Contributors

The following specialist barristers contribute to the Law Brief Update free monthly newsletter:

Company, Commercial and Insolvency

Laura Crowley (2005) 4 Pump Court
Laura has a predominantly commercial and common law practice with experience in the fields of construction, professional negligence, insurance and general commercial law. lcrowley@4pumpcourt.com

Construction

Paul Bury, Keating ChambersPaul undertakes work in all areas of construction law including court proceedings, adjudications and international arbitrations. He also undertakes work in energy and utility related disputes, regulatory issues, public procurement and construction-related professional negligence claims.
pbury@keatingchambers.com

Criminal

Emma Downing (2002) Broadway House Chambers – Leeds & Bradford
Emma undertakes predominately criminal work, together with prison/parole law and mental health work. Areas of specialist interest include cases involving young Defendants, fraud, evasion of duty, confiscation and cash seizure proceedings, animal welfare, road traffic offences, licensing, with a particular emphasis upon all aspects of taxi and private hire licensing, anti-social behaviour orders and closure orders. Emma is a visiting lecturer to the West Yorkshire Police Training School, HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions. emmadowning1@hotmail.com

EC and Public International Law

Sudhanshu Swaroop (1997) 20 Essex Street
Wide area of commercial law (including international trade, banking, fraud, financial services, insurance and shipping) and public international/human rights law. sswaroop@20essexst.com

Employment

Ellen Robertson (2013) Temple Garden Chambers
Ellen is developing a busy representative and advisory practice with a particular focus on personal injury, credit hire and employment law. She regularly appears in fast track and small claims trials, applications and case management conferences. ERobertson@tgchambers.com

Extradition

Rebecca Hill (2004) Garden Court Chambers
Rebecca is a criminal practitioner specialising in extradition. She has a developing interest in judicial review and human rights as they apply to criminal law.
rebeccah@gclaw.co.uk
David Williams (2009) 5 St Andrew’s Hill
David regularly accepts instructions to represent requested persons in extradition proceedings under both Part 1 and Part 2 of the Extradition Act, in the Westminster Magistrates Court and on appeal.
DavidWilliams@5sah.co.uk

Family

Emily Beer (2004) Three Dr Johnson’s Buildings
Her practice covers a wide range of Family Law including care proceedings and trust of land matters as well as matrimonial finance. emily.c.l.beer@gmail.com

Financial Services Law

James Purchas (1997) 4 Pump Court
General commercial practice covering Commercial Fraud, Computer and IT work, Construction, Financial Services, Insolvency, Insurance, Private International Law and Professional Negligence. jpurchas@4pumpcourt.com
Dr Sandradee Joseph-Urquhart (1998) Three Stone
Practice covers general chancery and commercial litigation with a particular focus on insurance, insolvency, asset recovery, financial services and commercial fraud. Also general PI. sju@threestone.law

Intellectual Property

Christy Rogers (1999) Ingenuity IP Chambers
A varied practice covering most of the areas of intellectual property, including all matters involving trade marks and trade names; copyright in the various media; design rights; confidential information; and patents; as well as some commercial matters relating to the entertainment business. christy.rogers.mail@gmail.com

International Family Law

Amelia Nice (2006) 5 St Andrew’s Hill
Amelia is a barrister specialising in extradition, international family and public law. Extradition work includes all aspects of domestic representation, appeals in the High Court and Supreme Court as well as applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and challenging INTERPOL Red Notices. She has particular experience in cases involving the separation of parents from children, child abduction and trafficking. International family work covers child abduction and relocation, Care Proceedings, forced marriage and she has growing experience representing children and their interests. amelianice@5sah.co.uk
Katherine Duncan (2014) 5 St Andrew’s Hill
Katherine is a barrister specialising in family, criminal and public law. Katherine has a particular interest in international family law. katherineduncan@5sah.co.uk

IT

Gideon Shirazi (2012) 4 Pump Court
Gideon has a practice in commercial litigation and international arbitration with a particular focus on technology (including software development, licensing and outsourcing as well as copyright, data, trade secrets, cryptocurrencies, cyber and hacking disputes), shipping/shipbuilding, banking, insurance and construction disputes. GShirazi@4pumpcourt.com

Media and Entertainment

John Stables, 5RB
John joined 5RB in 2015 after a successful 12-month pupillage at chambers. John’s move to practice at the bar followed a career in media regulation in which he worked in the regulation of broadcast and non-broadcast media, including at Ofcom, Clearcast and the ASA, covering both editorial and commercial content. His practice covers all the major media law areas, with an emphasis on regulatory media law and codes. johnstables@5rb.com

Personal Injury (and Costs and Civil Procedure)

Aidan Ellis (2005) Temple Garden Chambers
All areas of PI, credit hire, fraud, costs and employment. aidanellis@tgchambers.com
Harriet Wakeman, Temple Garden Chambers
Harriet is developing a broad civil and public law practice, including personal injury, health and safety, credit hire and employment law. Harriet acts in both an advisory and representative capacity. HarrietWakeman@tgchambers.com
Juliet Wells, Temple Garden Chambers
Juliet is developing a practice in Chambers’ core areas, with an emphasis on personal injury, health and safety, employment law, public law and extradition. She regularly appears in the County Court in applications, CMCs, small claims and fast track trials, and appeals, and is building a busy paper-based practice. JulietWells@tgchambers.com

Professional Negligence and Insurance

James Purchas (1997) 4 Pump Court
General commercial practice covering Commercial Fraud, Computer and IT work, Construction, Financial Services, Insolvency, Insurance, Private International Law and Professional Negligence. jpurchas@4pumpcourt.com

Property

Elizabeth Dwomoh (2005) Lamb Chambers
Elizabeth’s practice presently encompasses a broad spectrum of chambers’ civil and commercial specialisms. She has particular advisory and representative expertise in residential landlord and tenant disputes, contractual disputes, insolvency matters, employment cases and personal injury claims.elizabethdwomoh@lambchambers.co.uk
David Sawtell (2005) Lamb Chambers
David’s practice covers a wide spectrum of property, construction and commercial work. He has a particular interest in cases involving property development, technology or engineering issues and contractual and extra-contractual liability.
davidsawtell@lambchambers.co.uk

Public Law

Kris Gledhill Camberwell Chambers
Kris Gledhill has a long experience of criminal defence (now limited to appeals) and judicial review work, including mental health, prison law, and general human rights matters. He edits the Mental Health Law Reports and the Prison Law Reports, available from
Southside Legal Publishing Ltd. krisgledhill@aol.co.uk

Shipping & Maritime

Liisa Lahti (2009) Stone Chambers
Liisa has a broad commercial practice, specialising in shipping and maritime law. liisa.lahti@stonechambers.com
Thomas Steward (2011) Stone Chambers
Tom is developing a broad experience of commercial litigation, arbitration, and advisory work, with particular emphasis on commercial and shipping disputes. Prior to joining Stone Chambers, Tom completed a 12-month pupillage at a leading commercial chancery set and is familiar with the whole range of chancery work.

Tax

Eamon McNicholas (1994) www.EamonMcNicholas.com
Practises at 3 Temple Gardens Tax Chambers and specialises in tax and specifically indirect tax, VAT and Duties Tribunals, environmental and tax & human rights issues. His practice is particularly helped by the fact that he originally qualified and worked as a chartered management accountant before coming to the Bar. He has written numerous articles. eamon@eamonmcnicholas.com

The following writers contribute to the Law Brief Update website:

Naomi Cudmore, Naomi Cudmore Communications
Naomi Cudmore is a freelance editor, designer and communications consultant operating as Naomi Cudmore Communications from her base in the West Country. She has a background in publishing, communications management and media relations and she specialises in providing an all-in-one editorial/copywriting and design service for the public and private sector.
Tessa Shepperson, Landlord-Law
Tessa is a solicitor, sole practitioner, and specialist in residential landlord and tenant law. She lives in Norwich but practices online via her innovative Landlord Law website. She enjoys writing, and runs several blogs on various topics. Her family think she spends too much time on the computer.
Justin Patten, Human-Law
Justin Patten is a solicitor, accredited mediator and trainer. He is an accredited mediator, trained with the Academy of Experts. He has a particular interest in issues related to the elderly.
Therese Wallin
Therese obtained LLB Law & Human Rights from the University of Essex and LLM Public International Law from UCL. She volunteered with Amicus ALJ and was a research intern at Civitas. She was an editor at Thomson Reuters (Contact Law branch) and is now freelancing before starting a BPTC in September.
Ruairidh Wynne-McHardy, LawSpeak
Ruairidh, a Scot with Welsh tendancies and fluent French, has just survived and finished his first year at Edinburgh Law School and is the creator of the free student website, LawSpeak. As a lowly first year, Ruairidh’s legal skills are in Baby Barista terms still in utero, however, he is game to give his infantile view on new cases that will charm and amuse those more erudite than he.
Robert Seymour, Courtley Procedures
Robert Seymour (formerly Judge Robert Seymour – a military judge until he retired in 2009) remains involved in professional ethics, prison and sentencing issues. He also writes under the pen-name of Charles Courtley..
Chrissie Lightfoot, EntrepreneurLawyer
An entrepreneur turned solicitor (non-practising) turned entrepreneur, CEO of EntrepreneurLawyer Ltd, UK women’s enterprise ambassador, mentor for The Prince’s Trust (Million Makers Corporate Challenge), designated blogger for the Law Society Gazette’s ‘In Business’ blog (regular contributor to the Law Society Gazette’s management section), UK national award and prize winning researcher, certified social media strategist, innovator, rainmaker, sales legal coach and author of The Naked Lawyer eBook: how to market, brand and sell YOU – a red hot sales blueprint laid bare for bottom line impact.
The Utterant, The Utterant Blawg
The Utterant can be found most days in gainful employment Playing Solicitor at Nonesuch Chambers, London, where he is employed to choose words very carefully on behalf of other people. A deskful of books helps. The basis of the employment is the writing of caustic letters to people who are doing things disapproved of by other people who pay money to the people who pay money to the Utterant. This arrangement seems complicated but is in fact very simple.
Charon QC, Chaqon QC The blawg
Charon QC is a lawyer, after a fashion, but is not a practitioner. He has taught law for many years – and, to his surprise, still enjoys law; although he enjoys other academic interests as well. Law is fascinating more in the human interest than the letter, but compared to literature, science or philosophy, it does not engage the mind in quite the same way. He awarded himself the title QC when the Lord Chancellor suspended the award for real lawyers. Now, as no-one can instruct him in any matter, or would wish to, he is free to comment as he wishes on matters which catch his attention. He is, of course, a figment of a febrile imagination.
Fred Nath, www.neurosurg.co.uk
Fred Nath has been a full-time Consultant Neurosurgeon in the Northeast of England for 26 years. He specialises in Neuro-vascular(brain haemorrhage) and skull base surgery including Trigeminal Neuralgia and Acoustic Neuroma surgery. Throughout his consultant career, he has been active in the field of medico-legal work, appeared in court many times and furnished reports to the court. In 2005 he published an article in JPIL on ‘The Spread of Opinion in Trauma and the Degenerative Spine’ – of value in assessing opinion among British spinal experts in some polemic issues which often tax the courts.Fred has other interests and recently had his first WW2 Novel published, with two more to follow. He has run 21 Great North Run half-marathons, climbed a 5,800m peak in Nepal, and crossed the highest mountain pass in the world on foot.
Mangala Murali
Mangala is a graduate member of ILEX who specialises in Land Law; Conveyancing and Landlord and Tenant Law and has passed the Council for Licensed Conveyancers property law exams. She has over 20 years experience working in the Land Registry and has knowledge of all aspects of Land Registration.
Nicky Matheson-Durrant
A potted profile of Nicola Matheson-Durrant: Boarder at Farringtons School in Chislehurst, Kent. Won Junior Sports Woman of the Year and Senior Sports Woman of the Year. Obtained BA Hons Law Degree from South Bank Poly 1981/2. Classmates include: Nick Munday, Solicitor, Alison Russell KC. Hewlett Packard Ltd 1982-1986. First woman to be awarded the British Safety Council Risk Management diploma in 1984. Self-styled, part-time self emp. lawyer and single mum for years. Founder of Divorce Zone, Family Law Clinic and Legal Advice Clinic. Lives with husband and kids in Ascot. Eats & drinks at same restaurant at DJ Chris Evans!