St John’s Chambers is one of the ‘go-to’ clinical negligence sets on the Western Circuit and beyond. Justin Valentine is well regarded for his ‘meticulous attention to detail’ and handles a wide range of claimant and defendant instructions, specialising in neonatal, cauda equina, and diabetes-related claims. He is counsel in several long-running, high-value claims, including those concerning historic negligence. Rachel Segal’s practice includes multiple cases involving the delayed diagnosis and treatment of cancers, particularly of breast cancer, as well as ophthalmology, gastrointestinal and colorectal surgery, and obstetrics. Lauren Karmel ‘interacts well both with medical experts and claimants’ and has been instructed in relation to over thirty clinical and dental negligence cases this past year.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Hugh Maguire and Adam Marston are excellent clerks, and very accommodating and flexible.'
'Hugh Maguire is organised, knowledgeable and always willing to help.'
'A set with excellent clinical negligence expertise.'
'This set has good strength in depth at all levels of seniority.'
'St Johns Chambers is a "go to" chambers for clinical negligence work with a wide range of available counsel.'
'St John's is the go to set for clinical negligence work in the South West, with strength in depth across all levels of call. They are also a very slick outfit in terms of their marketing, training, and thought leadership.'
'Really supportive and friendly clerks.'
'The clerks at St Johns are friendly and always available.'

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.

Justin Valentine

St John’s Chambers

‘Justin is forensic in his approach, and has an eye for detail. He is also tactically very strong, and maintains one eye on the big picture. Overall, Justin is very easy to work with as he aims to get the best outcome through working as a team.’

Rachel Segal

St John’s Chambers

‘Rachel is extremely good with clients and her advocacy is excellent. She is also incredibly strong on anything related to relief from sanctions.'

James Marwick

St John’s Chambers

‘James is very approachable, thorough, responsive, and excellent when drafting and giving advice.'

Lauren Karmel

St John's Chambers

'She is always prepared to go the extra mile.'

Leading Juniors

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.

‘Rachel is extremely good with clients and her advocacy is excellent. She is also incredibly strong on anything related to relief from sanctions.'

James Marwick

St John’s Chambers

‘James is very approachable, thorough, responsive, and excellent when drafting and giving advice.'

Lauren Karmel

St John's Chambers

'She is always prepared to go the extra mile.'