It’s been just over a couple of months since we launched the 2019 UK Bar guide, and in only a couple of months’ time our research team will begin work on the 2020 edition (I know, I know, no rest for the wicked!). Ahead of our March submissions deadline, I wanted to take another look at the current rankings to highlight those sets which came out on top during the 2019 research.
Leading the Bar with nine top-tier rankings is Blackstone Chambers, followed closely by Essex Court Chambers and Brick Court Chambers with eight rankings each, while Fountain Court Chambers, Matrix Chambers, Serjeants’ Inn Chambers, and Serle Court are not too far behind them with five rankings a piece.
Meanwhile, with four rankings each, One Essex Chambers and 3 Verulam Buildings (3VB) round off the top tier results.
Overall, chambers with the most leading set rankings include: 39 Essex Chambers (15); Blackstone (14); Matrix (14); Maitland Chambers (12); 3VB (9); Fountain Court (9); and Outer Temple Chambers (9); while XXIV Old Buildings, Brick Court, Doughty Street Chambers, Garden Court Chambers, Serle Court, and Wilberforce Chambers all have eight set rankings each.
Looking at the individual rankings, No5 Barristers Chambers boasts the most barristers ranked overall, with 97 members recommended in the latest guide. Doughty Street leads the chasing pack with 90 ranked barristers, just ahead of Garden Court (87), 39 Essex Chambers (82), and Blackstone (73).
Breaking down these results further, the sets with the most leading silks are: Blackstone (40); Essex Court (37); 39 Essex (36); and Brick Court (32); while Fountain Court and Matrix share fifth place with 31 silks rankings each.
At the junior end, however, the sets with the most leading juniors are: No5 (71); Garden Court (69); Doughty Street (63); Kings Chambers (56); and with 54 juniors each, 3PB and Exchange Chambers round off the top five places.
But the #humblebrags do not stop there. We recently announced our winners of The Legal 500’s UK Awards (the full list of law firm, chambers, and in-house winners is available here).
Our awards follow months of rankings research – including tens of thousands of interviews with UK-based in-house counsel, law firms, and chambers. Once the research into the latest guide is completed our team of editors and researchers come together to answer one simple question: ‘Who stood out this year?’
The awards are as much about highlighting the leaders in each respective field as they are in recognising those which have exceeded expectations. In Scotland, Axiom Advocates (2 awards) and Ampersand (1) were the big winners, while in England and Wales congratulations are due to Blackstone (4), Matrix (3), 3VB (2), Brick Court (2), One Essex Court (2), Three Raymond Buildings (2), 4 Paper Buildings (2), 8 New Square (2), XXIV Old Buildings (2), Garden Court North Chambers (2), and Quadrant Chambers (2). Taking home one award each in February are: 1 Crown Office Row, 1 King’s Bench Walk, 4 Pump Court, 7 King’s Bench Walk, 11KBW, 20 Essex Street, 39 Essex, Crown Office Chambers, Devereux, Doughty Street, Erskine Chambers, Essex Court Chambers, Garden Court, Gray’s Inn Tax Chambers, Hardwicke, Hogarth Chambers, Keating Chambers, Landmark Chambers, New Park Court Chambers, Pump Court Tax Chambers, Queen Elizabeth Building (QEB), Selborne Chambers, Serjeants’ Inn, and Wilberforce.
Of particular note are: Queen Elizabeth Building (QEB), which won this year’s clerking and practice management award; Amanda Illing of Hardwicke, for winning senior clerk/chief executive award; One Essex Court’s deputy senior clerk Jackie Ginty, who has won our inaugural clerk of the year gong; and Serjeants’ Inn, which takes home the client award for communication and innovation.
Congratulations to all our ranked/awarded sets and barristers but remember, everything is up for grabs again this year. The editorial guidelines for the 2020 UK Bar research have been released, and can be found at the following web page Get involved
We have introduced new sections and made a number of structural changes to our coverage across the UK Bar guide. In the London guide, Agriculture and Property litigation have been split into two distinct chapters, as have Data protection and IT and telecoms.
In the Regional Bar guide, Clinical negligence and Personal injury have also been separated into two chapters, while Immigration has been introduced as a new section. In instances where chapters are now split, chambers are encouraged to put forward submissions for each section.
Regional chambers should note that individual barrister rankings will now be tiered just as they currently appear in our London guide. This is to allow clients greater insight into the leading silks and juniors on the circuits. If you have any queries concerning the above, then please do not hesitate to contact me.
Good luck for 2020!