St John’s Chambers is a ‘first-class set of chambers that offers suitable counsel for a variety of cases’ related to family law. Lucy Reed KC is a ’tenacious and extremely thorough advocate’ whose practice contains a mix of public and private children law cases, including adoption matters, while Judi Evans specialises in representing local authorities, parents and guardians in public law proceedings and garners praise for ‘excellent attention to detail’. Abigail Bond ’inspires confidence in clients with her approachable and reassuring manner’ and has longstanding experience of handling care cases involving vulnerable witnesses and parents with learning disabilities. Caroline Elford is an ‘excellent and principled practitioner’ who regularly represents clients before all tiers of the family justice system in cases of serious physical and sexual abuse of children.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Marcus Harding and Luke Hodgson are very helpful.'
- 'Elaine Jewell-Moore and Marcus Harding are fantastic and always available to help.'
- 'Elaine Jewell-Moore and Marcus Harding are a credit to chambers.'
- 'St John’s Chambers has good strength in depth both about the spectrum of expertise and different levels of seniority.'
- 'St John’s Chambers has a wide range of barristers, able to cover cases with consistency.'
- 'St John’s Chambers is a great set of experienced family barristers.'
- 'St John’s Chambers has a great depth and breadth of counsel who are experts in their field.'
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.
Lucy Reed KC
St John’s Chambers ‘Lucy is a supremely excellent advocate who prepares thoroughly and takes control of the court room. She is a confident, authoritative and highly skilled advocate who ensures she covers every aspect of the case in detail.’
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
Abigail Bond
St John’s Chambers ‘Abigail is a fantastic advocate. Her down-to-earth and approachable nature with clients perfectly matches her intelligent and eloquent advocacy. She is calm under pressure and unflappable on her feet. Her written work is concise and persuasive.’
1
Judi Evans
St John’s Chambers ‘Judi is an exceptional and competent lawyer, especially in complex care matters. Her attention to detail is a strength.’
2
Caroline Elford
St John’s Chambers ‘Caroline is an excellent barrister who is also always well-prepared and able to identify the key issues in the case. She is a real fighter and knows her stuff.’
4
Ryan Morgan
St John’s Chambers ‘Ryan is a very hands-on and experienced barrister. His drafting skills are impeccable, and his advocacy is one of his many strengths.’
4
4
Sophie Smith-Holland
St John's Chambers 'Sophie is always thoroughly prepared. She has an eye for detail and robustly represents clients in court. Her advice is always clear and concise.'
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.
Georgina Swinglehurst
St John's Chambers 'Georgina is wise beyond her years. She is excellent with clients in the most difficult situations and deals with matters sensitively, resulting in great confidence and trust in her representation.'