The Bar - Regional Bar • Western Circuit

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Family: children and domestic violence

Chambers of David Berkley KC

More information

3PB’s ‘very well-rounded set’ of family law barristers is a ’go-to’ on the Western Circuit. Lucy Hendry KC, who represents lay parties, subject children, intervenors, and guardians in factually and medically complex cases, is widely considered a ‘top-class advocate’ for both public and private children law cases, while Nicola Frost is a ’go-to barrister for difficult private children law cases’. Her broad practice includes child abduction and Hague Convention cases, as well as surrogacy and intractable contract disputes. Former circuit judge Martin Dancey joined chambers as an associate member in January 2023 - he is active as an ADR evaluator.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'Sarah Jenking is delightful to deal with. She has a great relationship with Bournemouth family court and will go out of her way to be accommodating.'
'Lee Giles is always fantastic to speak to. He is always friendly, quick to respond and very knowledgeable.'
'The service of the clerks is excellent and they are polite, efficient, most helpful and always friendly. They will bend over backwards to help fit the requested and most suitable counsel for the instructions. All clerks are equally helpful but particularly Rob Leonard, Stuart Pringle and Sarah Jenkin.'
'A fabulous chambers with great selection of barristers for all types of matters.'
'3PB Chambers is an amazing set of chambers: friendly, efficient and very well respected as an outstanding set both locally and nationally.'

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.

‘Lucy is without doubt one of the best silks around. She has huge depth of knowledge and outclasses her opponent every time. She is wonderful with clients and an inspiration to us all. Her advocacy skills are finely honed and she cuts through the issues with precision.’

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

‘Steven is exceptional. He is very thorough, has attention to detail that is unmatched and is highly respected by the judiciary. He deals with highly complex cases with great care and attention and his advocacy skills are of the highest standard.'

1

‘Emma has an encyclopedic knowledge when it comes to child arrangement orders in domestic abuse contexts. She offers creativity for clients and sees subtle features in coercive control cases that many can’t. Her judgment is spot on and her advocacy is a work of art. She has a very quick wit and navigates her way through the most difficult of cases with great humour and warmth.’

1

Elisabeth Hudson

‘Elisabeth is able to put clients at ease and strike a rapport with them. She understands cases to a very high level and this is clear in the advice she gives, the quality of her position statements and skeleton arguments, and also her advocacy.’

2

‘Gemma is a bold and fearless advocate. She prepares cases thoroughly and is dogged in pursuit of the necessary disclosure. She has a good knowledge of local judges and exercises judgment effectively in her representations to the court.'

2

'Nicola has an amazing ability to collate huge amounts of information down to the key points without missing anything. She approaches her cases with forensic accuracy as well as a great deal of compassion for clients. She is also incredibly robust when dealing with her opponents and with the court.'

2

‘Sarah is a strong advocate with a deep empathy for her clients. She is always well-prepared and efficient and able to get to the heart of cases.’

3

‘Emma is thorough in her preparation and absolutely excellent in managing clients' expectations in a confident, realistic yet empathetic way. In the court room she puts her thoughts together concisely but with force and is always effective in putting the best position forward for her client.'

4

4

‘Amy is thorough and always very well-prepared. Her attention to detail means that her advocacy is of a very high standard.’

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.

1

‘Steven is exceptional. He is very thorough, has attention to detail that is unmatched and is highly respected by the judiciary. He deals with highly complex cases with great care and attention and his advocacy skills are of the highest standard.'

1

‘Emma has an encyclopedic knowledge when it comes to child arrangement orders in domestic abuse contexts. She offers creativity for clients and sees subtle features in coercive control cases that many can’t. Her judgment is spot on and her advocacy is a work of art. She has a very quick wit and navigates her way through the most difficult of cases with great humour and warmth.’

1

Elisabeth Hudson

‘Elisabeth is able to put clients at ease and strike a rapport with them. She understands cases to a very high level and this is clear in the advice she gives, the quality of her position statements and skeleton arguments, and also her advocacy.’

2

‘Gemma is a bold and fearless advocate. She prepares cases thoroughly and is dogged in pursuit of the necessary disclosure. She has a good knowledge of local judges and exercises judgment effectively in her representations to the court.'

2

'Nicola has an amazing ability to collate huge amounts of information down to the key points without missing anything. She approaches her cases with forensic accuracy as well as a great deal of compassion for clients. She is also incredibly robust when dealing with her opponents and with the court.'

2

‘Sarah is a strong advocate with a deep empathy for her clients. She is always well-prepared and efficient and able to get to the heart of cases.’

3

‘Emma is thorough in her preparation and absolutely excellent in managing clients' expectations in a confident, realistic yet empathetic way. In the court room she puts her thoughts together concisely but with force and is always effective in putting the best position forward for her client.'

4

4

‘Amy is thorough and always very well-prepared. Her attention to detail means that her advocacy is of a very high standard.’

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