Church Court Chambers > London, England > Set Profile
Church Court Chambers Offices
25 Southampton Buildings
LONDON
WC2A 1AL
England
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Church Court Chambers > The Legal 500 Rankings
London Bar > Crime Tier 4
Church Court Chambers, an ‘established criminal law‘ set undertaking a good deal of both defence and prosecution work, hosts capable barristers at all levels of experience, including several outstanding silks. Lewis Power KC, a ‘brilliant advocate’ who always possesses ‘an excellent understanding of the evidence in complex cases’, has defended in several major murder cases in recent years. He is now instructed by to represent a woman, due to be tried at the Old Bailey in January 2024 alongside her partner, for gross negligence manslaughter of their young child following a high-profile 53-day police search. Colin Witcher is a standout junior with a ‘formidable grasp of the law’.Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
‘The clerks’ room, led by senior clerk Rod McGurk and David Selsdon is very efficient and no task is too small or too great where barristers are concerned.’
‘The clerks’ room is very good; you can be sure that cases will be covered, feedback will be correct and thorough, and the correct barrister with the right year of call will be provided. Rod McGurk leads commendably and David Selsdon is excellent.’
‘Rod McGurk is superb.’
‘Church Court Chambers is a specialist criminal defence chambers with a very good selection of both senior and junior counsel.’
‘Church Court Chambers is an established criminal set which undertakes both defence and prosecution work at all levels including silk.’
‘Church Court Chambers is a very good set with some good barristers covering all areas of criminal work, including some just coming through. They provide regular training sessions in areas of education and updates on the law and cases.’
London Bar > Sport
Church Court Chambers > Set Profile
Chambers is recognised as a leading Set for crime, together with sports, immigration and extradition. We have been involved in some of the most high-profile cases of recent times including The Cyprus Rape Case, which went to the Cyprus Supreme Court, the high-profile murder of Sabrna Nessa and the Vietnamese Lorry Death Case where the defendants faced 39 counts of manslaughter. Stand-out Silks include Lewis Power QC and stand-out juniors include Colin Witcher and Michael Polak, the latter recently winning the IBA Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year.
Chambers have been at the forefront of taking on cases without fear or favour including submissions to the UN, assisting the Uyghur Community, and advising on a number of high profile prosecutions. Chambers prides itself on covering the full spectrum of criminal offending. What makes Chambers unique is that we cover both private and legal aid instructions and both prosecution and defence: we do not promote a self-serving agenda to capitalise on a sub-section of the market. Our clients are all afforded the same excellent client care, from start to finish.
Equally, Chambers prides itself on being a wonderfully diverse Chambers, where we promote individuality and inclusion. Moreover, Chambers recently conducted a male vs female income analysis, and were proud by the results which were that female members out-earned their male contemporaries. New for 2022, we launched a charity initiative, where we make charitable donations to local causes which are inherently linked to improving access to the profession and associated justice issues, for example rehabilitation of offenders.
Chambers moved in 2020 to a modern progressive building, which was formerly the London Patent Office. The building allows us to service our client and member with the perfect fusion of tradition and modern comforts, including improved technology, video conferencing facilities and so forth. |
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
---|---|---|---|
Senior clerk | Rod McGurk | r.mcgurk@churchcourtchambers.co.uk | |
Deputy Senior Clerk | David Selsdon | ||
Members of Chambers | FUAD KC, Kerim (1992) | ||
Head of Chambers | MATHER-LEES KC, Michael (1981) | ||
Member of Chambers | AINA KC, Benjamin(2009) | ||
Members of Chambers | POWER KC, Lewis (1990) | ||
Member of Chambers | UPWARD KC, Patrick(1996) | ||
Member of Chambers | KARAISKOS KC, Maria(2023) | ||
Door Tenant | VASQUEZ KC, Robert | ||
Door Tenant | ENOCH KC, Dafydd | ||
Door Tenant | HARPER KC, Mark | ||
Members of Chambers | EVANS, Alun (1971) | ||
Members of Chambers | FRANK, Ivor (1980) | ||
Member of Chambers | SHALE, Justin (1982) | ||
Members of Chambers | MANLEY, Lesley (1983) | ||
Members of Chambers | JOHNSTON, Christopher (1983) | ||
Member of Chambers | CLAXTON, Elroy(1983) | ||
Members of Chambers | BRAIN, Pamela (1985) | ||
Member of Chambers | CLARKE, Michelle (1988) | ||
Members of Chambers | BIGNALL, Paula (1989) | ||
Members of Chambers | McCARRAHER, Colin (1990) | ||
Members of Chambers | FULLERTON, Mike (1990) | ||
Members of Chambers | BAILEY, Stephen (1991) | ||
Members of Chambers | BALANCY, Alex (1992) | ||
Door Tenant | FAIRCLOUGH, Sarah (1992) | ||
Door Tenant | HELLER, Anne (1995) | ||
Members of Chambers | NEWCOMBE, Robert (1996) | ||
Members of Chambers | ESPRIT, Shaun (1996) | ||
Members of Chambers | SHENYUZ, Alkan (1997) | ||
Members of Chambers | MOLLOY, Kevin (1999) | ||
Member of Chambers | HEPBURNE SCOTT, George (1999) | ||
Member of Chambers | BOATENG-ADDO, Edward (2000) | ||
Members of Chambers | MAHTAB-SHAIKH, Sumita (2001) | ||
Members of Chambers | WILLIAMSON, Guy (2002) | ||
Members of Chambers | BASIR, Mohammed (2002) | ||
Members of Chambers | PABARY, Rajesh (2002) | ||
Members of Chambers | PATEL, Yasin (2002) | ||
Members of Chambers | WEBB, Paul (2003) | ||
Door Tenant | GRIMWOOD, Oliver (2003) | ||
Door Tenant | KAZANTZIS, Philip (2004) | ||
Door Tenant | ABDULROUF, Mizan (2007) | ||
Members of Chambers | ELLIOTT, Simon (2007) | ||
Members of Chambers | CANESSA, Patrick (2007) | ||
Members of Chambers | MUSTAFA, Mazharul (2008) | ||
Members of Chambers | KHAN, Islam (2008) | ||
Members of Chambers | MOHABIR, Richard (2009) | ||
Members of Chambers | IMAMBACCUS, Nazmeen (2009) | ||
Members of Chambers | WITCHER, Colin (2010) | ||
Members of Chambers | POLAK, Michael (2012) | ||
Member of Chambers | Mc ELVOGUE, Ciara (2013) | ||
Members of Chambers | SKEET, Caroline (2014) | ||
Members of Chambers | HAZLEWOOD,Amy (2016) | ||
Members of Chambers | TRAMBOO, Jibreel (2018) | ||
Members of Chambers | SHARMA, Angela (2019) | ||
Members of Chambers | CULVER-EVANS, Llewellyn(2021) | ||
Members of Chambers | RENAUD, Marie-Armance(2022) |