Serjeants' Inn Chambers

Serjeants’ Inn Chambers is a successful, progressive and friendly set with nine core specialisms.

The set: Serjeants’ Inn Chambers is consistently ranked by the directories as a market leader in clinical negligence, professional disciplinary, regulatory and public law. Silks and juniors receive praise for the strength of their advocacy, legal and tactical skills. The clerking team, led by Lee Johnson, is efficient, approachable and helpful.

Types of work undertaken
Clinical negligence and healthcare: clinical negligence has always been a significant area of work at Serjeants’ Inn Chambers. Tenants have led the way in developing the law (Sidaway, Heil, Chester, Thompstone). High-value claims concerning cerebral palsy and catastrophic injuries are undertaken, as well as multi-party actions. The cases often involve important legal, ethical and social issues and are always of the utmost human significance.  Recent Supreme Court cases include: Henderson -v- Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust and the ground-breaking case of XX v Whittington which changed the law on the recoverability of surrogacy damages.

Court of Protection: the team is widely acknowledged to be a market leader in providing representation in all Court of Protection work. The team’s work encompasses all areas of human rights and civil liberties in health, social care and financial decision-making with members advising and representing statutory bodies, incapable people and their families in cases covering a very wide range of legal and factual issues. Members are instructed by PCTs nationwide, the Official Solicitor, CAFCASS and individuals, in the most sensitive and important cases. The expertise in this area is underlined by the fact that they write and edit the only comprehensive legal textbook in this field, Medical Treatment: Decisions and the Law. The fourth edition is edited by Christopher Johnston KC and Sophia Roper KC and was written by a team of 27 members of Serjeants’ Inn.

Police: the police team has been ranked number one in the UK for over a decade. Members act for all police forces around the country. They also represent the National Crime Agency, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, Police and Crime Commissioners and other policing bodies including the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council and private providers in the criminal justice service. They act in the cases which shape police law in this country. Their work includes the Undercover Policing Inquiry, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the Leveson Inquiry; the David Rathband, Walid Yusif and Michael Barrymore civil claims; the Raoul Moat,  Hillsborough,  Deepcut  and  Perepilichnyy inquests.

Employment: the growing employment team practice across the entire range of employment law for a variety of claimants and respondents. The team has particular experience in discrimination, whistle-blowing and injunctions in compliance with contractual disciplinary procedures. Recent cases include: Edwards v Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (Supreme Court decision in 2011).

Inquests: for over 20 years members have acted in the most important inquests across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Inquests have become a specialism which members have excelled in, particularly since the adoption of the more rigorous approach required under Art 2 ECHR. Chambers acts for bereaved families and for organisations and individuals facing potential criticism following deaths in hospitals, police stations, mental health units, care homes, prisons, the workplace and military deaths. Recent high-profile examples include the In Amenas terrorist siege, deaths at Deep Cut Army Barracks and deaths after police contact such as those of Raoul Moat and Mark Duggan. Four tenants appeared in the 7 July London Bombings inquests.

Product liability: Serjeants’ Inn Chambers’ particular product liability expertise is in cases involving injury caused by medical or pharmaceutical products and devices and over the last two years members of chambers have been involved in a number of high-profile product liability group actions.

Professional discipline and regulatory: the set has always been at the forefront of professional disciplinary work in healthcare and police fields. Members act for solicitors, barristers, academics and sportsmen. Sir Robert Francis KC chaired the inquiry into the failings of the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust with several members of chambers representing core participants. Recent high-profile cases in the police field have included the prosecutions (with associated judicial reviews) of a slew of chief officers, for example Operations Alice and Silk (Plebgate).

Public and administrative: the team’s work spans judicial review, information law, sports law, mental health law and Treasury work. It has particular experience of major inquests and public inquires including the 7/7 London Bombings inquests and the Baha Mousa and Mid-Staffordshire public inquiries.

Business and specialist crime: the team specialises in cases involving professional people and organisations, and where the charges range from murder, manslaughter (including corporate manslaughter), health and safety offences, misconduct in public office, perjury and sexual offences to fraud and other financial crime.