Ranking tables

Police Law: Mainly Claimant | UK Bar

All Circuits

This ranking table features the best sets and barristers who represent claimants in bringing actions and judicial review proceedings against the police, the IPCC and coroners, including issues relating to unlawful arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, treatment in custody and inquests.

Rankings overview for Sets

Star Individuals

  1. Phillippa Kaufmann KCMatrix Chambers
1

Band 1

  1. Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC
    Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC Doughty Street Chambers16 Years Ranked
  2. Hugh Southey KC
    Hugh Southey KC Matrix Chambers20 Years Ranked
  3. Jude Bunting KC
    Jude Bunting KC Doughty Street Chambers13 Years Ranked
  4. Adam Straw KCDoughty Street Chambers
  5. Leslie Thomas KCGarden Court Chambers
  6. Stephen Cragg KCDoughty Street Chambers
  7. Stephen Simblet KCGarden Court Chambers
2

Band 2

  1. Anthony Metzer KCGoldsmith Chambers
  2. Fiona Murphy KCDoughty Street Chambers
  3. Jamie Burton KCDoughty Street Chambers
  4. Maya Sikand KCDoughty Street Chambers
  5. Nicholas Bowen KCDoughty Street Chambers
3

Band 3

  1. Anna Morris KCGarden Court North Chambers
  2. Matthew Ryder KCMatrix Chambers
1

Band 1

  1. Alison GerryDoughty Street Chambers
  2. Helen LawMatrix Chambers
  3. Jesse NichollsMatrix Chambers
  4. Nick StanageDoughty Street Chambers
  5. Raj DesaiMatrix Chambers
  6. Ruth BranderDoughty Street Chambers
  7. Sarah HemingwayGarden Court Chambers
  8. Tom StoateDoughty Street Chambers
  9. Una MorrisGarden Court Chambers
2

Band 2

  1. Alex GaskDoughty Street Chambers
  2. Ifeanyi OdogwuMatrix Chambers
  3. Nick BrownDoughty Street Chambers
  4. Patrick RocheGarden Court Chambers
  5. Rajeev ThackerGarden Court Chambers
  6. Sam JacobsDoughty Street Chambers
3

Band 3

  1. Angela Patrick
    Angela Patrick Doughty Street Chambers4 Years Ranked
  2. David Hughes30 Park Place
  3. Jodie BlackstockGarden Court Chambers
  4. Kate StoneGarden Court North Chambers
  5. Michael EtienneGarden Court Chambers
U

Up and Coming

  1. Frederick PowellDoughty Street Chambers

All Sets profiles

1

Band 1

  1. Doughty Street Chambers
    1
    Doughty Street Chambers
    Police Law: Mainly Claimant
    2025 | Band 1 | 19 Years Ranked
    Doughty Street Chambers offers a "range of expert barristers who have excellent experience" in cases against the police. They are esteemed for their work in high-profile civil claims relating to arrests and assault, negligence, discriminatory policing and the failure to investigate. Members have notable experience in sensitive claims arising from deaths in custody or during operations, and frequently appear for families in associated inquests. The set routinely handles the most significant cases in the field, including the civil claim for misfeasance concerning the police cover-up of the Hillsborough disaster. Barristers from the set have also attracted major instructions for non-police participants in public inquiries, including the Undercover Policing Inquiry.
  2. Garden Court Chambers
    1
    Garden Court Chambers
    Police Law: Mainly Claimant
    2025 | Band 1 | 19 Years Ranked
    Garden Court Chambers is a renowned civil liberties-focused set with "a wide range of skills and strengths" in civil claims and inquests centred on police shootings and deaths in custody. The barristers are lauded for their "thoughtful and compassionate" counsel in actions against the police, including those concerning malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, misfeasance and assault, as well as investigative or operational failures. The set's members are praised for their "very creative" approach and have acted in highly significant matters including the Undercover Police Inquiry and, most recently, the investigation into the death of Rebecca Ikumelo during the Brixton Academy crowd crush.
2

Band 2

  1. Matrix Chambers
    2
    Matrix Chambers
    Police Law: Mainly Claimant
    2025 | Band 2 | 19 Years Ranked
    Matrix Chambers is a superb human rights and public law set whose barristers are frequently instructed in a range of actions against the police, including claims pertaining to fatalities, discrimination, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, and human rights claims in relation to the police's failure to investigate. Members are praised for their "breadth of skill and experience" in police law and for the "imaginative legal solutions" the set provides. They have appeared in cases including the Jermaine Baker public inquiry and the Daniel Morgan civil claim. They also act for core participants in the Undercover Policing Inquiry.