Areas of Practice

Crime
The Head of the Criminal Team is Mark Wall QC
Crime is our central area of practice, and almost every member of Chambers accepts instructions in this field. Criminal matters have infinite variety, and members at all levels of experience have developed particular expertise in certain areas : please see each member’s profile, accessed through the ‘Barristers’ section of this website. The clerks will be pleased to assist with further information.

Licensing
The Head of the Licensing Team is Rhona Campbell
Andrew Fisher Q.C.
Rhona Campbell
Tim Hannam
Cathlyn Orchard
Trevor Meegan
Wendy Miller
Lynette McClement
Andrew Davidson
Daniel White
Laura Hobson
Tom Challinor
Our expertise embraces both the old law and the Licensing Act 2003. Chambers has a long history of practice in licensing, representing some of the country’s largest corporate clients and also the licensing justices. A former head of Chambers is one of the editors of ‘Paterson’, the 'bible' of licensing law. Members of this team have extensive and nationwide experience in terms of advice and advocacy, from hearings before councils/magistrates to proceedings in the higher courts.
Licensing work of all kinds is undertaken including: appeals, reviews, challenging special policies and the legality of local authority policies.

Costs
The Head of the Costs Team is Tim Harrington
Jason Aris
Tim Harrington
Cathlyn Orchard
Trevor Meegan
Wendy Miller
Lynette McClement
Members of the costs team have considerable expertise in this specialist area, covering all kinds of work, including detailed assessment, challenges to Conditional Fee Agreements, additional liabilities and appeals.

Asylum & Immigration
Mohammed Asif Khan
Gurdeep Garcha
Balvinder Bhatti
Advice and representation in appeals and High Court proceedings including matters involving the impact of European Law.

Regulatory
Andrew Fisher Q.C.
Mark Wall QC
Benjamin Nicholls
Julian Harris
Martin Butterworth
Rhona Campbell
Tim Hannam
Gerard Quirke
Graham Russell
Charles Hamer
Experience of dealing with a range of regulatory matters in the civil and criminal courts and other tribunals, including :
Professional Disciplinary Tribunal (Police, Medical etc)
Trading Standards
Environmental Health
Department of Trade and Industry
Consumer Credit
Auctioneering
Planning
VAT and Revenue appeals

Prison Law
Michael Aspinall
In this expanding area of law, our expertise includes adjudications in respect of disciplinary offences, Parole Board hearings (of all types) and judicial review.

Employment Law
Andrew Fisher Q.C.
Martin Butterworth
Gerard Quirke
Lynette McClement
All types of cases including unfair dismissal and discrimination.

Civil and Common Law
Michael Grey
Tim Hannam
Jason Aris
Trevor Meegan
Daniel White
Laura Hobson
Tom Challinor
Balvinder Bhatti
Siobhan Collins
Sophie Lomas
Laura Culley

Family Law
Lynette McClement
Balvinder Bhatti
Richard Davenport

Public Access

An increasing number of members of Chambers are prepared to accept instructions direct from members of the public in appropriate cases, without the intervention of a solicitor.   This is called the "Public Access" scheme.

An explanation of the Public Access scheme, setting out the limitations on when it may be appropriate, can be found on the Bar Council website - see www.barcouncil.org.uk/about/publicaccess/    There is also a directory of participating barristers on that website.

The way the scheme is operated in Citadel Chambers is as follows:-

Initial contact will be with a member of the Clerking team who, although not qualified to give advice, will be able to indicate whether the enquiry is likely to fall within the scheme.    Any cases of doubt will be referred to the barrister for consideration.

If the enquiry does fall within the ambit of the scheme, and the barrister thinks he or she can assist, you will be asked to submit in writing details of the problem and question you would like to have answered, together with copies of all the necessary papers.    For example, the first question might be  : 'Do I have a case against x for y ?' , or   'What are my prospects of success ?'   or   'Can you represent me at a hearing before a tribunal ?'

The barrister will consider the papers and if he/she is unable to help will say so and return the papers promptly without charge.    This may be because the question raised is outside his/her normal field of expertise, or that he/she is simply too busy with other matters to devote the time needed to deal with your enquiry in a reasonable time.

If the barrister can help, he/she will write to you setting out the terms upon which your instructions will be dealt with, and will set out amongst other things :

•      what the professional rules permit him/her to do, and what cannot be done on your behalf
•      the number of hours likely to be necessary to prepare your case
•      the hourly rate of charge (to which will be added VAT at the current rate).
       Please note that Legal Aid is not available under the Public Access scheme.
•      the timescale in which he/she will be able to complete your work

If you accept the barrister's terms for carrying out the work, you will be asked to send a cheque (or BACS if you prefer)  in respect of the fee plus VAT, and when it has been cleared the work will be carried out.

The process set out above will be repeated for any further items of work on the same case.

At the moment, we regret that due to the extent of the resources required, requests relating to immigration matters cannot be dealt with under the Public Access scheme.

The following Members of Chambers are accredited to undertake Public Access work
Gerard Quirke
Julian Harris
Daniel White
Richard Davenport
Adam Western