The costs team at 18 St John Street Chambers houses Gemma McGungle, who is frequently instructed by both paying and receiving parties - she is acting for the solicitors in Menzies v Oakwood, which has received rare permission to apply to the Supreme Court and has the potential to change how solicitors get paid. James Miller practices exclusively in costs law, and he represented the solicitors in Higgins v Esure, a case concerning recoverability of an expert’s fee in a fixed costs case, in which the expert described himself as a spinal surgeon, and Miller successfully argued he was an orthopaedic surgeon, thus reducing the costs.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • '18 St John Street is a strong set.'
  • 'The clerks are excellent; they are pleasant to deal with and they have a cheery and friendly manner, but are exceptionally efficient and will go the extra mile to resolve issues.'
  • 'The clerks at 18 St John Street can only be described as on it. Phones are consistently answered quickly, as are emails, and there's the genuine feeling that the clerks can't do enough to help.'
  • 'The costs team in chambers is becoming a serious threat to other costs teams, both locally and nationwide.'
  • 'Great set with strength in depth. The clerks are helpful, knowledgeable, and supportive.'

Silks

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.
1
Gemma McGungle
18 St John Street
 ‘Gemma is an excellent advocate. Her written advice and costs knowledge is first rate and she is a particularly tenacious in her oral submissions.'
2
James Miller
18 St John Street Chambers
 ‘James provides top-level advocacy as well as document drafting. What sets James apart from others is his particularly approachable and down-to-earth demeanour, which makes him a pleasure to work with, in addition to the high standard of the work undertaken.’