Chambers KANDOLA, Emin (2015)
Members of Chambers HAUSDORFF, Natasha (2016)
Members of Chambers DAVIES, Mark (2017)
Members of Chambers McBARNET, William (2017)
Members of Chambers FOXWELL, Jessica (2019)
Members of Chambers HARRISON, James (2021)
Members of Chambers DOBBIE, Alice (2007)*
Members of Chambers HOTHAM, William (2009)*
Members of Chambers McGRENERA KC, Noelle (1978)*
Members of Chambers WALKER KC, STEVEN (2008)*
Members of Chambers WOOD, Simon (2001)*
Members of Chambers REED, Kristiina (2013)*
Members of Chambers MORAN KC, Andrew (1976)*
Members of Chambers HUMPHREYS KC, Richard (1986)*

Diversity


EQUALITY & DIVERSITY

Chambers is committed to the principle of equality of opportunity without discrimination.

We are committed to the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion (‘EDI’) amongst all our members and staff.

In relation to all our recruitment exercises, we encourage and welcome applications from women, people of minority ethnic origin and people with disabilities, as well as candidates from other groups which are underrepresented in the legal sector.

Our EDI policies and procedures are intended to support and facilitate our underlying commitment on a day to day basis. A copy of Chambers’ overarching Equality and Diversity Policy may be viewed here

An Equality and Diversity Officer and a Diversity Data Officer are appointed in Chambers. Lee Bennett is our Equality and Diversity Officer and Grace Cullen is our Diversity Data Officer.

We also have a Steering Group set up to further consider and review EDI matters including, amongst others, race and the position of women at the Bar and in Chambers.

We recognise that to ensure the effective implementation of our policies and to realise an equal, diverse and inclusive workplace in Chambers we must all work to that end.

We also recognise that the Bar needs to make better progress in encouraging people from diverse backgrounds to enter the profession. Members of Chambers accept this as a responsibility we can all commit to.

Regularly monitoring diversity data is one tool we use. In accordance with the Bar Standards Board Handbook, we collect and publish the results of our diversity data monitoring exercises. The results of this and more detail on our policies can be viewed here

PRO BONO

“Pro bono” work is legal advice and representation provided free of charge, for clients of limited financial means, in the public interest. Clients can be individuals or groups – for example community campaign or interest groups.

Our members regularly accept pro bono instructions, usually through other organisations like Advocate, the Environmental Law Foundation, and Planning Aid, in all areas of chambers’ work but particularly Public and Administrative Law, Planning, and Environment.

For example, Grace Cullen is an honorary legal assistant providing regular advice and drafting for clients at Citizen’s Advice. Nicholas Ostrowski has successfully represented an asylum-seeker in judicial review proceedings, a local authority tenant in a dispute about water charges (securing a pro bono costs order for several thousand pounds), and has also advised an environmental water charity on changes to the Environment Bill as it travelled through Parliament, to protect watercourses from discharges from combined sewer overflows. Noémi Byrd and James Harrison have also worked pro bono in environmental cases, on planning judicial review and noise nuisance respectively.