Westgate Chambers
Barristers
John Hatton
- Email[email protected]
- Social
Work Department
Civil & Family
Career
John commenced the practising part of his pupillage in October 2018, having joined Westgate Chambers as a first-six pupil in April. As a common law practitioner, he accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers’ practice and is willing to travel nationwide.
Family Law
John has a broad family law practice and is regularly instructed in both public and private family law proceedings, as well as ancillary relief matters.
Public Care Proceedings
John has experience of representing parents at all stages of care proceedings, from initial ICO applications to final hearings. Recently he was instructed at short notice to represent a mother at a contested ICO which lasted two days with all parties giving evidence.
Additionally, John has experience of representing children, who are the subject of proceedings, via their Guardian.
Private Family Proceedings
John has represented both applicants and respondents at interlocutory and final injunctive hearings as well as Children Act proceedings. His experience includes:
Occupation Orders; Non-molestation Orders; Prohibited Steps Orders; and Child Arrangements Orders.Ancillary Relief
John is increasingly being instructed in Ancillary Relief matters where his calm manner reassures clients during these inherently contentious matters.
Crime
John has developed a busy criminal defence practice which covers a wide variety of cases in the Youth, Magistrates’, and Crown Courts.
John has secured a number of acquittals in the Magistrates’ Courts through precise and methodical cross examination. His clear structure to legal argument makes it easy for benches to follow his lines of argument whether he is making or opposing applications.
He also has a growing Crown Court practice. Recently John appeared in a sentencing hearing where he achieved “a very good result” for his client who had pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
Currently John is instructed in multiple Crown Court trials. He has also represented defendants appealing to the Crown Court against conviction and/or sentence.
Civil
While John regularly appears in the County Court acting in small claims trials, he also has experience of appearing in fast-track matters. Most recently, John acted for a Claimant at an application for relief from sanctions during fast-track proceedings.
Memberships
Called 2018