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4-5 Gray's Inn Square

4-5 News

4-5 Gray's Inn Square ranked highly by Legal 500 2004

Date: 21 Nov 2004

4-5 Gray's Inn Square is recognised as a leading set in Adminstrative and Public Law, Education, Environment and Planning.

There were many individual recommendations not only in the practice areas listed above but in other areas such as Banking, Commercial Litigation, Defamation and Media.

Legal 500 noted that "4-5 Gray's Inn Square maintains its position as a leading set for local authoritiesand undertakes a lot of planning work." In 2003, chambers "recruited the very good commercial junior Paul Marshall from 3 Hare Court."

ADMINISTRATVE & PUBLIC LAW
4-5 Gray's Inn Square's practice is centred on planning and local government work, at which Timothy Corner QC and Timothy Straker QC both excel. Straker's recent reported cases include R (Richardson) v North Yorkshire CC on environmental impact assessments. James Strachan's primary specialism is planning but he also covers mental health, human rights and has represented the Financial Ombudsman Service in a number of judicial reviews. Richard McManus QC is highly rated for education, social security and discrimination matters.

BANKING
Hodge Malek QC of 4-5 Gray's Inn Square appeared in Russell-Cooke Trust Co v Prentis, and in 2003 has been busy advising Middle Eastern banks

COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
4-5 Gray's Inn Square's Hodge Malek QC has a broad commercial practice covering banking, insurance, fraud and even some crime. Paul Marshall moved from 3 Hare Court to 4-5 Gray's Inn Square, and he has a specialism in financial services and money laundering.

DEFAMATION
Richard Spearman QC of 4-5 Gray's Inn Square is recommended for his expertise on privacy. He recently acted on the Naomi Campbell case.

EDUCATION
4-5 Gray's Inn Square boasts leading specialist Richard McManus QC. Rising stars include junior Andrew Sharland, described as 'brilliant' and 'pragmatic'. Recent cases include R (Sampoh) v LB of Hammersmith, a judicial review of the council's failure to provide special educational provision for the claimant. Jonathan Moffett is approachable, and popular for his excellent communication skills. The judge described Moffett's submissions as 'admirable' in Ali v Lord Grey School, on school exclusions and the right to education under the ECHR. )

ENVIRONMENT
At 4-5 Gray's Inn Square members advise and represent a broad range of public and private sector clients. The set has a particularly strong reputation for waste management issues. Among the barristers that clients recommended is Garrett Byrne who moves up through our rankings this year. He is described as 'exceptionally good' providing 'great practical advice and advocacy'.Lisa Busch is also recommended as an 'up and coming junior'.

PLANNING
Commended for its commercial attitude, 4-5 Gray's Inn Square has several of the best recent silks, including Timothy Corner QC, Peter Village QC and John Hobson QC, who is acting for English Heritage in relation to a proposed new road and visitor centre at Stonehenge. Joint chambers head Timothy Straker QC, a popular court advocate, led for the authorities in South Bucks DC v Porter and R (Richardson) v North Yorkshire CC. He is also acting in relation to the residential development near Stevenage, and for Harwich Harbour in its proposal to create a new container port. John Steel QC, 'a decision-maker who inspires confidence in clients', appeared for Sunderland FC on their proposals to expand their football academy. The set's foremost juniors are Thomas Hill, who 'has gravitas' and 'can assimilate lots of material very quickly', and Richard Humphreys who is also being kept busy by the Stevenage development. A new recommendation, James Strachan is particularly noted for his court work. Robert White is making a name for himself too. He is advising Stonehenge Alliance in its opposition to the plans for the site