Hugh Tomlinson KC
Matrix Chambers‘The go-to set for media law cases’, Matrix Chambers are highly sought after by leading law firms in the defamation, privacy and reputation management field, as well as acting for major news publications, broadcasters, and high-profile individuals. Hugh Tomlinson KC led Ian Helme when successfully representing the claimants in Dyson v Channel 4, now being the leading authority on determining if a corporate entity was referred to in a publication for the purposes of defamation law. As the high-profile libel claim Clarke v Guardian News & Media Ltd continues to unfold, Gavin Millar KC is acting for the newspaper in regard to numerous articles published in 2021 alleging sexual harassment and bullying by the actor and director Noel Clarke. Anthony Hudson KC, leading Ben Silverstone , acted for the Government Legal Department in Mueen-Uddin v Secretary of State for the Home Department, as the Supreme Court decided whether the Court of Appeal was correct to strike out the defamation claim, concerning the claimant’s listing in a Home Office report entitled “Challenging Hateful Extremism”, as an abuse of process.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The set is well run. Alison Scanes is an excellent Senior Practice Manager – very personable but professional, and keen to assist wherever possible. Chris Beard is also very good.'
- 'Alison Scanes and Chris Beard are phenomenal. Incredibly competent and personable.'
- 'The clerks are really good. I have worked with Liz Bousher for many years and always found her to be highly responsive.'
- 'Chris Beard is excellent - he always goes the extra mile and is always available to help.'
- 'The set as a whole is very strong in defamation and privacy law, offering both claimant and defendant teams and a good choice of Counsel of varying levels to assist.'
- 'Matrix continue to be our go-to set for media defendant work. They have a strong pool of counsel and all levels and always have good availability. They manage conflicts extremely well.'
- 'Matrix Chambers has very strong on the privacy and media side. They have a number of leading silks in this area.'
- 'Matrix are the go-to Chambers for media law cases. You are always provided with an excellent selection of barristers on a new enquiry and they have experts at every level.'
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.
Catrin Evans KC
Matrix Chambers
Lorna Skinner KC
Matrix Chambers
Alex Bailin KC
Matrix Chambers ‘Alex is a truly brilliant barrister - a polymath who excels in numerous practice areas. He is a master strategist and fantastic advocate. You always want him on your side.’
Guy Vassall-Adams KC
Matrix Chambers
Anthony Hudson KC
Matrix Chambers ‘Anthony is a very experienced defamation and privacy silk, and his advocacy skills are top notch. He really has the ear of the court. He is also a real team player, and supportive of the wider legal team.’
Sara Mansoori KC
Matrix Chambers ‘Sara has a wealth of knowledge in defamation, data protection, privacy and breach of confidence. Sara’s advice is always well trusted by clients and her advocacy is excellent.’
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.
Edward Craven
Matrix Chambers ‘Edward is such a pleasure to work with: diligent, extremely clever, determined, and very much a team player with first rate personal skills.’
Ian Helme
Matrix Chambers ‘Ian is a go-to senior junior for defamation and privacy. Extremely bright and knowledgable and a very smooth advocate.’
Ben Silverstone
Matrix Chambers
Kirsten Sjøvoll
Matrix Chambers ‘Excellent on the papers and also a persuasive advocate. Kirsten is very strong on media cases.’
Zoe McCallum
Matrix Chambers ‘Zoe has great strengths as a barrister. She works tirelessly for clients, provides compelling and detailed legal advice, is a great advocate and is able to deal with lay clients in an empathetic way.’
Aidan Wills
Matrix Chambers ‘Aidan has an impressively extensive knowledge and understanding of defamation and privacy law and the overlapping areas. Aidan provides comprehensive and considered advice, and is frank with instructing solicitors when the case does not have sufficiently good merits and prospects of success to warrant pursuing it. ‘