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Recommendations

With ‘a great spread of senior and junior counsel’, Crown Office Chambers is a ‘go-to set for health and safety work and inquests due to its impressive showing and availability of truly specialist counsel’. Chambers is also well-known for its ‘excellence in construction and engineering cases’, has strength in depth for insurance work, and ‘a formidable reputation in the professional negligence arena’. Isabel Hitching and Daniel Shapiro took silk in 2019 and chambers has been further strengthened by the arrival of Paul Higgins from Deans Court Chambers and Simon O’Dwyer from Old Square Chambers. Under the leadership of ‘standout’ and ‘extremely responsive’ senior managing clerk Andy Flanagan, the ‘top notch’ clerks’ room is ‘business savvy and knows how to manage instructing solicitors’ expectations’. Senior insurance and professional liability clerk Steve Purse has ‘changed the professional indemnity market’s perception of the set’; Purse ‘runs a tight ship’ and solicitors ‘can be confident of receiving a responsive service no matter whether the case is being handled by a KC or a pupil’. Solicitors also praise the ‘excellent’ senior commercial, construction, and energy clerk Chris Sunderland. ‘Pragmatic’ senior criminal regulatory and environmental clerk Toby Sparrow is ‘is simply fantastic’, ‘going out of his way to make things run smoothly’; ‘he builds genuine relationships with solicitors which makes it really easy to pick up the phone and discuss the best counsel for particular cases’. Senior clinical negligence and personal injury clerk James Wilkinson ‘has been a very good acquisition’ to the team. Meanwhile, Greg Frewin and Matt Solari are ‘extremely efficient and offer a Grade A service at all times’, and Sam Barrett is ‘very reliable and an asset to chambers’. Legal 500 2020


Crown Office Chambers has become synonymous with good client service, with one source saying that “the set’s clerks room is one of its biggest assets.” Interviewees were flush with praise for the group due to its “impeccable professional yet friendly service” and the fact that the clerks “always acknowledge correspondence immediately – if you ever have any queries these are usually dealt with the same day.” Their approach to looking after clients is summed up by one solicitor who noted that “they go the extra mile to do things and have a stand out clerking service.”


Senior managing clerk Andy Flanagan is praised for being “extremely approachable, very pragmatic and very user-friendly.” His team includes senior commercial, construction & energy clerk Chris Sunderland who is said to be “absolutely superb” and “really likeable, incredibly thorough and professional,” and senior criminal regulatory & environmental clerk Toby Sparrow who is “very professional, very responsive and very proactive in dealing with matters.” Also part of the team, senior insurance & professional liability clerk Steve Purse is “an excellent person to get the job done – he always finds a solution whether the problem relates to staffing, costs or an urgent need to contact a barrister in court.” Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2018


Crown Office Chambers houses ‘a wide breadth of counsel covering all aspects of insurance work’ from professional negligence to personal injury. It is also ‘first class for health and safety work’ and highly regarded for construction cases, where it continues to ‘make real inroads’. Some say that chambers is ‘a first port of call’ as ‘there is always a real expert available to advise you’. ‘The quality of the clerks is also a real point of difference and a major reason for choosing the set over others.’ With ‘a “can-do” mentality’, they are ‘ultra-responsive’, ‘great at introducing solicitors to barristers’, and adopt a ‘refreshing’ and ‘creative’ approach to fees. Leading the clerks’ room is Andy Flanagan, who is ‘a delight to work with’ and ‘proactive in ensuring that chambers meets solicitors’ needs’. ‘His team operates in specialist units, which means that each understands the requirements of the particular practice area.’ Names to note include senior clinical negligence and personal injury clerk James Wilkinson, who is ‘always accommodating’ and recently joined from Old Square Chambers; senior commercial, construction and energy clerk Chris Sunderland, who is ‘client-focused’ and ‘one of the go-to construction clerks in London’; senior criminal regulatory and environmental clerk Toby Sparrow, who is ‘very supportive’ and ‘extremely organised’; and senior insurance and professional liability clerk Steve Purse, who is ‘a modern clerk’ and ‘will always try to go the extra mile’. Legal 500 2017


Crown Office Chambers is ‘a friendly set’, which has ‘enormous strength in depth’ in health and safety, insurance (particularly personal injury) and construction law, ensuring it can field ‘expert counsel at the right level, often at short notice’. The clerks provide ‘a very attentive service’ and are led by the ‘business-minded’ Andy Flanagan, who is ‘accessible, friendly, resourceful, and polite in the face of extenuating circumstances’. Two senior team clerks joined in 2015, namely Oliver Parkhouse from Old Square Chambers, and the ‘terrific’ Chris Sunderland from Keating Chambers, who is considered to be ‘a big coup for the set’. The third senior team clerk is Steve Purse, who is ‘forward-thinking and a pleasure to deal with’. Offices in: London – see more here. Legal 500 2016


Crown Office Chambers stands out for personal injury and construction law, and also has strong practices in commercial and general insurance. It is recommended for its ‘strength in depth’ and ‘efficient and user-friendly service’. The ‘outstanding’ clerks are ‘commercial and willing to consider cases on innovative fee structures – not something seen at some of the more traditional sets’. Senior managing clerk Andy Flanagan is ‘a true 21st century clerk’, and ‘knowledgeable and receptive to client and solicitor requirements’. Senior team clerk Steve Purse ‘deals with issues in a pragmatic manner’. Offices in: London – see more here. Legal 500 2015


“Crown Office Chambers is distinguished by the quality of its members. From its outstanding silks down to its leading juniors, excellence runs through the set. Numerous interviewees attest to this fact, with one saying: “The secret of its success lies in the sheer strength and depth it has to offer.” The set “doesn’t just have one star but a collection of excellent, technical and client-focused advocates.” … Impressed solicitors note that “its counsel have a great depth and range of experience so you always know you’re going to find someone who can cover the case however complex it is.” … The clerks, led by Andy Flanagan, are “extremely helpful and easy to deal with,” and were described by one instructing solicitor as being “the best chambers in terms of responsiveness.”” Chambers UK 2015


“Crown Office Chambers … ‘never fails to deliver’; it has ‘a modern feel’, and ‘client satisfaction is the driver of its ethos’.” Legal 500 2014


“Crown Office Chambers sets itself apart from many of its peers due to its ‘user-friendly and responsive ethos’. It is a favourite with many an instructing solicitor, as it is seen as being ‘practical and unstuffy’, and a chambers that understands that ‘quality of service is of paramount importance’. Much of the credit for its approach goes to senior managing clerk Andy Flanagan, who oversees a ‘quite formidable clerking team’ that provides a ‘seamless link to the heavyweight counsel here’. The set also draws praise from solicitors for the extra value it provides; instructing solicitors are keen to voice their appreciation for everything from the client service generally, to the legal updates and seminars the set puts on. Chambers ‘puts serious effort into providing a clear impression of current legal thinking’, and ‘understands the pressures which solicitors face with regards to client care’.” Chambers UK 2014

Crown Office Chambers is a “modern, commercial and well run” set with “a remarkable concentration of expertise across a range of fields.” Its members are proven experts across a broad array of areas, and prove particularly strong on personal injury, health and safety, construction, insurance, and both clinical and professional negligence cases. The set is a particular favourite of instructing solicitors, who appreciate working with “a very relaxed group which is content to muck in as part of a team.” Its not just the barristers who stand out either, as sources are keen to stress the importance of the “incredibly helpful, flexible and supportive” clerking team led by Andy Flanagan.” Chambers UK 2013


“Crown Office Chambers is a set of “such strength in depth, you know you will get quality counsel.” It handles cases across the health and safety, construction and insurance sectors, and also regularly appears in complex clinical and professional negligence proceedings. Noted for its strong collaborative approach, which permeates the set from stem to stern, it offers “helpful and efficient clerks” who will “always find a barrister to fit the bill” and members who are “real team players, prepared to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in.”” Chambers UK 2012


“A thoroughly modern, top-quality set… Solicitors welcome the fact that they can get in touch with barristers and clerks at any time, and further appreciate the set’s swift turnaround of paperwork… Consistently better value for money than some of its larger competitors… There are no awards at the Bar for delivering advice in plain English, but if there were Crown Office Chambers would win by a country mile.” Chambers UK 2011

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