St John’s Chambers recognised in 22 major areas of law in the Chambers UK 2021 Guide

We are delighted to announce that we have been hugely successful in this year’s Chambers UK Bar 2021 Guide. We have been recognised in a total of 22 major areas of law, with 1 of our barristers ranked as a star individual, 3 up and coming, 17 of our barristers ranked in Band 1 and a huge 43 barristers ranked overall.

We have also recently been shortlisted ‘Regional Set of the Year’ by Chambers UK Bar Awards 2020. Read more here.

What does Chambers UK 2021 say about St John’s Chambers…

• Chancery (Band 1) – view rankings here
  St John’s Chambers is highly esteemed on the Western Circuit for its expertise in traditional and commercial chancery work. “There is a real depth in their chancery practice,” says one source. The set assists with contentious will and trusts disputes, property disputes and Court of Protection matters, as well as professional negligence claims. It is also well known for its expertise on high-value agricultural land disputes. Sources say it is “an approachable and effective set, with individuals who are knowledgeable and invariably keen to support.”
• Clinical Negligence (Band 1) – view rankings here
  St John’s Chambers is well regarded for its expert representation of both claimants and defendants, including several NHS trusts, medical defence organisations and private individuals, in complex and high-value disputes and in clinical negligence inquest proceedings. Areas of particular expertise for the team include cases arising from surgical negligence, dental negligence and failures in diagnosis. Members are also regularly instructed in obstetric and neonatal injury, gynaecology and fatal accident claims. The set is praised by instructing solicitors as “a fantastic set with very strong barristers.”
• Commercial Dispute Resolution (Band 2) – view rankings here
  A robust commercial set on the Western Circuit with a broad stable of commercial practitioners. It is able to handle the full range of commercial disputes, including shareholder, partnership and contractual disputes in addition to banking litigation and professional negligence cases. The set is also an excellent choice for commercial and agricultural real estate and chancery work.
• Company (Band 1) – view rankings here
  The barristers at St John’s Chambers offer significant expertise in a variety of company law matters, including unfair prejudice petitions and shareholder disputes. The barristers also have considerable experience in breach of warranty claims, breaches of fiduciary duty cases and trade secrets disputes. The members advise a range of domestic and international clients. Sources note that the set has “strong expertise in the company and commercial arena” and highlight that it has “good strength and depth in this area.”
• Construction (Band 1) – view rankings here
  St John’s Chambers continues to provide advice and advocacy services to clients based across the South West and further afield. Barristers at the set are highly experienced in litigation and ADR procedures and are well versed in the full range of construction cases. Members are instructed in contractual disputes and construction-related professional negligence claims, among other complex cases.
• Family/Matrimonial (Band 1) – view rankings here
  St John’s Chambers has a lengthy roster of silks and juniors with invaluable expertise in a wide range of family and matrimonial matters. Members are particularly skilled at handling cross-jurisdictional matters for high net worth individuals, especially those concerning the division of assets as part of divorce proceedings. The barristers are frequently called upon to assist with the most complex public children mandates encompassing sexual abuse, brain injury and trafficking matters, and also take on private work such as Children Act proceedings. “St John’s is our first choice of chambers on the Western Circuit. What sets them apart is the breadth and depth of their membership,” one source says.
• Personal Injury (Band 1) – view rankings here
  A market-leading set on the Western Circuit, St John’s Chambers is well regarded for its formidable personal injury offering. Its barristers regularly act for and advise both claimant and defendant clients, including numerous key insurance companies, on high-value catastrophic and fatal injury claims. Industrial disease and stress at work claims serve as further sources of instruction for members, and the set houses additional experience in the handling of cases involving allegations of dishonesty and fraud. Instructing solicitors commend the set as a “very well-run, organised and efficient chambers.”
• Professional Negligence (Band 2) – view rankings here
  Highly reputable set acting for individuals, banks and many others. The lawyers represent clients in claims relating to the conduct of litigation, probate, conveyancing and financial advice. The set can also field strong expertise in actions against valuers and architects.
• Real Estate Litigation (Band 1) – view rankings here
  The premier set for contentious property matters on the Western Circuit, St John’s Chambers remains a go-to for solicitors in the South West and further afield. The set boasts a deep roster of barristers with specialist real estate litigation expertise who appear at all levels of the court system, including the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. The barristers are regularly instructed in everything from boundary disputes to dilapidations claims, and disagreements over lease renewals and other landlord and tenant issues to disputes over contracts for the sale of land. A source says: “St John’s provides us with an excellent service. All members of chambers are very responsive, eager to help and easy to deal with, offering wide-ranging expertise and presenting their advice in a way which is intelligible to our clients. St John’s is our preferred chambers of choice regardless of the location of the dispute.”

Our barristers are also ranked in the following areas of law:

• Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Western Bar)
• Competition Law (The Regions Bar)
• Court of Protection: Property & Affairs (All Circuits)
• Crime (Western Bar)
• Ecclesiastical law (All Circuits)
• Family: Children (Western Bar)
• Health & Safety (Western Bar)
• Inquests & Public Inquiries (The Regions Bar)
• Licensing (Western Bar)
• Partnership (Western Bar)
• Personal Injury ‘Industrial disease’ (All Circuits)
• Planning (Western Bar)
• Professional Negligence (Western Bar)
• Tax (The Regions Bar)

Our clerks are praised for providing an outstanding service, and have received fantastic feedback:

• “I’ve always been impressed with the clerks at St John’s. They are helpful and have a good understanding of their barristers’ work.”
• “The clerks are efficient, friendly and take a can-do approach. The service is consistently first rate.” “The clerks are very organised and efficient. I appreciate the speed with which they deal with things.” “They respond quickly and deal with any issues promptly.”
• “The clerks are all very on the ball and are always very helpful, approachable and friendly.”

Whether you are a law firm, a business, a public sector organisation or a private individual, you can be sure you will receive legal expertise and client care of the very highest standards from St John’s, and these rankings clearly demonstrate this.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our clients for their continued support and feedback provided to Chambers UK.