Recruitment

Year of call

1992

Area of law you specialise in

Commercial, Commercial Fraud, Insolvency, Professional Negligence, Alternative Dispute Resolution

How would you describe Chambers to a potential new member?

At Exchange, career development for all is a high priority. We have fantastic clerks who provide support and seek to ensure that no opportunity to progress is missed. Both as a Junior and now in Silk, they have fully supported the growth of my practice.

Year of call

1995

Area of law you specialise in

Company, LLP & Partnership, Insolvency & Restructuring, Commercial Chancery, Commercial Fraud, Property

How has Exchange Chambers supported and developed your practice?

The positive mindset, business acumen and geniality of the clerking and wider support team at Exchange Chambers has helped me to develop my practice and advance to take silk and continue to drive my career and practice development from strength to strength.

Year of call

1997

Area of law you specialise in

Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence, Costs Litigation

How would you describe Chambers to a potential new member?

Exchange was a transfer for me in 2012. I remain every bit as impressed now as I was then. Seamless, efficient administration, superb facilities, clerking and management. There is a focus on career development and as a result my practice has gone from strength to strength.

Year of call

1998

Area of law you specialise in

Practice Overview, Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence, Court of Protection

How would you describe Chambers to a potential new member?

Four years after joining, I couldn’t feel more settled or happier here. With excellence achieved through respect, support and encouragement, there’s a shared feeling of trust and purpose between members, our fantastic staff and our valued clients alike.

Year of call

2006

Area of law you specialise in

Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence

How has Exchange Chambers supported and developed your practice?

Since moving to Exchange, my practice has gone from strength to strength. The quality of the barristers, the clerks and support staff is second to none. The team environment attracts the highest quality work.

Year of call

2003

Area of law you specialise in

Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence

How has Exchange Chambers supported and developed your practice?

I started as a pupil at Exchange 20 years ago. Notwithstanding Chambers’ increasingly national presence, collegiality and coherence characterise relationships amongst support staff, juniors and silks. This has greatly assisted me in my development as a barrister, including as it does, the management of ever-changing demands of life beyond the Bar.

Year of call

2006

Area of law you specialise in

Practice Overview, Clinical Negligence, Personal Injury

How has Exchange Chambers supported and developed your practice?

From day one I have enjoyed the support of our senior barristers and silks, senior management team and clerking team in the development of my practice. Chambers is set up to allow individuals to maximise their potential and achieve success.

Year of call

2012

Area of law you specialise in

Practice Overview, Personal Injury, Military Injury Claims, Costs and Litigation Funding, Clinical Negligence

How has Exchange Chambers supported and developed your practice?

Since joining Exchange 11 years ago my practice has rapidly developed from being a very busy junior undertaking volume fast track work to a thriving practice of exclusively high value catastrophic injury litigation.  The support and encouragement from all members and staff within Chambers has been instrumental in the development of my practice.

Year of call

2014

Area of law you specialise in

Practice Overview, Personal Injury, Family, Data Breach and Privacy

How has Exchange Chambers supported and developed your practice?

I moved to Exchange 5 years ago. Overnight, there was a significant growth in my practice. With the support of my colleagues, and the staff, my practice continues to develop.

Year of call

2018

Area of law you specialise in

Insolvency, Commercial, Property

How has Exchange Chambers supported and developed your practice?

Exchange gave me the best start to my career, which has continued to progress from strength to strength. I am fortunate to be surrounded by a strong team of clerks, who understand my ambitions and are a great support in the development of my practice.

Year of call
1990.

Year you joined Exchange Chambers
2014.

Where you joined from
New Park Court Chambers, Leeds.

Area(s) of law you specialise in
Crime and regulatory law, specialising in medical regulatory work.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?
Its reputation, the organisation, the breadth of expertise in chambers, the quality of the administration and Tom Handley’s (Director of Chambers) reputation.

Has the reality matched your expectations?
More than!

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?
Yes – beyond anything I expected.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?
Forward-thinking, efficient, friendly.

Year of call
1994.

Year you joined Exchange Chambers
2010.

Where you joined from
A smaller set in Manchester

Area(s) of law you specialise in
Criminal law, human rights.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?
Exchange Chambers is large and multi-disciplinary, making it a chambers that provides opportunity and security. It is keenly aware of the needs of its client base and seeks to expand this client base, which is crucial. However, notwithstanding it size, Exchange provides close support to members on an individual basis. I appreciated these aspects of chambers from my familiarity with it and its members over the years.

Has the reality matched your expectations?
Totally.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?
Yes. I have taken Silk.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?
Opportunity, development, reward.

Year of call
1982.

Year you joined Exchange Chambers
2010.

Where you joined from
New Park Court Chambers, Leeds.

Area(s) of law you specialise in
Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence, Employment, Regulatory and Mediation.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?
The opportunity to work with like-minded people while helping to expand and develop our presence in Leeds.

Has the reality matched your expectations?
Absolutely. It has been a fantastic journey of development and discovery.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?
My practice has continued to develop and I have had the opportunity to work with some of the best practitioners on the Circuit.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?
Excellence, Excellence, excellence.

Year of call

2009 (Solicitor 1992).

Year you joined Exchange Chambers

2009.

Where you joined from

Squire Patton Boggs LLP.

Area(s) of law you specialise in

Commercial and construction in particular.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

I knew people here and knew how they enjoyed life at Exchange Chambers.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

Yes! It’s hard work, but there is a direct correlation between the effort you put in and the rewards you get out.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?

Significantly. There is quality work there if you are prepared to make the effort to get it.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?

Supportive, enthusiastic, fun!

Year of call

1993.

Year you joined Exchange Chambers

2008.

Where you joined from

Nicholas Street Chambers (as it then was) in Chester.

Area(s) of law you specialise in

Crime, with a particular focus on white-collar fraud work.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

It was then, and remains still, the best Chambers in the North-West. It had an excellent criminal team made up of people whom I knew and respected. It was being run as a business and clearly had a vision of where it was going, which could not be said for many Chambers at the time.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

Yes, completely. I have now been in Chambers for over 7 years. In that time I have seen Chambers continue to expand and succeed, attracting top quality work and the best new recruits.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?

In the time I have been at Exchange Chambers I have progressed from being something of an all-round criminal practitioner to being a recognised specialist fraud practitioner. I have been ranked as one of the very few Juniors in the field of financial crime outside London in the Chambers & Partners UK Bar directory for the past 3 years. I am very proud of that but it would not have happened if I had not made the move to Exchange Chambers. This year, three of the seven ranked Juniors in this field outside London come from Chambers.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?

Dynamic, busy, enjoyable.

Year of call

1994.

Year you joined Exchange Chambers

2012.

Where you joined from

Park Court Chambers, Leeds.

Area(s) of law you specialise in

Employment and Discrimination, Personal Injury and Regulatory.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

The high quality of work and practitioners. Exchange Chambers is also progressive in terms of management and ethos.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

Yes, more than.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?

My practice has changed considerably due to Chambers’ pro-active approach to practice development and the numerous opportunities that I have been given since joining. I quickly moved to more complex work in the Court of Appeal and was led Bill Braithwaite QC within a year of joining Chambers. There is no shortage of quality work and opportunity so expect to be busy.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?

Opportunity, excellence, support.

Year of call

1994.

Year you joined Exchange Chambers

2015.

Where you joined from

Atlantic Chambers, Liverpool.

Area(s) of law you specialise in

Property.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

An ability to anticipate the way the legal market was moving and to position itself accordingly.

A successful group of property and commercial law barristers with good practices carrying out work at a high level.

The friendly and down-to-earth personalities of so many barristers here.

Year of call

2014 (Solicitor 1996).

Year you joined Exchange Chambers

2014

Where you joined from

Kennedys Law LLP.

Area(s) of law you specialise in

Insolvency and Commercial Litigation.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

The quality of the other members; the efficient clerking and administration; the friendly and positive atmosphere.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

It’s been even better than I expected. The only regret I have is not making the change from being a solicitor years ago.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?

I have been able to undertake a wider variety of insolvency, fraud and commercial disputes than I was able to do as a solicitor. I’ve been far busier since I joined than I expected.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?

Positive, friendly, well-managed.

Year of call
2013 (Solicitor 1997).
Year you joined Exchange Chambers

March 2014.

Where you joined from

I practiced for many years as a solicitor and solicitor advocate, and prior to joining Exchange Chambers I was an equity partner in Kennedys LLP.

Area(s) of law you specialise in
I am a commercial lawyer specialising in construction and engineering dispute resolution and non-contentious law.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

Having met a number of the barristers and management from Exchange Chambers I was impressed by the professionalism and commerciality of the chambers and by the pervasive friendliness and supportive nature and ethos.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

Absolutely.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?

In addition to the work referred to me by the professional and friendly clerks I have also been encouraged and supported in developing and growing my own network of referring legal professionals and my direct access practice. As a consequence I have seen a steady growth in my practice which I am confident will continue, based as it is on the solid foundations chambers and I have laid down since I joined.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?

Professional, dynamic, supportive.

Year of call

1999.

Year you joined Exchange Chambers

2004.

Where you joined from

India Buildings Chambers (now part of St John’s Buildings).

Area(s) of law you specialise in

Personal injury and clinical negligence with a speciality in military claims.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

Its reputation, clerking support, and proven track record in developing high quality practices.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

Yes, and exceeded them.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?

I’ve progressed the value and quality of work I take on, retained the relationships with my older solicitors and developed additional relationships to expand my practice further.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?

Friendly, ambitious, successful.

Year of call

2000.

Year you joined Exchange Chambers

2008.

Where you joined from

8 King Street Chambers, Manchester.

Area(s) of law you specialise in

Personal Injury.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

Exchange Chambers attracted me because its dynamic growth in Manchester showed that it matches the traditions of the Bar with a forward-thinking and progressive commercial approach.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

Yes. I was the 100th tenant at Exchange. There are now more than 150. This growth means that Chambers has strong personal injury, commercial, criminal, family and regulatory teams with a range of barristers across all levels of call in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds. Unlike some sets, Chambers has increased in size without diluting the quality of its membership. The growth in size has been matched by the provision of new, first-rate premises in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds. Most importantly, Chambers has strong and cohesive clerking in each of its three offices.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?

Prior to joining Exchange, I practised in low-value, volume personal injury work. The change in my practice is best summarised by the following quote from the Legal 500, 2015 Edition: “He focuses on high-value multi-track litigation, including amputee claims, fatal accidents and brain injuries”.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?

Dynamic, cohesive, progressive.

Year of call

2000.

Year you joined Exchange Chambers

2010.

Where you joined from

Sovereign Chambers, Leeds.

Area(s) of law you specialise in

Crime and Regulatory.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

Moving to Exchange Chambers was for me at that time a necessary step in building my career at the bar. At a time when the pressures on the Criminal bar in particular were starting to bite, I was attracted by a clear policy of pursuing the best criminal work, and the best of the Bar whenever possible. A recruitment policy based around excellence rather than numbers was for me the measure of a Chambers which recognised the difficulties which were to come, and was building the requisite team to face them.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

I feel privileged to be involved in work of the highest calibre, both defence and prosecution, to a degree that I have been able to continue acting predominantly in legally aided criminal work, the work which first drew me to the Criminal Bar.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?

Since joining Chambers I have gained consistent recognition for my Fraud and Criminal work in Chambers and Partners, being ranked in both areas, and having work to reflect those rankings.

Moreover, my inclusion on the GMC’s panel of advocates, and my expanding Inquest and health and safety practices are directly the result of opportunities that Chambers has provided and nurtured with me.

It is invaluable to feel that there is a Chambers structure behind me, working jut as hard as I am, to push my career forward.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?

Support, excellence, focus.

Year of call

2006.

Year you joined Exchange Chambers

2011.

Where you joined from

Zenith Chambers, Leeds.

Area(s) of law you specialise in

Employment and Discrimination, Commercial Litigation including Professional Negligence, Insolvency, Inquests, Government Litigation including Judicial Review.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

The palpable sense that this was an ambitious Chambers that would provide an excellent platform for driven practitioners.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

Yes.

How has your practice developed and improved since joining Chambers?

Yes. I joined Exchange Chambers at 4/5 years call. At that stage I practised in Employment and Discrimination, Personal Injury, and Commercial Litigation. Since then I have deliberately changed the nature of my practice, being appointed to the Attorney General’s Panel, and embarked on new areas of work in Insolvency, Inquests, and Government Litigation. Whilst to some extent I would have expected the complexity of my instructions to develop anyway as I became more senior irrespective of where I was practising, I have no doubt that the current strength of my practice owes a great debt to the excellent clerking and infrastructure in Chambers and to the excellent work that it attracts as a set.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?

Ambitious, business-minded, successful.

Year of call

2014.

Where you joined from

A career in sales and marketing with a large chemical distribution company.

Area(s) of law you specialise in

Commercial and insolvency.

What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

The number of silks and senior practitioners and the convivial atmosphere within Chambers. I was also attracted by the generous pupillage award and the opportunity to spend a lot of time ‘on my feet’ during my second six.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

Yes.

If you had to pick three words to describe Chambers to a potential new member, what would they be?

Friendly, dynamic, busy.

Year of call

2016 (qualified as a solicitor 2015).

Year you joined Exchange Chambers

2016.

Where you joined from

Lyons Davidson Solicitors.

Area of law you specialise in

Civil and personal injury.

 What attracted you to Exchange Chambers?

Its reputation for excellence, friendly members and potential for career growth and development.

Has the reality matched your expectations?

Absolutely and beyond! Moving to Exchange Chambers was the best career decision I ever made.

 How has your practice developed and improved since joining Exchange Chambers?

I have quickly developed my practice base and ventured into new areas of civil law which I previously hadn’t done.  I have made new contacts and have had the opportunity to meet and work for many amazing solicitors.  There is plenty of work, my diary is always full and there is such a great support network.

 If you had to pick three words what would they be?

Friendly, supportive, busy.