Profiles

Job titles
Chief Executive and Senior Civil Clerk, 9 Gough Square Chambers

A leading common law set based in London but appearing in courts throughout England and Wales and abroad. Key practice areas are personal injury, clinical negligence, professional negligence, fraud and serious crime, family, police law, employment and property.

Job title
Head of Chambers, 12 Gray's Inn Square

Qualifications
Admitted as a Solicitor in 1966. Appointed Silk 1997

CV
Chosen as one of the UK's "go to people" for international arbitration and was involved in the drafting of the 1996 Arbitration Act.  12 Gray's Inn Square starts practising as of 15 April and is one of the first examples of an alternative business structure (ABS) at the Bar.  

What differences have you found between being a tax solicitor and a tax barrister?

The differences are slight. Tax solicitors receive questions from clients or fellow members of their firms resulting in meetings and notes of advice. These mirror, effectively, instructions, conferences and opinions. Solicitors are probably inclined to be more commercial because, inevitably, they are aware of the importance of a transaction and the need to find a solution rather than just giving a view.

Job title - Barrister, Atkin Chambers
Qualifications - Call 1989
CV - Core areas of practice: Litigation and arbitration, domestic and international, in the construction, civil engineering, energy, oil and gas sectors 

You practice from a specialist set of fewer than 40 members. What do you think are the advantages? 

For me, it is important to belong to a small set where all of us specialise. Atkin Chambers has expanded organically largely by recruiting pupils. I would expect rapid or large expansion would dilute our expertise, and be perceived as such. 

Job title: Silk, 3 Verulam Buildings
Qualifications: Call 1979; QC 1997
Core areas of practice: Commercial litigation, corporate insolvency and banking. 

How do you see the year 2011 for practice at the Bar? 

I know the position of the publicly funded Bar is difficult and is likely to remain so for some time. The position of the specialist Bar, however, is quite different. There is likely to be considerable growth in most specialist fields, in particular commercial, chancery, technology and construction. Asset price deflation, recession and market volatility inevitably lead to a substantial increase in disputes between businesses. 

Lord Bingham of Cornhill, who died in September 2010, possessed intellectual qualities of a rare kind, writes Lord Justice Sedley 

No reader of Counsel needs to be reminded of the remarkable career trajectory of Tom Bingham, from Queen’s Bench judge and Lord Justice of Appeal through the offices of Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice to the (anomalously inferior) post of Senior Law Lord. What may have been forgotten is that the last of these posts was created for him by Derry Irvine. 

Position: Barrister
Chambers: 3-4 South Square 

You’ve worked on all the leading cross-border insolvency cases. Which ones have engaged you the most?

I really enjoy legally and factually difficult cases and I’m as happy to work for a large client as for a smaller client. Recent cases of particular interest include Stanford (the first case on the Cross Border Insolvency Regulation) for the US receiver against the Antiguan liquidators. The interaction between the two sets of office holders caused a lot of difficulty. 

Position: Barrister
Chambers: Brick Court Chambers 

Chris McWatters believes that the FLBA Chairman will need all his diplomatic wizardry to deal with the fizzing brew of change facing the Family Bar 

Name: Julie Cave
Position: Managing Director
Company: Credit Management (Law) Ltd