matrix chambers
rt @ matrixchambers: rachel holmes joins matrix chambers as chief executive. urltoken urltoken
“class act” matrix chambers boasts a large number of gifted silks and talented juniors .
matrix chambers, patent lawyers, legal counselling, legal training, on europages .
matrix chambers is ‘a seriously impressive set and a first port of call for complex matters’ .
meet a selection of our lawyers, discussing matrix chambers, their cases and the topics that interest them .
matrix chambers provides ‘a premier legal service to instructing solicitors and a full support package in respect of complex case progression’ .
the set previously saw gordon nardell qc join its ranks in january 2016 from 39 essex chambers, along with timothy hill qc and philip riches from stone chambers .
matrix has worked in over 111 countries. you can find out more about our international work by visiting our dedicated sister site, matrix international .
matrix chambers limited was incorporated on 10 feb 2000 and is located in london. the company' s status is listed as
active
. it currently has 12 directors. the company' s first directors were murray robert hunt, nicholas john blake, timothy wynn owen. matrix chambers limited employs 20 - 49 people .
philippe sands qc of matrix chambers and professor of international law at university college london, has co - edited a book entitled ‘the grey zone: civilian protection between human rights and the laws of war’ alongside mark lattimer, executive director of the ceasefire centre for civilian rights. blinne ní ghrálaigh of matrix chambers is one of the [ … ]
matrix do not offer mini - pupillages. instead the chambers runs a student open day for those considering applying for traineeship. for more details, please visit the website .
matrix is a professionally managed organisation with a dedicated and highly skilled staff team .
cherie blair has announced she will leave the human rights practice matrix chambers to focus on advising governments and multinationals with the international legal consultancy firm she co - founded three years ago .
mr thwaites admits that his move is not quite as headline - worthy as the news that the prime minister' s wife, cherie booth qc, has joined a new set, matrix chambers, which opened its doors early this month. matrix chambers caused a stir when it was leaked that a new chambers was being set up with many of the leading and most high - profile barristers in the area of human rights - who had all been headhunted. there was certainly no advertising .
matrix chambers ltd is a company registered in england and wales. company number 3923287. registered office k & l gates, 1 new change, london, ec4m 9af. vat number 752 6259 20 .
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barrister helen morgan, who was on the practice' s management committee and is now at renaissance chambers, says .
patricia was a titular head of chambers, and the set was run by the management committee. i don' t believe her absence made a difference. the chambers was breaking up because specialists were moving elsewhere .
matrix is a barristers’ chambers located in london, geneva and brussels. with a strong history of innovation and commitment to our core values, we provide legal services in a wide range of practice areas. matrix is a place where diversity and accessibility are widely championed, and out - dated practice is challenged .
a round up of appointments at the bar in london at matrix chambers, 7 kbw, serle court, 20 essex street and 3 stone, in which offshore work, arbitration and international law are all prominent .
‘its distinguished members act for central and local government, ngos, commercial organisations and individuals. ’ chambers and partners 2014
two sets with differing approaches to arbitration made arbitral appointments of note in may. at matrix chambers, professor laurence boisson de chazournes, a well - recognised international lawyer and former senior counsel to the world bank, joined the set .
matrix is a barristers’ chambers located in gray’s inn, london, geneva and brussels. we are a group of independent and specialist lawyers who work in a wide range of areas of law. we work throughout the uk and have extensive experience internationally. for more information about our international practice, please visit our sister site, matrix international .
professor philippe sands qc of matrix chambers said in a statement: “having seen her in action in international litigation and other matters, i know her to be a truly outstanding public international lawyer, undoubtedly a leader in the field, working across a range of different areas, as counsel, adviser and arbitrator. matrix is a natural home. ”
mr thwaites says he is not copying matrix .
after 29 years at the bar, i had decided that it was time for a change - i had already been toying with the idea of setting up a new chambers for about a year - so it was before matrix, and this new set is not in that mould ,
he said .
latest news from matrix including cases, articles, events and opportunities. you can filter the categories through the links below .
baroness scotland says she ceased practising when she was made a minister, but agreed to allow the chambers to stay in her name and to remain its official head on the understanding that her name be removed from bank accounts and from the lease and that she would not be responsible for chambers business .
for information on our core value projects, including how to make an application to our matrix causes fund, please visit csr .
significant and recent cases involving matrix lawyers. see these by region through' where we work' in the menu above. read more
matrix offers a guaranteed interview for disabled candidates who come within 20% of the cut - off point for the first - round interview .
members at matrix have expertise in a range of practice areas within the uk and internationally. they have a multi - disciplinary approach with several members recognised as leading practitioners in chambers & partners and legal 500. matrix acts for private and public clients and has particular expertise in 29 international and domestic areas of law including commercial, competition, crime, data protection, defamation, discrimination, education, employment, environmental, extradition, fraud, freedom of information, human rights, immigration nationality and asylum, international arbitration, local government, public and administrative law, media, mutual assistance, prison, social welfare, and sports law. matrix has a strong international presence, acting in more than 114 countries for governments, international corporations, legal firms and individuals. matrix has an office in geneva and a dedicated brand for its international work, known as ‘matrix international’ .
matrix welcomes applications from exceptional candidates from all backgrounds. for further details, please see the traineeship brochure on the ‘recruitment’ section of their website .
20 essex street, meanwhile, welcomed john bethell to chambers, after successfully completing his pupillage, working in commercial disputes, arbitration, shipping, and eu and competition law .
mr carman' s former 26 - strong set of chambers was
amicably
dissolved on 20 april after a number of the barristers moved to specialist sets or to join other specialist teams, and he moved into 4 - 5 gray' s inn square, the set that cherie booth qc was in before joining matrix .
matrix offers positions in our staff team, member recruitment, traineeships, open days and work experience programme. when applying to matrix, it is important to have a look at our csr section and particularly our core values, which guide what we do and have been in place since our establishment .
that means that there is more competition for the work, including from solicitor - advocates. and to be competitive, barristers are now more mobile than they have ever been .
people at the bar are advertising more and more now, and chambers are no longer ashamed of it ,
says mr green, who advised matrix chambers when it was setting up. he says that it is rare, but not unusual, for an individual to advertise for others to join him on the strength of his own reputation .
matrix welcomes applications from exceptional candidates from all backgrounds. for further details, please see our traineeship brochure on the' recruitment' page of our website .
keeping this diverse roster of clients front and centre of its mind is just one aspect of the set' s founding desire to be an innovative and progressive chambers. established in 2000 by 22 barristers eager to launch a modern, client - focused chambers, it set out to work on cases applying the newly introduced human rights act to areas such as public, criminal and media law .
joint chairs of the management committee: hugh southey qc chief executive: rachel holmes tenants: 93 the chambers matrix is a barristers’ chambers with offices in london and geneva. its members work in a wide number of areas, including commercial, public international and arbitration, investigations and audits, competition and eu law, human rights, public, employment, equality and discrimination, and criminal including white collar crime, fraud and extradition and mutual assistance. matrix operates within a modern environment, where diversity, accessibility and client care are widely championed. more details about practice areas can be found on the website. the uk website can be found at matrixlaw. co. uk. the international website at matrixlawinternational. com .
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matrix is delighted to announce that former matrix member, professor james crawford ac sc, was appointed judge to the international court of justice in a ceremony that took place at the peace palace in the hague this morning. this marks the beginning of a nine - year term for professor crawford as one of 15 judges to the court .
head of chambers, gavin kealey qc said in a statement that he had “no doubt that he will be a star appointment as arbitrator and mediator, and will acquire an enormously successful practice from the start” .
headline cases, a progressive attitude and a wealth of practice areas... no wonder trainees told us it was a “no - brainer” to apply to the uk' s best - known barristers' chambers .
dozens of barristers’ chambers are refusing to take on new defence work in protest at the crisis in the justice system created by the government’s cuts and reforms, the latest being changes to the advocates graduated fee scheme .
matrix management committee chair rhodri thompson qc said: “we are of course sad to see one of our original leaders leave the organisation that she helped to create. since then, matrix has established an outstanding reputation both domestically and in an increasingly global legal market – we look forward to watching cherie’s new venture develop while continuing to build our own unique brand. ”
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matrix is a proud and committed equal opportunities employer and we run a number of initiatives to promote equality. you can find out more about this by visiting our equality & diversity page .
one of the biggest name sets at the bar, matrix is never far from the news thanks to its leading human rights practice and roster of big name silks. within the legal profession, matrix is famous for its progressive approach – note that it refrains from using traditional bar terminology such as ‘pupillage’, opting instead for the more easily understood ‘traineeship’, and lists its barristers in alphabetical order rather than by number of years’ qualified. although you need to be academically excellent to train here, matrix actively encourages applications from students from a wide - range of backgrounds and universities .
while best known for human rights, matrix has a wide range of expertise within chambers, including in commercial, employment and eu law. currently the set is using its expertise in the former area to put itself at the forefront of the discussion around the uk’s vote to leave the european union. to this end it has launched a brexit hub featuring a host of articles by its barristers about the implications of the vote .
matrix is notable for the way in which it works with academics and practitioners, in interleaving their contributions between both worlds across the global arbitral arena, with advice available in both london and geneva .
information contained on the chambers and partners websites (including chambersconnect) is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. information shared through these websites does not constitute or create a' lawyer - client' relationship .
matrix was accredited in 2016 as an investors in people platinum organisation, which recognises that our organisation works at the highest standard of people management. find out more about investors in people on their website .
our members have expertise in a range of practice areas within the uk and internationally. we have a multi - disciplinary approach with several members recognised as leading practitioners in chambers & partners and legal 500. matrix acts for private and public clients and has particular expertise in 29 international and domestic areas of law including commercial, competition, crime, data protection, defamation, discrimination, education, employment, environmental, extradition, fraud, freedom of information, human rights, immigration nationality and asylum, international arbitration, local government, public and administrative law, media, mutual assistance, prison, social welfare, and sports law. matrix has a strong international presence, acting in more than 114 categories for governments, international corporations, legal firms and individuals. we have an office in geneva and a dedicated brand for our international work, known as' matrix international' .
each supervisor produces a report at the end of each seat to gives trainees “an indication of whether you' re attaining the matrix standard. ” the reports form the main basis for the traineeship committee' s tenancy recommendation, but a series of formal assessments also play a part. these include two oral advocacy exercises, a business development presentation and a written assessment on “a difficult point of law. ” matrix' s single trainee was awarded membership in 2017 .
matrix offers up to two traineeships, both starting 1 october for 12 months. the 12 - month training period is split roughly into quarters. the training committee tends to choose who will supervise in the first quarter whilst trainees are finding their feet, but trainees are consulted throughout on which areas of law they would be interested in covering. it is expected that trainees will experience the wide range of work covered at matrix with seats in varied practice areas throughout the year. there is a scheduled programme of training that takes place throughout the year and includes internal and external training, written and advocacy exercises and secondments. matrix trainees do not generally take on oral advocacy in their own right until the last quarter .
matrix offers up to two traineeships, both starting 1 october for 12 months. the 12 - month training period is split roughly into quarters. the training committee tends to choose who will supervise in the first quarter while trainees are finding their feet, but trainees are consulted throughout on which areas of law they would be interested in covering. it is expected that trainees will experience the wide range of work covered at matrix with seats in varied practice areas throughout the year. there is a scheduled programme of training that takes place throughout the year and includes internal and external training, written and advocacy exercises and secondments. matrix trainees do not generally take on oral advocacy in their own right until the last quarter .
and when patricia scotland qc was elevated to the house of lords as baroness scotland of asthal, she allowed the chambers she had headed, 1 gray' s inn square, to retain her name. but the set disbanded and many of the barristers joined another set in gray' s inn square .
one modern barrister who has embraced the media in the launch of his new chambers is ronald thwaites qc, who recently invited applications from
dedicated and determined members of the bar
who practise in the areas such as defamation and civil actions against the police, including
high - profile work of all kinds
.
it was an unseasonably cold and drizzly june morning when we rocked up at matrix for our visit, but the miserable weather hardly seemed to dampen the spirits of the set' s sunny practice team (this is what matrix calls its clerks). “they are extremely welcoming, ” trainees confirmed, and host friday nights drinks for everyone at the set. a weekly lunch gets members together too and sources agreed “there' s no speak - when - you' re - spoken - to culture. ” another elaborated: “matrix is well known for being a progressive place where people have respect for each other. we have loads of interesting conversations – everyone works on really sexy cases and we' re all law nerds so we like to chat about our work and the legal and political implications. ”
april, meanwhile, saw the merger of two chancery sets, thirteen old square and 3 stone buildings, the latter of which had seen several departures to the likes of maitland chambers and serle court, among other sets, while the former saw several arrivals including mark cawson qc, while david mohyuddin qc took silk in february .
and mr thwaites is adopting a more enlightened marketing style. he says the new set will be named after the building, which they are in the process of acquiring :
it is all about perception - and for this new chambers, it is a case of developing a brand and wanting and attracting others to join and strengthen that brand .
the set' s remit is split roughly equally between public law, employment, media and information, crime, and commercial (including competition, tax and international arbitration). it was this “sheer range of work” which attracted several of our interviewees. “i was very curious to try different things, ” one told us. chambers uk recognises matrix' s broad expertise, granting it over a dozen rankings including a top - tier gong for its human rights work. the client base is broad too, with the set' s annual client party seeing magic circle big shots and corporate counsel rubbing shoulders with legal aid solicitors, government lawyers and representatives of ngos .
dual - qualified in australia in 2003 and in england and wales in 2010, parlett was called to the bar in 2014. duncan matthews qc, 20 essex street’s co - head of chambers said, in a statement, that parlett’s experience within the commercial and investor state aspects of public international law would “be a real asset to the continuing development of the set’s practice. ”
we have more than 80 members at matrix, with varying years of call and areas of expertise. our members specialise in 28 different practice areas and are highly regarded in their fields. if you would like to find out more about individual members, you can visit their profiles below or contact our staff team .
besides stellar academics pretty much all recruits have some top - notch work experience under their belts: between them matrix' s most junior tenants (called since 2012) have among other things gained experience working for the un high commissioner for refugees in ecuador, for the international labour organization in geneva, for the un office of legal affairs in new york, for the international criminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia in the hague and for the international criminal tribunal for rwanda. many of matrix' s members are also academics, but don' t get the wrong idea: barristers here are very much doers, men and women of action .
we' re told that these' law nerds' with a desire to blast away the traditional fustiness of the bar are keen to “look further afield than oxbridge” when seeking new recruits. oxford and cambridge alums certainly aren' t absent from matrix but you' ll also find juniors who' ve come through bristol, ucl, nottingham and durham .
matrix offers up to two 12 - month training places with an award of £40, 000 and an additional £10, 000 contribution during the bptc year for applicants who are yet to undertake bar finals. any applicants who have already completed the bptc year will still be entitled to the additional £10, 000 contribution in the year prior to commencing traineeship .
matrix is managed by our chief executive, rachel holmes. we have three practice teams who assist the members and who specialise in different areas of law. depending on their areas of expertise, members work in one of these teams. each team has a practice manager, who will be your first point of contact when looking to instruct one of our members .
matrix offers up to two 12 - month training places each year with an award of £40, 000 and an additional £10, 000 contribution during the bptc year for applicants who are yet to undertake bar finals. any applicants who have already completed the bptc year will still be entitled to the additional £10, 000 contribution in the year prior to commencing traineeship .
open up any newspaper and chances are you' ll find a case worked on by matrix barristers: european court of human rights application on the shooting of jean charles de menezes? tick. a case on' trojan horse' schools in birmingham? tick. the supreme court battle over the pjs / yma sex scandal injunction? tick. “today we had 19 cases in the press, ” asserted ceo lindsay scott on the day of our visit. many of these headline - grabbing matters are in the field of human rights or public law, but scott is keen to point out that “matrix is an awful lot more than a human rights set – we do great work in areas such as crime, competition, employment and media. ”
it isn' t until nine months in that trainees get to spend time on their feet, and even then only on small matters such as listing hearings. “matrix takes the view that your traineeship is a time to learn and practise, ” one interviewee believed. trainees attend informal advocacy moots to help them prepare for the big stand and have training sessions with juniors to gain tips and advice .
among mrs blair’s best - known cases at matrix concerned pupil shabina begum which centred on the teenager’s demands to wear a full jilbab, or traditional muslim gown, to her school in luton, where almost 70 per cent of students were muslim. the school refused to allow ms begum to wear the jilbab and she refused to attend for three years claiming her religious rights had been infringed under article nine of the european convention on human rights .
for example, clare montgomery qc represented hong kong property tycoon thomas kwok in a high - profile corruption and conspiracy case, while james laddie qc acted for lehman brothers in campbell v lehman brothers when a former employee alleged she was subject to harassment and unfair dismissal after refusing to have an affair with her boss. more recently, two matrix members successfully represented unison in the landmark 2017 supreme court case ruling the government' s employment tribunal fees' inconsistent with access to justice' .
mrs blair said: “it has been a privilege to be part of the team at matrix for the last 14 years, and to have been able to develop my practice alongside so many first class, dedicated colleagues. but omnia strategy was born from a recognition that clients often wanted more than legal solutions to complex problems, and what makes omnia unique is the holistic and strategic approach that we offer to clients who are facing complex issues where matters of law, business, policy and communications all overlap. ”
matrix trainees (the term' pupil' has long since been dropped as too outmoded) divide their year evenly between four seats. in recent years trainees have sat with supervisors practising in areas including human rights, media and information, public law, employment and discrimination – members often work in more than one area. nearly all of a trainee' s workload stems from their supervisor and our interviewees were pleased with this approach, pointing out that “it means you' re judged on your work as a whole and you can' t have the bad fortune of doing one piece of work badly for someone who' s very influential. ”
some may think that the bar, still in wigs and gowns, is dragging itself into the 20th century, while the other side of the profession, the solicitors, are
yetis
( young, entrepreneurial and technically minded), who are embracing the 21st century and jumping on the urltoken spacewagon .
it is a long way from the secret soundings of the lord chancellor' s department which determines who will be a queen' s counsel. the latest qcs were announced just before easter and officially confirmed last week .
about his current set at 10 king' s bench walk, he says :
there was no acrimonious break - up and no rivalry with the old set and no fall - out, so there is no story there. the set was and is known mainly as a criminal and general common law set. i am now identified more on the civil side, so there is a gap in the market, which the new set is aiming to fill .
in fact, the decision to move is essentially a commercial one .
with the pressure from government on funding [ in particular in the areas of criminal and family law - areas which his current set specialises in ], you have to adapt to survive, and the bar is likely to go back to being half the size it is now - of almost 10, 000 barristers .
mark green is a director in the professional practices group at accountants bdo stoy hayward, which publishes an annual survey of barristers. for 1999, it estimated that the total annual income of the bar is in the region of £1. 2 to 1. 4bn .
he says that with just over 30 per cent of barristers' income coming from public funds - such as the legal aid board, the lord chancellor' s department and the crown prosecution service - and more recently, with the introduction of the community legal service and changes in government funding in areas such as crime, family and personal injury, more barristers will move away from that type of work .
the survey also found that although barristers are outnumbered by solicitors by almost 10 to one, the number of barristers is growing slightly more quickly at an average rate of 5 per cent a year compared with 4 per cent for solicitors .
it is unlikely that solicitors and clients - and other barristers - will not have heard of mr thwaites, who has been involved in high - profile criminal cases .
he acted for the defendant tony diedrick in the joan francisco murder case, and one of his most recent defamation cases was against the doyen of libel barristers, george carman qc, in a matter concerning the directors of derby county football club and the alleged circulation of poison - pen letters .
mr thwaites says of his switch to defamation and civil practice :
one advantage is that the libel bar is small and you can get a foothold .
although he may be following mr carman' s path by switching to libel, the path of high - profile barristers leaving their sets has left problems in their wake .
of course i feel sad ,
he says about the end of the set which he founded in 1981 .
but the bar is going through enormous changes. some are a little uncertain as to where their future lies .
in some ways, moving to join a specialist set is a back - to - basics move. mr thwaites says his new set will initially number about 20, comprising of seven or eight barristers who will leave his current set with him and join barristers from other sets .
it will not be a mega - set, but a group of like - minded people. there are a lot of juniors who do civil work, but the crunch point is how they perform in court - i think we can provide robust advocates for solicitors who are becoming much more discerning and demanding. in fact, some solicitors can do almost everything that a barrister can do .
he warns :
one of the mistakes that barristers make is to think that they can sit and wait for briefs to fall off the end of the conveyor belt, but that conveyor belt may soon stop .
de chazournes, who has advised international organisations, states, law firms and foundations, as well as acting as an arbitrator and counsel, has arbitrated in investment cases (including at the international centre for the settlement of investment disputes, the world bank’s dispute resolution body) and the permanent court of arbitration, and appeared as counsel before the international court of justice (icj) .
lindsay scott, the set’s chief executive welcomed the appointment alongside other recent arrivals, fellow arbitration lawyers, professor christian tams and angeline welsh, saying that the addition would enhance the service the set offered to clients .
a more traditional appointment in may however, was that of sir jeremy cooke, who re - joined 7 king’s bench walk (7kbw) .
following his recent retirement from the high court bench, cooke returned to 7kbw as a full time arbitrator and mediator, at the start of that month .
he was in practice at 7 kbw from 1997 until his appointment in 2001 as a high court judge in the queen’s bench division, assigned to the commercial court, with his judgments frequently being upheld by the appellate courts .
cooke’s judicial approach was marked by the speed in which he produced his judgments, an informal and down to earth manner, and for firm but fair, and polite efficiency in case management. he notably presided over the criminal court trial of the first trader to be convicted for attempting to fix libor with the court of appeal praising cooke’s “particular care”, although that sentence was later revised .
he is a justice of the dubai international financial court, which has been active in developing the law of arbitration in dubai. at 7kbw he will accept appointments as an arbitrator and mediator .
the merged set, named 3 stone, is led by john mcdonnell qc, the former head of thirteen old square, together with justin brown as senior clerk, and is administered from 3 stone buildings with accommodation split between the two sites .
the merged set serves a mix of traditional chancery and commercial clients, as well as managing overseas instructions, specialising in chancery, commercial, insolvency and property .
commercial litigators will note the offshore trust practice of the likes of david lord qc operating alongside with the caribbean and hong kong property, company and trust practices of mcdonnell and david lowe. in addition, rupert coe joined the new set from appleby in cayman .
also moving from offshore practice was kathryn purkis, who returned to serle court following nine years at jersey law firm collas crill, where she was a litigation advocate, and managing partner, from 2009 to 2012 .
the dual - qualified barrister and advocate in both london and jersey was recognised for her litigious work, ranging from contentious trusts and foundations cases, multi - jurisdictional asset - tracing and enforcement claims, a practice she aims to emulate at serle court .
purkis said, commenting on her return, that she felt her “experience as a partner in and managing a law firm will be invaluable to my work at the bar, and will shape how i go about providing my own services to clients. ”
the chief executive of serle court, john petrie, added that purkis’s experience in “undertaking high - profile work in a different jurisdiction whilst being the managing partner of a firm and seeing it through a merger shows not only kathryn’s impressive work ethic but her highly - attuned business skills too” .
purkis is not the only barrister to move from a law firm to the bar; suzanne rab joined the set as a competition law barrister from london’s king & spalding in 2013 .
before coming to the bar, bethell spent six years as an army officer with the welsh guards. he completed two operational tours in afghanistan, and served as a military adviser at the british high commission in pakistan .
bethell’s arrival coincides with that of dr kate parlett, a specialist in public international law and international arbitration, previously of freshfields bruckhaus deringer in paris, where she worked on cases before the icj, including one case involving the distinguished public international barrister, sir daniel bethlehem qc, also instructed by freshfields, for the government of chile in its case with bolivia, concerning access to the sea .
parlett also has extensive experience in international investment arbitration. at freshfields, she was part of the team representing saint lucia in an icsid dispute in which the first order for security for costs was issued by an investment tribunal .
she also represented electrabel in a dispute under the energy charter treaty arising from measures taken in the context of hungary’s accession to the european union .
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the los angeles office of proskauer rose has expanded with the addition of a partner with experience in antitrust, class actions, financial services and securities litigation .
dispute resolution lawyers across the world have featured strongly in the 2018 promotions round by baker mckenzie, including specialists in tax, competition and it litigation .
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to make its presence felt far and wide for many years to come. ’
mrs blair, 60, takes up a full - time role with omnia strategy, a london - based organisation with an office in washington that includes kazakhstan’s government among its recent clients .
chaired by mrs blair since she established the company in 2011, omnia describes itself as a “pioneering international law firm that provides strategic counsel to governments, corporate and private clients”. the firm agreed a deal with kazakhstan’s ministry of justice earlier this year to conduct a review of the country’s “bilateral investment treaties” that was reported to be worth around £500, 000 .
omnia has also been active in africa advising in nigeria, ghana, gabon and cameroon and mrs blair’s website says the firm “provides tailored, market - driven advice to its clients”. as a leading qc she earns around £1, 100 an hour .
company records show omnia strategy’s office is officially registered in baker street, central london, although the address given on the firm’s website under its contact details is a po box in paddington shared by her husband’s faith foundation, the office of tony blair and other of the former prime minister’s organisations. employees are actually based in an anonymous office block overlooking hyde park .
ms begum lost her case in the high court but won in the court of appeal. the school appealed that decision and the house of lords ruled in its favour .
mrs blair, a judge and leading silk who practices under her maiden name of booth, will also continue to work independently as an international arbitrator and remain involved with several charities. her foundation for women raised almost £2. 2m last year .
a spokesperson for omnia confirmed mrs blair would remain based in the uk. roxana pierce, an international transactional lawyer who speaks farsi, french and turkish, remains managing partner of the firm’s washington office .
in 2003 mrs blair accused her husband’s government of institutionalised discrimination against gurkha soldiers by subjecting them to less favourable pay and conditions than other members of britain’s armed forces. she launched a high court test case on behalf of seven former gurkhas from nepal who served with the british army .
mrs blair accused the ministry of defence of “irrational and discriminatory” treatment over their pay and conditions, which she said amounted to a continuing breach of their rights under the european convention on human rights. the claims were rejected by a judge who said that discrepancies in pay were legitimate given the difference between the costs of living in britain and nepal .
in 1998 the 24 - year - old successfully sued her former schools in london for failing to diagnose that she was dyslexic. mrs blair said the local authority had “failed to take reasonable steps to overcome her learning problems”. however, a few months later ms phelps had her £45, 650 damages award taken away by the court of appeal when judges said it was up to her to prove her learning difficulties had affected her earning capacity, and she had not done so. she appealed and the house of lords restored her damages award opening the way for the other claimants to proceed with their actions .
teaching unions welcomed a landmark ruling by law lords in 2003 backing the right of their members to refuse to teach violent and disruptive pupils. the five law lords decided by a 3 - 2 majority that a pupil, whose exclusion from a hertfordshire comprehensive was overturned by an independent appeals panel, had been properly reinstated in school even though he was being taught in isolation. the hertfordshire boy in the lords case, ‘pupil l’ represented by mrs blair, was one of six students excluded in 2001 following a gang attack in school toilets which put a teenager in hospital .
we have 88 members who practise in a wide - range of areas of law .
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we have a number of free resources on the legal implications of uk' s vote to leave the european union. read them all here .
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kate cook has contributed to a un report entitled ‘impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture’. the report that is due to be released this july at fao committee on fisheries is a unique overview of the implications of climate change for fisheries and aquaculture. more information on the report can be found here .
the claimant alleged that the defendant, its former deputy chief executive and the former managing director of leeds united football club, defrauded it of sums equal to roughly $ 6 million. after long running proceedings and a trial lasting three days, the difc court held that the claimants case was made out, that the defendant’s defence [ … ]
bbc ni’s much discussed documentary “brexit, dark money & the dup” will be broadcast nationally tomorrow (thursday 5 july 2018) at 23. 15 on the bbc news channel. gavin millar qc contributes on the election law implications of the investigation .
the court of appeal has given judgment today on an appeal by asda, argos and wm morrison against an order of popplewell j largely dismissing their claims for substantial damages relating to the setting and imposition of multi - lateral interchange fees (mifs) in the context of the mastercard payment card system. the court of appeal upheld [ … ]
ca rejects zipvit’s claim for ‘embedded’ vat. this appeal raises important questions of principle in the law of vat. zipvit used the services of royal mail at a time when it was understood that these services were exempt from vat. the cjeu subsequently decided in case c - 353 / 07 tnt that the relevant supplies were in fact [ … ]
the court of appeal has granted permission to appeal in the case of tm (kenya) v sshd (c4 / 2017 / 3270), which challenges the high court judgment in muasa v sshd [ 2017 ] ewhc 2267 insofar as it found against the claimant. muasa, which was heard by the high court in july 2017, was the first case of its [ … ]
a boy, represented by the howard league for penal reform, has been granted permission by the high court to challenge the use of adult restraint techniques on children at a prison in west london. the charity has applied successfully for permission to judicially review practices at feltham prison. the case is brought on behalf of [ … ]
the supreme court today determined that the ban on civil partnerships for opposite sex couples constituted a breach of article 8 of the european convention on human rights, read in conjunction with article 14. the supreme court issued a declaration of incompatibility in respect of the civil partnership act 2004, ss 1, 3 to the [ … ]
the administrative court has dismissed an application for judicial review of the policy of her majesty’s passport office to require those who apply for the issue of a passport to declare whether their gender is male or female, and not to issue passports bearing an x marker (indicating an unspecified sex). the court rejected the [ … ]
karon monaghan qc has been featured as lawyer of the week in the times. karon acted for the plumber and heating engineer gary smith in pimlico plumbers ltd & anor v smith [ 2018 ] uksc 29. the supreme court upheld the decision of the court and tribunals below that mr smith was both a “worker” and, for the [ … ]
ed bridges, a cardiff resident, is launching a legal challenge against south wales police for using automated facial recognition (afr). mr bridges believes he was scanned twice, once at a peaceful anti - arms protest and again while christmas shopping in cardiff. surveillance cameras equipped with afr software scan the faces of passers - by, making unique biometric maps [ … ]
the court of appeal today handed down judgment in secretary of state for the home department v tlu and tlv. the court found that the respondents, who were the wife and daughter of a ‘lead applicant’ in a family asylum application, were referred to in a spreadsheet that had been published in a data breach [ … ]
ben emmerson qc has been appointed to represent boris becker, the tennis ace, who is asserting diplomatic immunity in the high court. becker, who is being sued for bankruptcy, has been appointed as sports attaché to the central african republic and is asserting diplomatic immunity against attempts to prolong and further enforce bankruptcy proceedings that [ … ]
in giese v usa, the lord chief justice, sitting with dingemans j, gave important guidance on the correct approach to abuse of process in extradition proceedings. the appellant had argued that fresh extradition proceedings were an abuse of process, where a previous extradition request for the same conduct had been determined in his favour (on [ … ]
the high court has ruled in favour of two severely disabled people who challenged the absence of transitional protection under regulations which provide for rolling out of universal credit and the abolition of previous welfare benefits. the claim was brought by two severely disabled people who were obliged to claim universal credit when they moved [ … ]
the court of appeal has allowed an appeal by the bbc against a reporting restriction order in the trial of r v sarker. the judgment, given by the lord chief justice, contains important guidance on the proper approach to applications for restrictions on reporting in criminal proceedings, specifically in relation to online articles, and a [ … ]
the supreme court today upheld the decision of the court and tribunals below that mr smith was both a “worker” and, for the equality act 2010, an “employee” of pimlico plumbers. karon monaghan qc acted for mr smith and tom linden qc acted for pimlico plumbers. to read a summary of the judgment, please see [ … ]
employment appeal tribunal to hear appeal by gerard coyne against a ruling of the certification officer’s ruling. gavin millar qc representing mr coyne .
gerard coyne was the runner up to the incumbent, len mccluskey, in an election for general secretary of unite the union in april 2017. he made a complaint to the certification officer that the election, held within the fixed five year term of the incumbent, had been called unlawfully. the certification officer ruled against him [ … ]
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matrix chambers is a set of barristers ' chambers in gray ’s inn , london and geneva , switzerland . it was founded in april 2000 by 22 barristers from 7 different chambers . 
matrix chambers is a set of barristers' chambers in gray ’s inn, london and geneva, switzerland. it was founded in april 2000 by 22 barristers from 7 different chambers.
matrix chambers is a set of barristers' chambers in gray ’s inn, london and geneva, switzerland. it was founded in april 2000 by 22 barristers from 7 different chambers.