UK Bar Guide 2026 : Northern (Bar)
Ranked Barristers
Provided by Chambers
18 St John Street is a strong set of barristers who regularly handle a wide variety of property cases and company and insolvency matters. An interviewee praises the set for its "ability to distil complex issues into a digestible format." Recent notable examples of the set's work include Great Jackson St Estates Ltd v Manchester City Council which progressed to the Court of Appeal.
Provided by Chambers
James Parks is the main reason I went to 18 St John Street in the first place. He is literally the best in his class, available at all hours and understanding of what the client needs.
The clerks are exceptional. Katie Brown and Ryan Pugh are standouts. They are efficient and expert in their dealings.
The set's service is always excellent; approachable and extremely friendly. Nothing is ever an issue. Clerks that stand out are Katie Brown, Ryan Pugh and Daniel Parker.
Katie and Ryan are always responsive, and Ryan particularly has a good sense of humour, which always helps.
Matthew Smith is always quick to respond and help with any enquiries I have with the set.
Provided by Chambers
Richard Chapman KC advises clients on a wide range of complex matters, including commercial, company and insolvency matters as well as trusts and probate disputes. He also handles tax litigation.
Richard is very easy to work with. He is very competent in a broad range of workloads. He is very experienced and has a good client manner. I give him kudos for being able to adapt to scenarios.
Richard is ultra calm, cool and collected. He's super bright and you just feel confident going into anything with him.
Richard takes everything in his stride. He has a combination of an old-fashioned and modern approach. He has that very good blend which makes him a very natural barrister. He is a real star.
Richard is really impressive in court. He is very methodical and very persuasive. Despite the fact he is a senior KC, he is extremely accessible and very responsive.
Elisabeth Tythcott advises clients on a broad range of complex chancery matters, including trusts, probate disputes and shareholder and partnership matters.
Elisabeth's knowledge of contentious probate has been excellent, and her skills in dealing with clients is excellent.
Elisabeth Tythcott is really personable, really considerate and very kind. She is highly technical as well.
Elisabeth is well respected and trusted. She has a market following which speaks for itself.
Oliver Caplan advises clients on a wide range of complex matters, including commercial, company and insolvency matters, as well as trusts and probate disputes.
I like his attention to detail. If you give Oliver a case, he won't miss anything and he is not afraid to tell me if he disagrees with me. When dealing with clients, he manages expectations well.
As well as being good on the technical side, Oliver is also good on the practical one in the sense of identifying more practical conclusions to matters.
Oliver has a really good manner on his feet. He is approachable and user-friendly, but he's also very persuasive in front of the judge.
Christopher McNall has a wealth of expertise in commercial chancery matters including acting on cases related to wills and contentious probate as well as tax issues.
Christopher's advice is pragmatic and commercial. He is practical and always pays attention to details. He always goes the extra mile to negotiate hard for his clients.
David Hoffman is a highly experienced chancery junior. He specialises in business and property litigation, as well as acting in private client disputes.
David is very tenacious. He is assertive and compelling in his arguments.
David Hoffman is very knowledgeable and applies that knowledge in a constructive fashion.
Clients like his approach to their cases and the way that David delivers his advice. He is very efficient, expeditious in dealing with instructions and has a creative mind.
David is my go-to counsel for property and chancery matters. He's a real team player in addition to his expertise.
David Hoffman seems to like the complicated stuff. His written work is amazing. He is incredibly supportive as a barrister.
John Vickery is an experienced barrister working on a mix of complex commercial and company matters. He is often instructed to defend in breach of directors' duties matters, unfair prejudice claims and fraud matters.
John Vickery has good availability and sensible advice.
John is very good at novel cases.
Mike Wilkinson possesses impressive knowledge of a wide range of complex matters with a specialism in business and property law. He has experience acting in commercial contract disputes and professional negligence cases.
Mike doesn't go the extra mile, he goes the extra league. He is very much a team player.
Mike has a very good eye for detail, especially when it comes to documents. That's when he comes into his element. He picks up things we have missed.
Mike is excellent and commercial in his outlook. He has direction. He will take all the best points and will not waste time with any bad points.
Chancery
Chancery
Chancery
Chancery
Chancery
Chancery
Chancery
Chambers is the leading data and intelligence partner for the legal sector.
