The Bar - Regional Bar • Northern Circuit
Byrom Street Chambers ‘has an enviable set of leading counsel in personal injury litigation, including some of the most experienced and well-respected names on the Northern Circuit’. Winston Hunter KC is Head of Chambers and handles high-value, complex personal injury claims; he represented the defendant in a case concerning a solicitor who claimed that she lost the opportunity to pursue her career at a US law firm as a result of her injuries. Andrew Lewis KC has substantial experience in cases regarding allegations of exaggeration and fraud, and David Heaton acts for both claimants and defendants in catastrophic brain and spinal injury cases. The set is also home to Rhiannon Jones KC, who has expertise in quantum in spinal and brain injury claims, and Simon Kilvington KC, a reputable asbestos litigator. Michael Lemmy joined the team in November 2022 from 9 St John Street Chambers.
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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.
1‘Peter is a first-rate personal injury silk whose depth of knowledge is unrivalled. Nothing is too complex and he has an incredible ability of being able to quickly sift through the detail to pick out the issues that really matter; a great strategic thinker who can always be relied upon to help navigate the most difficult of cases.’
1‘Winston is quite simply the best leader in dealing with the most complex catastrophic injury cases. He is unbelievably clever, engaging, hard-working, and has brilliant people skills with opponents, clients, and experts, achieving outstanding results time after time on difficult and challenging cases.'
1‘Rhiannon is one of the best KCs doing this work and her attention to detail is second-to-none. She has the ability to absorb huge volumes of information quickly and distil it down to the key issues in a clear and easily accessible way, she is calm and reassuring with lay clients, and she is excellent in conference with experts on complex medical issue.’
1‘Simon is exceptional and the country’s leading barrister on asbestos litigation. He has a calming and reassuring presence with clients and is respectfully persuasive.’
1‘Andrew is as good as it gets. He is charming, sensible, pragmatic, an excellent lawyer, and an opponent that it is a real pleasure to be against.’
1‘Christopher is calm and collected, extremely experienced, and authoritative. He is persuasive and thoughtful in advocacy, and there is nothing he hasn’t seen, but he retains humility.’
‘David is meticulous in his approach to analysing volumes and volumes of paperwork and being able to condense that down into easy to understand, bite-sized chunks for clients. He is extremely pragmatic, draws focus to the most important aspects of claims, and then uses his soft skills to bring cases home to the most sensible conclusion.'
2‘Darryl is an exceptional advocate and he is the barrister that you want arguing your case in court. He is always well-prepared with sound strategic advice and he has a great manner with experts in conference, ensuring that all relevant issues in complex cases are addressed with ease.’
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2‘James is highly experienced and is a go-to barrister for cases involving complex liability and quantum issues. He exhibits unrivalled attention to detail and is able to cut through huge amounts of material in order to identify the key issues.’
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.
‘Darrel demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of complex medical matters leaving no stone unturned. He is well-prepared and gains the confidence of clients and instructing solicitors quickly.’
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.
‘Darrel demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of complex medical matters leaving no stone unturned. He is well-prepared and gains the confidence of clients and instructing solicitors quickly.’