Parklane Plowden Chambers – The Legal 500 directory recommendations 2021.

Chambers retains Tier 1 status as a leading North Eastern set.

Parklane Plowden Chambers has retained its Tier 1 status as a leading set on the North Eastern Circuit in the latest release of The Legal 500. The 2021 edition recommends 73 barristers working across 13 practice areas.

It also includes Rising Star mentions for Maxine Best and Nathaniel Garner and 9 barristers have their first ever recommendation in The Legal 500, including Abigal Telford, Hari Menon, Lucy Sowden, Anna Datta, Anna Metcalfe, David de Jéhan, Marisa Lloyd, Leila Benyounes and Charlotte Wilce.

Director of clerking, Michael Stubbs “leads an excellent team – he works hard to create a positive working relationship with instructing solicitors”. Senior Practice Director for the civil and family team, Mark Williams “keeps in touch on matters that enables the smooth running of listing and continuity of counsel” whilst Sharon Robson is “really good and responsive”.

CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE TIER 1

“Parklane Plowden remains one of the stand-out sets in the region when it comes to clinical negligence work. With 39 specialist clinical negligence barristers, the team act in a broad range of cases including those involving birth injuries, failure to diagnose, and surgical negligence.”

Hylton Armstrong – ‘Hylton is extremely approachable and very good with clients. He always sets an agenda for a conference so that the client fully understands the purpose. His advices and notes of conference are also concise and helpful.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Andrew Axon – ‘Focused and excellent at getting results in often challenging and complex cases. Great with clients and generally a very safe pair of hands for all types of medical negligence cases.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Howard Elgot –  ‘Tenacious In pursuit of a case. Always willing to examine every angle of the evidence and to come up with new avenues to explore. Skilled at pinning down experts and getting to the root of their evidence in conference. Excellent in negotiations. Very capable at arguing costs budget issues in these types of cases.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Elizabeth Hodgson – ‘Approachable, straightforward, practical and reliable. Liz is thorough in her assessment of cases and works hard to achieve the best result possible.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Leila Benyounes – ‘Her attention to detail is excellent and I am always confident the advice she gives is thorough and accurate. Her advice is easy to understand and provides useful guidance on next steps.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Richard Copnall – ‘He is technically astute and extremely competent with a no-nonsense approach.’ Ranked: Tier 2  

Anna Datta – ‘Anna has a is very pragmatic in her advice and pleadings which helps to cut through a lot of the complexities of medical negligence.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Stephen Friday – ‘Stephen is very forensic in his approach to cases. He is able to filter through the large volumes of information to get to the issue(s) in a case. Able to comfortably stand his ground against more senior counsel.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Mike Hill – ‘Demonstrates extensive knowledge of Clinical Law generally and dental claims specifically. Is particularly impressive with complex and or high value dental claims, respected by both patients and experts alike. Continues to serve with impressive speed on issues of opinion and drafting.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Stuart Jamieson – ‘He pays high attention to detail and works through issues in a very logical and clear manner. He is able to identify the key issues quickly and identify a clear direction the case needs to take.’ Ranked: Tier 2

PERSONAL INJURY TIER 1

“The ‘dominant’ Parklane Plowden is ‘exceptional and certainly head and shoulders above the majority of other sets in North East and Yorkshire’.”

Andrew Axon – ‘Andrew has a analytical approach to cases and is very able to grasp very complex issues and disseminate them with flair and panache. He is always willing to get his sleeves rolled up in order to find a negotiated way forward in a case and work towards a successful conclusion. His negotiation skills are exceptional, and I am sure he is on the fast track to turning silk very soon.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Richard Copnall – ‘He is technically astute and extremely competent with a no-nonsense approach.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

James Murphy – ‘Has a superb disarming manner and the ability to get straight to the nub of the issues in a case, which immediately puts clients at ease. He is a supreme advocate and negotiator. Briefs are dealt with in a timely manner his advice is invariably first class.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Tom Nossiter – ‘Calm and measured. Good with difficult and/or unrealistic clients, without being over blunt. Thorough, but can also see pragmatic solutions.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Catherine Souter – ‘Catherine is one of the stars of the North Eastern Circuit. Superb with clients, excellent tactically and very robust in negotiations at JSMs.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Tom Vonberg – ‘Pragmatic with an excellent eye for detail.’ Ranked: Tier 2

Christopher Williams – ‘Recommended for multi-track cases.’ Ranked: Tier 2

Justin Crossley – ‘Professional and great with clients.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Howard Elgot – ‘Tenacious In pursuit of a case. Always willing to examine every angle of the evidence and to come up with new avenues to explore.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Stephen Friday – ‘He is impressive. Attention to detail. Breadth of knowledge and ability to think on his feet. Very analytical and advice is spot on.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Elizabeth Hodgson – ‘Superb with cool headed analysis. A tough negotiator. Always well prepared. Presents her views very clearly either on paper or in conference. Has great ability to put lay clients at ease. She excels in treating instructing solicitors and commercial clients as part of a team. Always superb value for money.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Hylton Armstrong – ‘Highly skilled and recommended for complex matters.’ Ranked: Tier 3 

Michael Ditchfield – ‘Very knowledgeable on disease cases, very pragmatic and willing to offer assistance with cases, articles and offers of asistance outside his involvement on specific cases.’ Ranked: Tier 3

Corin Furness – ‘Exceptional attention to detail – very detailed forensic analysis of cases. Excellent client care skills – very good at explaining detailed/complex aspects of cases in a way which lay clients can understand.’ Ranked: Tier 3 

Stuart Jamieson – ‘He always provides top quality, down-to-earth advice in the field of PI and medical negligence.’ Ranked: Tier 3 

Abigail Telford – ‘Abigail is a very good barrister. She is very good in conferences with a client. She is very good with her written advices. She is very approachable easy to understand. She is always available if you need to discuss a case.’ Ranked: Tier 3 

Steven Turner – ‘Very approachable with exceptional client care skills with a keen eye for detail. Steven is able to quickly identify the key issues and produce succinct arguments to support his opinion. He has the ability to unravel complex issues into easily digestible pieces which complement his excellent presentation skills and no nonsense approach.’ Ranked: Tier 3

FAMILY AND CHILDREN LAW TIER 1

“Now boasting more than 40 specialist family law practitioners, Parklane Plowden is considered ‘a strong set of barristers, with a wide variety of skills and personalities‘ and as having ‘real strength and depth in private children law matters, from a solid emerging junior group through to senior juniors‘.”  

Maxine Best – ‘Miss Best is an impressive junior and comes across as far more competent and experienced than her year of call suggests. Miss Best is always extremely well prepared, her advocacy and written work is of very high quality and she has a real knack of grasping the facts quickly and getting to the heart of the case.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Nathaniel Garner – ‘Has an admirable ability to see the wood from the trees. Is charismatic and gets on very well with the clients. Prepares each case as if it was his last. A young advocate with bags of knowledge and fight.’ Ranked: Tier 1

Sara Anning – ‘Sara’s impressive intellect and fine attention to detail makes her my overall preferred Counsel. She approaches her advocacy and advice with an ability to factor in all evolving aspects of the matter fluidly. She offers welcome practical advice outside of her specific brief and never shirks from any task, however small, that will assist in advancing the position of her lay client.’ Ranked: Tier 1  

John Jackson – ‘John is approachable, hard working, and skilful. His like-ability and stamina as well as his excellent client skills make him stand out.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Louise McCallum – ‘She is a Rolls-Royce of an advocate. Forensic analysis. Calm under pressure. Excellent client care manner. She is thorough, considered, conscientious, excellent rapport with clients, easy to work with.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Alex Taylor – ‘Alex combines significant intellectual rigour with very genuine kindness and compassion towards both clients and other parties. Alex is diligent and thorough in his preparation and unafraid to argue novel and complex points which are always thoroughly backed by his knowledge of the case and of the law. He is tenacious in court.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Lewis Donnelly – ‘Lewis is really bright, hard-working, charming to deal with and tenacious in putting his client’s case.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Clare Garnham – ‘Always well prepared and sound advice given. Great skills with parent clients and also Guardians who regularly ask that she be instructed. Always happy to be contacted and very use friendly.’ Ranked: Tier 2  

Julia Nelson – ‘Julia is confident and fights for her client in a way which is constructive and appreciated by the Court and admired by clients. Clients warm to Julia when they meet her and immediately know that they have a very experienced and dynamic barrister.’ Ranked: Tier 2  

Natalia Levine – ‘Natalia grasps a case quickly but thinks things through carefully. She is good at formulating a strategy, looking at the end result we want to achieve. Natalia explains things well to clients and makes sure they understand the advice being given.’ Ranked: Tier 3  

Simon Wilkinson – ‘Simon’s strengths are in always being thoroughly prepared and his excellent communication skills. He is a pleasure to instruct, always prepared to make himself available for discussions.’ Ranked: Tier 3 

Lucy Sowden – ‘She is very methodical and analytical and hard working. She gets involved in your case and will help you all the way through even if you have only instructed her to cover just one hearing. Her advocacy skills are great. She is very robust and thorough.’ Ranked: Tier 4  

Charlotte Wilce – ‘Charlotte for children matters is excellent and clients have preferred her over more senior counsel.’ Ranked: Tier 4 

Elizabeth Darlington – ‘Beth’s legal expertise in relation to TOLATA cases is second to none in our region. Beth is quickly able to get to the crux of the issues involved and build a rapport with the client. She works tirelessly to assist the client to achieve a settlement and avoid lengthy and expensive court proceedings and provides pragmatic advice.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

David de Jéhan – ‘David is an extremely experienced and skilled barrister. Despite his impressive in-depth knowledge of the law and his meticulous eye for detail, his firm are firmly on the ground making him a favorite with clients. David is always on hand to talk through matters and his involvement with cases always proves invaluable from a strategic perspective. David is also a robust advocate who consistently gets results.’ Ranked: Tier 3   

Julia Nelson – ‘Julia is confident and fights for her client in a way which is constructive and appreciated by the Court and admired by clients. Clients warm to Julia when they meet her and immediately know that they have a very experienced and dynamic barrister.’ Ranked: Tier 3

EMPLOYMENT TIER 1

“Parklane Plowden ‘provides extensive and thorough advocates of the highest calibre’ in employment disputes.”

Dominic Bayne – ‘Proactive; User-friendly; Good with clients; Robust; Intelligent handling of cases.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Andrew Sugarman – ‘Andrew is really approachable and incredibly pragmatic in exploring solutions to problems; calm collected advice, always calm and always commercial.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Claire Millns – ‘A first-rate counsel.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Richard Ryan – ‘Always very well-prepared and proactive.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Tariq Sadiq – ‘An effective advocate.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Hari Menon – ‘When you combine many years of experience with incredible legal knowledge and a calming and reassuring demeanour you have Hari Menon – a barrister you definitely want on your side. My firm has been instructing Hari for decades and he has always provided us with excellent support and advice and never once let us down. Clients think the world of him.’ Ranked: Tier 3 

Gareth Price – ‘Clear and concise. Excellent communication especially with clients explaining the economics vs litigation risk. The availability of counsel for conferences are unbelievable.’ Ranked: Tier 3 

Roger Quickfall – ‘Roger has provided invaluable support and guidance to our firm on a complicated multi-day disability discrimination matter. Determined with strategic focus, he can really explain quite complex areas of law in simple language.’ Ranked: Tier 3 

Catherine Souter – ‘A go-to counsel for respondent employers.’ Ranked: Tier 3

Andrew Webster – ‘Andrew is a strong advocate, intelligent and good at getting to grips with difficult cases, approachable and good with clients. Forensic attention to detail, robust but pragmatic and able to offer creative solutions.’ Ranked: Tier 3 

CHANCERY, PROBATE, AND TAX TIER 1

“Parklane Plowden is ‘an excellent set with a number of good, specialist counsel’. Chambers is also seen as ‘approachable, helpful, and never fail to address and deal with issues in a timely, efficient, and friendly manner; service has always been second to none’.”

Sarah Harrison – ‘Sarah is forthright, extremely knowledgeable and articulate. She is good with clients, is able to get to the heart of the matter quickly and efficiently and inspires confidence. She is excellent in cross examination and maintains her composure under pressure.’ Ranked: Tier 1

Sean Kelly – ‘Excellent collaborator. Doesn’t take over a job but provides stable support and steer, especially on complex matters. Great with clients in conference and written advice is clear and concise.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Elizabeth Darlington – ‘Beth is an extremely knowledgeable, capable and assured advocate. She is always calm in a crisis and able to think on her feet. She is personable and can relate well to clients. Her advice is clear and concise. I rate her very highly.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Marisa Lloyd – ‘She has a superb ability to see the real issues in a case and deliver clear advice to even the most challenging clients. Even more impressively, her advocacy and cross examination skills are first rate.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Anna Metcalfe – ‘Anna is quick to get to the bottom of the key issues and always advises based upon the overriding objective of proportionality as well as merits. Supportive of her instructing solicitor and guides clients in cooperation as to the best next steps in their case.’ Ranked: Tier 2

Nicola Phillipson – ‘Nicola is a pro-active problem solver. She is engaging and great with clients. Nicola is a hands-on lawyer who quickly gets to the heart of the problem and offers insightful advice coupled with practical solutions. Nicola is a well respected and a go-to barrister in this area.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Stuart Roberts – ‘Personable, practical and confident.’ Ranked: Tier 2

INQUESTS AND INQUIRIES TIER 2

“Parklane Plowden barristers undertake matters from inquest to civil action, with an emphasis on client care and sensitive handling of witnesses.” 

Leila Benyounes – ‘She does not back down in the face of adversity. She is extremely approachable and make those they are working with, whether it be those instructing, the expert or the client, feel at ease.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Richard Copnall – ‘Thoroughly prepared and organised for any eventuality. Great rapport with clients and strong, tactical and sensical advocacy which gets to the route of the matter. Adaptable to different cases and works well under high pressure.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Georgina Nolan – ‘She is an excellent advocate and very quick on her feet. She has a firm command of all of the relevant issues and the minutiae of the evidence, which makes for excellent cross-examination. She is also outstanding with clients: empathetic, pragmatic and reassuring.’ Ranked: Tier 1

COMMERCIAL LITIGATION – REGIONAL BAR

“Parklane Plowden’s members have broad experience in commercial disputes, including contract disputes, guarantee and warranty claims, insurance claims, shareholders disputes, unfair prejudice petitions, injunctions, and fraud, among others.”

Sean Kelly – ‘ A calm and measured approach to instructions. Advice is always clear and straight to the point. Unflappable. Delivers excellent pleadings and documents which are concise and strike to the heart of the issues.’ Ranked: Tier 2 

Stuart Roberts – ‘Personable, practical and confident.’ Ranked: Tier 2

COSTS – REGIONAL BAR

“Described by one client as the ‘best in the northeast on costs and procedural issues’, Steven Turner is a nationally recognised practitioner at Parklane Plowden.” 

Steven Turner – ‘Best in the northeast on costs and procedural issues. Well received in court, very friendly and welcoming to clients. Steven is able to quickly identify the key issues and produce succinct arguments to support his opinion.’ Ranked: Tier 1

COURT OF PROTECTION AND COMMUNITY CARE – REGIONAL BAR

“The team at Parklane Plowden comprises of 14 barristers and specialises in cases relating to welfare, serious medical treatment decisions and inquests, to name a few.” 

Natalia Levine – ‘Professional and lay clients adore her; she has a fantastic ability to manage challenging clients.’ Ranked: Tier 1 

Simon Wilkinson – ‘Very easy to work with, responsive and good quality written work.’ Ranked: Tier 2

PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE – REGIONAL BAR

Richard Copnall – ‘A standout senior-junior.’ Ranked: Tier 1

Howard Elgot – ‘A go-to barrister.’ Ranked: Tier 1

PROPERTY AND CONSTRUCTION – REGIONAL BAR

Elizabeth Darlington – ‘An extremely knowledgeable, capable and assured advocate.’ Ranked: Tier 1

Sean Kelly – ‘An impressive depth of knowledge in property law. Delivers advice on complicated issues in a way which lay clients can decipher and understand without difficulty.’ Ranked: Tier 2

SOCIAL HOUSING – REGIONAL BAR

Nicola Phillipson – ‘An exceptional advocate who puts clients at ease.’ Ranked: Tier 1