Crown Office Chambers is 'a leading set in the specialist area of health and safety law and in defending contested and difficult cases, including gross negligence manslaughter and corporate manslaughter'. John Cooper KC is leading Sandesh Singh in R v North East London NHS Trust, a high-profile case involving allegations of corporate manslaughter arising from the death of a patient in a mental health facility. In a separate matter, Dominic Kay KC, Simon Antrobus KC, Harry Vann and Jack Murphy were all instructed in a trial relating to a prominent HSE prosecution, arising from a worker on an offshore oil rig suffering life-changing injuries after becoming trapped in a motion compensated gangway used to transfer personnel from ships to offshore platforms.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Toby Sparrow is a leading light in clerking and provides a seamless service from start to finish.'
  • 'Toby Sparrow leads an excellent clerking team.'
  • 'Toby Sparrow and Lisa Searle provide some of the best service in the industry. They provide a prompt and effective service and nothing is ever too much trouble.'
  • 'Crown Office is clearly the leading H&S set in the country and has real strength in numbers with the top leading and junior counsel in this area of work.'
  • 'Crown Office is our go-to chambers for health and safety barristers. Their knowledge and expertise are unrivalled.'
  • 'The set has excellent strength in depth from top KC level to junior barrister level.'
  • 'Crown Office has one of the strongest health and safety teams in the UK.'

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.
John Cooper KC
1
Crown Office Chambers
‘John uses his considerable skills as an advocate to deliver compelling arguments to judges and juries. He has fire in his belly and clients love his dynamic attitude.'
2023 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.
Mark Balysz KC
Crown Office Chambers
‘Mark has judges, jurors and ushers eating out of his hand. A very charming advocate with a solid steel core. He is agile and tactically supreme.’

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.
Mike Atkins
1
Crown Office Chambers
‘Mike is a brilliant individual. He is great at working on his own or in a team, and his capacity for hard work knows no limits. He has a fantastic legal mind.'
Malcolm Galloway
2
Crown Office Chambers
‘Malcolm has a commanding presence in court - judges and juries listen when he speaks. He is vastly experienced and incredibly personable. Clients like him.'
Harry Vann
2
Crown Office Chambers
‘Harry has a commanding presence in court. His advice is clear, concise, and tailored, and he has a fantastic way with clients, quickly putting them at ease.'