2 Hare Court

Head of Chambers: Jonathan Laidlaw QC
Director of Clerking: Julian Campbell
Tenants: 63

THE CHAMBERS 2 Hare Court is recognised as one of the UK’s leading sets of expert barristers specialising across a range of practice areas including crime, professional discipline and regulatory, financial crime, health and safety and inquests and public inquiries. Excellence in advocacy, advice and strategic analysis are at the core of chambers principles. Individuals, professionals and corporate clients instruct chambers via solicitors, professional advisers, or on a public access basis. Members and clerks are highly praised as a progressive team, placing an emphasis on understanding the needs of the client in an ever-changing legal market.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
Crime: Chambers specialist advocates advise, defend and prosecute (both privately and publically) all forms of criminal work, particularly in serious and complex cases of murder, international drug and human trafficking, serious organised crime, terrorism (including special advocate work), honour killings and sexual offences (especially historic). Recent cases include: prosecuting tube bomb plotter Damon Smith, murdered French nanny Sophie Lionnet, Finsbury Park attacker Darren Osbourne, the Rolf Harris appeal, the Rooney traveller family (the largest ever prosecution of slavery of slavery offences), prosecuting Britain’s ‘worst ever paedophile’ Richard Huckle, Grindr serial killer Stephen Port, Honey Rose (the first optometrist to be convicted of gross negligence manslaughter), Brooks (phone hacking), Lee Rigby Murder and Operation Yew Tree.

Financial Crime: Members are instructed on the largest and most complex financial crime cases. Their experience includes all forms of fraud, MTIC/VAT tribunal hearings, market abuse (insider dealing, LIBOR and other benchmark rates), asset recovery and forfeiture, and restraint/confiscation proceedings. Recent cases include: ICO v Cambridge Analytica, The SFO’s investigation into Rolls Royce, Operation Amazon, the HBoS corruption trial, Operation Tabernula, Turks and Caicos corruption cases, BA price fixing and ‘Blue Index.

Health & Safety: 2 Hare Court advises companies and directors on matters including corporate and gross negligence manslaughter, deaths at work, falls from height, mechanical injuries, poisoning, and inhalation of cases. Recent cases include: Chevron North Sea Ltd, Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry, Dicot A Power Station, Monovan Construction, Cristal Pigments and The Hillsborough Inquiry.

Professional Discipline: 2 Hare Court has extensive expertise in this field appearing in proceedings across a broad range of industry sectors including healthcare, financial services, legal (SRA and BSB), police and military, TMT (technology, media and telecommunications), tax and sport. Members primarily defend professionals before the regulatory tribunals, crown and high courts.

Inquests & Public Inquiries: 2 Hare Court has a team of specialists with experience before the Coroner’s Court, particularly in cases involving health and safety, healthcare and military service issues. Most recently inquests have included acting for the family of Lance Corporal Craig Roberts one of three soldiers who died of heat illness on an SAS selection test in the Brecon Beacons and representing the family of Alexander Perepilichny, who died in unexplained circumstances. Public Inquiries have included the inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian FSB agent allegedly poisoned by Polonium 210 in London in 2006, as well as various members instructed on the long running Hillsborough inquest.

INTERNATIONAL Members have experience of work in the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos and Northern Ireland.

LANGUAGES French, Italian, Russian, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu.

Members

Jonathan Laidlaw QC (1982) (QC-2008) *

Martin Heslop QC (1972) (QC-1995) A *

Peter Wright QC (1981) (QC – 1999) *

Andrew Radcliffe QC (1975) (QC-2000)

James Pickup QC (1976) (QC-2000)

Orlando Pownall QC (1975) (QC-2002)

Martin Hicks QC (1977) (QC-2003) A

Sallie Bennett-Jenkins QC (1984) (QC-2006) *

Brendan Kelly QC (1988) (QC-2008) *

Jonathan Rees QC (1987) (QC-2010) A

Brian O’Neill QC (1987) (QC-2010) *

Jonathan Kinnear QC (1994) (Northern Ireland 1996) (QC-2012)

Michael Hayton QC (1993) (QC-2013) A

Christopher Coltart QC (1998)(QC-2014) A

Oliver Glasgow QC (1995) (QC- 2016) A •

Naeem Mian QC (2002) (QC-2017)

Andrew Colman (1980) A

James Dawson (1984) *

Tyrone Belger (1984) A

David Whittaker (1986) A *

Marios Lambis (1989) A *

Alex Lewis (1990)

Mark Graffius (1990)

Christopher Gillespie (1991) A

Peter Gray QC (Scotland) (1992) (QC-2002)

Andrew Hurst (1992)

Craig Ferguson (1992) *

James Buchanan (1993)

Christopher Foulkes (1994) A

Stephen Brassington (1994)

Zubair Ahmad (1995) A

Gavin Irwin (1996)

Narita Bahra (1997) A

Scott Ivill (1997) A

Peter Lownds (1998) A

Angus Bunyan (1999)

Leon Kazakos (1999)

Quinn Hawkins (1999) A

Gudrun Young (2001) A

Robert Rinder (2001)

Michael Rawlinson (2002)

Rebekah Hummerstone (2002) A

Julia Faure Walker (2004) A

Vivienne Tanchel (2005) A

Sarah Przybylska (2006) A

Emily Dummett (2006)

Howard Watkinson (2006)

Alexandra Tampakopoulos (2007) A

Christopher Ware (2007)

Harry Bentley (2007)

Thomas Day (2008) A

Fiona Robertson (2008) A

Christopher Geering (2009) A

Ben Rich (2010) A

Will Martin (2010)

Nikita McNeill (2010)

Laura Stephenson (2012)

Charlotte Watts (2012)

Paul Renteurs (2013)

Robert Dacre (2013)

Lewis Macdonald (2014)

Joshua Carey (2015)

Grace Forbes (2015)

* Recorder of the Crown Court

+ Deputy High Court Judge

• Senior Treasury Counsel

++ Junior Treasury Counsel

A Public/Direct Access