St Ives Chambers
‘Liz is a ferocious, fearless advocate. She does not leave a stone unturned. Her advocacy style is direct and forceful.'
Birmingham’s St Ives Chambers remains ‘a heavyweight set with a deservedly fine reputation’ in the Midlands for family and children law work. Elizabeth Isaacs KC is widely praised as a ’ferocious, fearless advocate’ as well as for her client care skills, benefitting in this regard from her background as a child protection social worker. Justine Lattimer is regularly instructed in the most serious cases involving sexual abuse, brain injury, deaths of parents and children, FGM, forced marriage, and fabricated illness. Tracy Lakin is ‘a highly experienced barrister who brings authority and good sense to a case’. Mark Cooper-Hall’s broad practice covers care proceedings involving child deaths, fabricated or induced illness, sexual abuse, and systemic local authority failings. Anthony Finch joined chambers in February 2024.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'David Walters and Scott Goodison are very experienced and capable clerks. They both have a 'can do' attitude and are very professional and efficient.'
- 'The clerks' room is excellent - Asma Akhtar, Nick Burdon and Sarah Robinson are a pleasure to deal with.'
- 'All the clerks are extremely helpful and will go out of their way to assist.'
- 'The backroom staff at St Ives match the ability of the barristers under their care. The service given is excellent. Telephone calls are generally answered immediately and, if that is not possible, calls are returned promptly thereafter. Efforts are made to accommodate instructions, even when given at the very last minute. Sarah Robinson, Nick Burdon and Asma Akhtar stand out. They also have a brilliant receptionist, Jacqui Hanks.'
- 'A heavyweight set with a deservedly fine reputation.'
- 'St Ives are always the go-to set - they have excellent strength in depth and are a safe pair of hands.'
- 'St Ives Chambers is undoubtedly the leading set of chambers in the Midlands in this field, with amazing strength-in-depth, so much so that on run-of-the-mill cases clients can simply phone up and ask who is available.'
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.
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.
St Ives Chambers
‘Tim is an advocate of the highest calibre. He has excellent attention to detail and real forensic ability in his case preparation and analysis. He has a lovely manner with everyone - whether clients, opponents, professionals or the court. His advocacy is smooth, it is not aggressive but is incredibly effective.'
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.
St Ives Chambers
‘Tom is a real aster of oral and written advocacy. His preparation is second to none. He is the perfect blend as an advocate; approachable but authoritative. He has an amazing knowledge of case law and uses it to enormous effect. He fights every case with commitment and goes that extra mile. He is a force to be reckoned with.'
1
St Ives Chambers
‘Matt is a huge presence when he is in court. He has the ability to be the focal point for the whole case. Matt has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law. He is adaptable, can be charming and gentle but can also be the bludgeon who batters down the doors.’
1
St Ives Chambers
‘Tracy is a highly expert advocate who is instructed and relied upon in those very cases which require individual and exceptional skills to successfully manage. She has always demonstrated an ease in understanding the importance and influence of evidence. Tracy has a natural ability to put clients who are extremely anxious at ease.’
St Ives Chambers
‘Justine is an impressive and effective advocate. She particularly specialises in cases with vulnerable witnesses. Her ability to cross-examine in a polite, calm, and unflappable way is just brilliant. She is the strongest junior around.’
St Ives Chambers
‘David is a skilled advocate, who is always calm and measured in his approach, with a real eye for detail. His preparation of a case is always extremely thorough and he gets to grips with the issues in a case very quickly.'
St Ives Chambers
‘Kirstie is a formidable but approachable advocate. She is forensic in her approach to cross-examination. Kirstie is able to give clear advice when needed even when that is in relation to the prospects of her case.'
St Ives Chambers
'Mark is an intellectually outstanding barrister who carefully crafts cross-examination and persuasive submissions. He is able to deal with complex medical information quickly and is able to provide user-friendly advice and guidance to solicitors and vulnerable clients.'
2
Moira Ashton-Walsh
St Ives Chambers2
James Cleary
St Ives Chambers ‘James is a barrister for complex or unusual cases. He provides clear and robust advice and clients are happy to place trust in him. He is an extremely competent advocate. He is very approachable and is willing to go the extra mile when needed.’
St Ives Chambers
‘Matthew is an excellent barrister. He manages the most difficult cases with grace and precision. Matthew is a superior advocate who calmly but firmly takes the witness to where he wants to go.'
St Ives Chambers
St Ives Chambers
‘Greg brings calm to every situation. He has excellent attention to detail, experience and a kind and compassionate manner - he is a pleasure to deal with both as an instructing solicitor and as an opponent. He has a professional manner with lay clients and professional clients alike.'
St Ives Chambers
‘Rebecca is excellent. She is extremely personable and approachable, and achieves excellent results yet balances that with compassion and understanding. Rebecca’s advocacy is top-notch; she makes her points clearly and decisively.’
3
Lawren Dobson
St Ives Chambers ‘Lawren is a very thorough, diligent and capable barrister. She handles complex and heavily contested issues in a calm and efficient way and with grace under high pressure. She is personable, friendly and a passionate advocate who develops a good relationship with clients and she is willing to work in a cooperative and collaborative way to achieve the best outcome for the client. She is highly skilled and a very capable pair of hands.’
3
Anthony Finch
St Ives Chambers ‘Anthony is a thorough and thoughtful barrister with an ability to make his clients feel safe and secure. He also has the skill to pick out the evidence required to assist the court and can cut through voluminous documents. He is an excellent draftsman ensuring complex schedules are easily understandable to the lay clients especially in cases where emotions are running high.’
3
Louise Sapstead
St Ives Chambers ‘Louise is a strong advocate, with impressive client care skills. She has an ability to work with all types of clients whilst being able to put across their case with ease. She also has an impressive knowledge base and ability to implement such into her submissions to the court.’
3
Thomas Bramall
St Ives Chambers ‘Tom is a superb advocate. He is always well prepared and very persuasive in court but his manner puts clients at ease.’
3
Sian Waldron
St Ives Chambers ‘Sian is a very hard working and diligent advocate. She fully prepares her cases and is a courteous opponent. She understands her clients and provides them with sensitive and realistic advice. She provides attendance notes promptly to instructing solicitors and highlights next steps to be taken.’
3
Samuel Coe
St Ives Chambers ‘Sam is an excellent barrister. He is approachable, knowledgeable and his attention to detail is fantastic. He is a highly skilled and compelling advocate.’
3
Ben Chapman
St Ives Chambers ‘Ben has the ability to provide clients with clear and robust advice, whilst doing so with sensitivity. He is a skilled advocate with an acute attention to detail.’
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.
Thomas Duggan
St Ives Chambers ‘Thomas is a highly gifted advocate and deals with cases in a sensitive, humane and professional manner. His personal warmth, integrity and honesty are qualities which are appreciated by many.'
Zara Mahmood
St Ives Chambers ‘Zara is extremely thorough. Her attention to detail is second to none. Not only is she an excellent barrister in legal terms, her personal touch with the clients is beyond compare.'
St Ives Chambers
‘Malvika is an exceptional advocate. She is thorough and leaves no stone unturned. Her oral advocacy is excellent. She commands the room and is extremely persuasive.'
George Smith
St Ives Chambers ‘George is always well prepared, even on a short notice hearing. He is a strong advocate as well as respectful with a clear consideration of getting his clients' instructions put across in court.'
St Ives Chambers
‘Holly is confident, approachable and extremely diligent. She is sensible in terms of advice, but robust and not afraid to run a case. She has an air of confidence and seems unflappable, which is really reassuring to anxious clients.'