Eleanor Battie
‘Eleanor is always well prepared with thorough knowledge of the papers. Up-to-date in recent case law and a strong and robust advocate.’
1 Crown Office Row is in a strong position to offer family and children arbitration, and the group is highly capable across private and public law work, including wardship and inherent jurisdiction matters, as well as fertility law and LGBT co-parenting matters. It is also praised as ‘go-to chambers for Children Act proceedings’. The set is home to Timothy Bergin, who represents children, local authorities, and parents, and his practice encompasses both pubic and private law proceedings, with ‘a wealth of expertise in relation to care work’. ‘Strong and robust advocate’ Eleanor Battie is notable for her proficiencies in public law cases where there is conflicting medical evidence, and on the private law side, she is well-equipped to handle mandates with international elements. Clare Ciborowska demonstrates expertise in non-accidental injuries and fabricated and induced illnesses in children cases, while the ‘compassionate’ Kirsten Japp is particularly adept in the private family law arena. Adam Smith has experience in advising on cases involving allegations of serious and fatal injuries to children. Sarah Taite joined the team in September 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Jamie Thornton is extremely helpful. He responds promptly to enquiries. The clerks as a whole are approachable and great to work with. Jamie has continuously been able to find counsel to represent clients at short notice.'
- '1COR Brighton's clerks room is superb. They look after their clients and provide an exceptional service. They go above and beyond to help. Stand out clerks are Gemma Welling, David Bingham and Ben Earle.'
- 'Gemma Welling is the very best clerk. She is approachable, friendly and beyond helpful. She is calm and knowledgeable. Tom Hills is also superb at his job. He brings to the clerking team the same qualities and values as Gemma. Tom and Gemma are both brilliant.'
- 'Best clerking. David Bingham leads a strong team and Tom Hills is particularly worthy of mention. The clerking team as a whole go above and beyond to assist solicitors and are always responsive, no matter how busy they are.'
- 'The clerks are brilliant and always able to assist with diary-juggling, so that cover is always consistently available. Gemma Welling and Ben Earle, particularly, are always so effortlessly helpful, and incredibly quick to respond to enquiries.'
- 'Ben Earle is a very good clerk, and he always will do everything to help. He is friendly, approachable and always helpful.'
Lawyers
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.
Clare Ciborowska
‘Clare is a rarity at the Bar in that she is invested in every case she has, no matter the complexity or funding and is always completely up to speed and thinking proactively about cases. Clare is accessible to those instructing at all times and is always willing to go above and beyond to talk over an issue in a case even when not briefed for an immediate hearing, and she is fantastic in court and with clients and is extremely supportive to clients with vulnerabilities or particular needs.’
Kirsten Japp
‘Kirsten has extensive knowledge in children matters and she gives excellent client care and approaches cases in a sensitive manner. She is compassionate and supports clients, she has fine attention to detail, she delivers her advice in a clear and well structured way, and she has a reassuring manner and manages client expectations well.’
Adam Smith
'Adam is go-to counsel for anything where you need an advocate that the court will find easy to listen to and agree with. He works incredibly hard and couples that with a natural gift and presence, he is forensically excellent but never loses sight of the human elements of the job and no matter how daunting the task he always shows the client total dedication.'
Sarah Taite
‘Sarah is a much valued member of the local legal community who deservedly enjoys a reputation of being a highly skilled advocate who has an impressive knowledge of all areas of childcare law. She eloquently fights her client’s corner without presenting as adversarial, she is down-to-earth, personable and displays great empathy with clients who are experiencing the trauma of court proceedings.’
Rachael Claridge
‘Rachael’s approach with clients is simply outstanding. She works well with any type of client and has a very understanding and caring approach, and she is also very good at advising the client.’
Rachel Gimson
‘Rachel prepares her cases extremely well, she is sympathetic and empathic with clients, and she will strongly advocate for her clients in court and make her clients feel as though their voice has been heard within the process.'
Delia Minoprio
‘Delia epitomises the best of the Bar in terms of her principles, her work ethic , her dedication to her clients and her laser-like focus, technically and practically, on how to achieve the best for them. She is a junior who brings creativity and energy to every case she takes on.’
Richard Ager
Laura Bayley
‘Laura is very calm, realistic and pragmatic and has excellent rapport with clients. She prepares well for her cases and has fantastic communication.'
Rebecca Davies
‘Rebecca is an extremely approachable and well regarded junior who is able to hold her own against the best. Her advocacy is a real strength, as are her client skills.’
Katelyn Gottschling
'Katelyn is energetic and well-prepared and makes her client feel as though she is fully on board and keen and motivated to represent them. She is very knowledgeable.'
Pauline Troy
‘Pauline is a highly seasoned barrister with vast experience of public law work. A former solicitor, Pauline’s approach to strategy is second-to-none and she really understands how to put a case together for her clients.’
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.
