Jamie Burton KC
Doughty Street Chambers 'Jamie is tenacious, but also realistic and his written and oral advocacy are both excellent. His range of knowledge across housing and community care is incredibly useful.'
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.'
Silks
Leading Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Aswini Weereratne KC
Doughty Street Chambers 'Aswini is incredibly knowledgeable in all aspects of the CoP. Her experience and knowledge of mental health law is an asset to her practice. She is a calm and measured presence in the courtroom and can deal with complex issues with skill and care.'
Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC
Doughty Street Chambers 'Caoilfhionn produces top-quality work and has the best legal mind.'
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.
Ulele Burnham
Doughty Street Chambers 'Ulele has a very sharp mind. She is clear and analytical in her approach. She is very good with clients and an excellent negotiator.'
Oliver Lewis
Doughty Street Chambers 'Oliver is very approachable and fantastic with lay clients. He is very passionate about protecting the rights of the most vulnerable members of our society, in particular those with learning disabilities. He is supportive and a great team player.'
Sophy Miles
Doughty Street Chambers ‘Sophy is an excellent advocate. She is calm, measured and always excellently prepared. She is always well-prepared and provides prompt advice and support. She is an asset to her clients.’
Dominic Preston
Doughty Street Chambers ‘Dominic is a go-to counsel in this area. He is easy to work with while paying good attention to detail.’
Antonia Benfield
Doughty Street Chambers ‘Antonia is exceptional. She has excellent attention to detail and is incredibly reliable as to deadlines. Her oral advocacy is good, and her written advocacy is clear and well-structured.’
Daniel Clarke
Doughty Street Chambers 'Daniel has an excellent grasp of the law and good attention to detail.'
Rowena Moffatt
Doughty Street Chambers 'Rowena takes a forensic approach to her pleadings and advocacy.'
Tom Stoate
Doughty Street Chambers ‘Tom is very knowledgeable in his practice. He is thorough and well-prepared, and his advice is always very well-reasoned.’
5
Elizabeth Cleaver
Doughty Street Chambers 'Elizabeth is an excellent advocate who has secured seemingly impossible victories for her vulnerable clients.'
Zoe Harper
Doughty Street Chambers 'Zoe is very good at advising on complex cases. She can quickly assimilate large volumes of information and provide robust advice. She is very good at spotting details in a case, which affects the outcome positively.'
Gemma Hobcraft
Doughty Street Chambers 'Gemma's commitment to those she represents is second to none. She always goes above and beyond to make herself available for the case.'
Mary-Rachel McCabe
Doughty Street Chambers ‘Mary-Rachel is a fantastic advocate. She is clear and articulate and is always well-prepared. She is incredibly knowledgeable and approachable. Her advice is always thorough.’
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.'
Rising stars
Rising stars at the Bar are defined as barristers between four and eight years’ call who are seen as up-and-coming members of the Bar in their respective practice areas by clients and peers alike. They will already be instructed in high-profile, complex, and high-value contentious and non-contentious matters, working with and opposite more experienced leading counsel.
Gemma Daly
Doughty Street Chambers ‘Gemma is an exceptionally talented barrister. She can get to grips with the most complex matters. Her drafting is excellent, and she can adapt her style of advocacy to fit the type of case and the various characters in the room.’
Donnchadh Greene
Doughty Street Chambers ‘Donnchadh is a talented advocate who cares for his clients and fights their corners fearlessly.’
Alice Irving
Doughty Street Chambers ‘Alice is willing to help at an early stage of a case. She thinks strategically, and her research is meticulous. She has excellent knowledge and awareness of public policy issues.’