Retour United Kingdom - The Bar

Leading Silks

Sam Karim KC – Kings Chambers 'A silk who is respected by the judiciary.'
Helen Mulholland KC – Kings Chambers 'She is excellent at unpicking complex issues, very good with clinical staff and very thorough in her work.'
Joseph O’Brien KCSt John’s BuildingsA leading silk in the field.’

Leading Juniors

Hannah Bakshani – St John’s Buildings 'An impressive, confident and organised barrister.'
Jonathan Bellamy – St John’s Buildings 'He has a strategic mind and an ability to explain the law in very clear terms. He is always willing to go that extra mile.'
Brett Davies – Spire Barristers 'The depth of Brett's knowledge is brilliant and very reassuring on challenging matters. His advocacy is clear, calm, measured and confident.'
Adrian Francis – Spire Barristers 'Adrian is a calm presence during meetings with parties and at court. He presents balanced and reasoned arguments. A very reliable barrister.'
Barbara Green – Spire Barristers 'Barbara has a very thorough approach to Court of Protection work and exceptional strength in her advocacy skills. A brilliant barrister.'
Natalia Levine – St John’s Buildings 'A junior who has a calm and conspicuously compassionate manner with her clients and in court.'
Kate McKinlay – Park Square Barristers 'Kate has a wealth of experience in the area of health and welfare. Her advocacy is exceptional, and she is very good with difficult clients.'
Rebecca Carr - St John's Buildings 'An exceptional advocate, confident, and always provides detailed advice.'
Sophie Hurst – Kings Chambers 'Sophie is a thoughtful and persuasive advocate. She knows her case and the relevant jurisprudence inside out.'
Holly Littlewood – Spire Barristers 'Holly is very experienced and incredibly knowledgeable. She is great to work with; clients love her. She is extremely calm in difficult situations. Her advocacy skills are excellent and you always feel like you are in a safe pair of hands.'
Ifsa Mahmood – Kings Chambers 'A junior with a very serene demeanour, and she is very organised. A dream to work with.'
Emily Reed – Park Square Barristers 'She is an effective and skilled advocate with sound judgement, and is great with both litigants in person and clients.'
Caroline Shields - Park Square Barristers 'She provides clear and sound advice, and her ability to cross examine witnesses is impressive.'

Rising Stars

Pippa Pudney – Spire Barristers ‘Pippa is a stand-out practitioner. She is incisive and cuts straight to the core issues of the case. She is personable and engaging. She always has a mastery of the details.'
Eleanor Suthern - Spire Barristers 'She is very hardworking, with extensive knowledge of the law. A junior who is very confident in the courtroom.'

Court of protection (health and welfare) in Regional Bar

Kings Chambers


The Court of Protection team at Kings Chambers is well-versed in advising on a broad range of complex health and welfare cases. Among the senior end of chambers, practice head Sam Karim KC is very highly regarded for his expertise in handling mental capacity matters, and is often instructed by the Official Solicitor, local authorities, CCGs and family members in complex medical treatment cases. Turning to the juniors, Ifsa Mahmood‘s ‘presence in court is excellent‘; she has extensive experience in advising on s16 welfare applications and challenges to s21a applications. Sophie Hurst has ‘a great breadth of knowledge‘ regarding health and welfare issues.

Les références

‘Drew Platt is extremely helpful and always answers emails quickly and efficiently.’

‘The clerks at Kings are fantastic, particularly Drew who is very responsive and accommodating.’

‘Kings Chambers’ clerks are knowledgeable, trustworthy and reliable.’





Spire Barristers


The ‘very strong‘ set Spire Barristers has ‘a solid reputation for undertaking Court of Protection health and welfare work‘. The team has ‘sound knowledge‘ of a wide range of complex health and welfare matters, including serious medical treatment cases and mental capacity issues. Brett Davies is ‘extremely knowledgeable about the issues and complexities of Court of Protection health and welfare matters‘, and the ‘unflappableAdrian Francis regularly acts for family members, local authorities and the Official Solicitor in contentious deprivation of liberty, best interests and capacity matters. The ‘very practicalBarbara Green is active in cases involving complex capacity issues, and Pippa Pudney is ‘a strong and pragmatic advocate with a particularly keen knowledge of issues arising from deprivations of liberty of young people‘.

Les références

‘The COP clerks at Spires are all lovely to work with. Shannon Hart is extremely helpful.’

‘Shannon Hart is a magician at organising the diary for the COP team. She is personable, approachable and always willing to help. Shannon is calm under pressure and will always try to offer a solution to a problem.’

‘Shannon Hart is extremely helpful and efficient.’





St John's Buildings


At St John’s Buildings, ‘the Court of Protection barristers all have a wealth of experience in this area of law‘. Joseph O’Brien KC leads the team, and is regularly instructed by local authorities, family members, the Official Solicitor, health care providers and hospitals in complex welfare matters, with noted expertise in deprivation of liberty issues. Hannah Bakshani is ‘a very safe pair of hands and confident in the court arena‘, with established strength in handling cases involving fluctuating and mixed capacity, forced marriage and covert medication. Best interests issues are prominent in Jonathan Bellamy’s workload, and Rebecca Carr is ‘very thorough in her analysis of cases and always provides detailed advice‘.

Les références

‘Clerks are fantastic, especially Curtis Russell, who always communicates punctually.’

‘All of the clerks that I have come across at St John’s are professional, friendly and will do their best to assist.’

‘The set is just brilliant, organised and super efficient, including all the clerks.’





Parklane Plowden


At Parklane Plowden, Tom Barclay-Semple regularly acts for family members and local authorities in contentious capacity and deprivation of liberty matters, and is equally strong in handling cases overlapping the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Mental Health Act 1983. Simon Wilkinson has a solid track record in advising on complex capacity issues, and Anna Datta is instructed by local authorities in a wide range of health and welfare matters. Rebecca Musgrove has a key focus on cases involving deprivation of liberty, forced marriage and capacity issues.