Doughty Street Chambers  is ‘a very strong chambers, with a breadth of practice areas and leading practitioners in the Court of Protection field’. Aswini Weereratne KC has extensive experience of representing clients with mental health and capacity issues and is known for her ’calmness in negotiations and discussions both inside and outside court’. Jamie Burton KC is currently handling a judicial review related to the treatment of an autistic man with learning difficulties, who was allegedly detained in a small room with no access to recreation and outside space. ‘Exceptional barrister’ Ulele Burnham regularly acts on behalf of protected parties and garners praises for her ’measured and to the point advocacy’. Leonie Hirst was appointed as Judge of the Upper Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber in September 2024.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'The clerks go above and beyond to find a suitable barrister for the case and particularly shine when there is an urgent deadline approaching. In particular, Sian Wilkins is approachable and helpful.'
  • 'The clerks are brilliant. Sian Wilkins has the gold standard in clerks.'
  • 'The clerks are very approachable and responsive at all levels of seniority. The team is expertly led by Sian Wilkins.'
  • 'Doughty Street Chambers is an excellent set, highly thought of in this area and the go-to chambers.'
  • 'Doughty Street Chambers is a high calibre set of barristers with a particular niche in the area of court of protection for welfare matters.'
  • 'Doughty Street Chambers has a great number of excellent barristers.'
  • 'Doughty Street Chambers is very helpful, the strength of depth and knowledgeable.'
  • 'Doughty Street Chambers is an excellent chambers overall. The barristers are on-point, committed to the clients, worryingly hard-working and very intelligent.'

Juniors

Leading Juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
5
Elizabeth Cleaver
Doughty Street Chambers
'Elizabeth is an excellent advocate who has secured seemingly impossible victories for her vulnerable clients.'
5
Asma Nizami
Doughty Street Chambers
 ‘Asma is thorough and prepares detailed position statements. She is always open to a discussion about the case.’
5
Nancy Williams
Doughty Street Chambers
 'Nancy is very well prepared, gets to the issues quickly and offers excellent advice according to the client's needs. She is excellent on her feet and delivers persuasive arguments concisely and effectively.'