Legal 500’s 25th anniversary edition again marks No5 Chambers’ successful development of a national practice from a Birmingham headquarters. Six of our QCs are noted as ‘leading silks’ nationally, and nine of our junior counsel are included in the nationwide ‘leading juniors’ lists. In total, a quarter of No5’s barristers are recommended as experts in their field. 
 
No5’s Steelhouse Lane chambers and offices in London and Bristol house over 230 barristers including 26 Queen’s Counsel. We also have links with law firms in China, Spain, and the Channel Islands, and associate tenants in Dubai, Cayman, Hong Kong, Singapore and India.
 
No5 barristers accept instructions from solicitors and, under the Bar Council’s Licensed Access arrangements, from other qualified professionals. Some counsel will also accept instructions from companies, and public bodies including Local Authorities, within the Bar Council’s Public Access Rules. For those matters requiring an alternative approach, many No5 members are Qualified Mediators. 
 
Key practice groups at No5 include:
Clinical Negligence – the 30 member group includes several clinically qualified counsel regularly instructed in complex and catastrophic claims by both claimants and defendants.
 
Commercial and Chancery – the 47 strong team headed by Richard Jones QC is particularly noted for expertise in commercial litigation, financial services, construction, and property. 
 
Criminal – David Mason QC’s team includes 13 silks and 50 juniors regularly involved in high profile cases nationwide. Specialist practice areas include homicide and fraud.
 
Employment – Richard Hignett leads a 35 counsel group which advises in international matters as well as domestic law. Specialist interests include discrimination, TUPE, trade union and restraint of trade matters.
 
Family Law – led by Lorna Meyer QC, the 36 strong group handles all aspects of public and private family law, ancillary relief, trusts of land, international law and Court of Protection cases.
 
Planning and Environment – Jeremy Cahill QC’s group comprises 25 barristers, including 4 silks, and is widely acknowledged as one of the UK’s leading planning sets. Members of the group are regularly involved in highly contentious and complex matters.
 
Personal Injury – Paul Bleasdale QC heads the 66 counsel group which handles matters ranging from the modest claim to catastrophic injury and multi-party litigation.
 
Public Law – David Lock QC heads No5’s administrative and public law group which is noted for expertise in health and social care law, immigration, human rights, NHS issues and medical consent.
 
A full list of members’ interests can be consulted on the No5 website www.no5.com 
 
Tony McDaid, Practice Director at No5 Chambers, says: “No5’s commitment to focusing on attracting barristers on merit and potential has proven to be a road map for success if one looks at the accolades heaped upon our tenants by this year’s Legal 500. 
 
“Exceptional QCs and juniors harbour ambitions – enhanced reputations, ground breaking and precedent-setting cases and healthy financial reward. The No5 Chambers’ business model, supported by first class practice managers and clerks, ensures that tenants and associates achieve their career objectives and we continue to attract new would-be tenants. 
 
“Looking to the future, I believe that No5 Chambers will not only consolidate and build upon its stature as a national practice, but also enhance its reputation as an international set, particularly with its wealth of expertise in areas such as international arbitration and the overseas seminars it delivers to the better understanding of the law and its application.”