In the 2026 Legal 500 rankings, Albion Chambers and its members received 37 rankings. Of these rankings, 12 were Tier 1.
As a set, we ranked in the highest tier for Business and Regulatory Crime (Including Health and Safety), Family: Divorce and Financial Remedy, Family: Children and Domestic Violence and Inquests and Inquiries. We were also highly ranked in Crime (General and Fraud).
Among the testimonials of Chambers and our Clerking Team, it was said:
‘Albion Chambers is a go-to set for all things regulatory and the best on the Western Circuit. Their strength in depth is impeccable.’
Albion Chambers is a ‘go-to chambers for financial remedies in the South West’.
‘Albion Chambers is a respected and established set with a large crime team.’
Albion Chambers is highly praised as a ‘go-to’ family law set in Bristol
‘The clerks at Albion are efficient and organised. They are always willing to assist and extremely easy to communicate with; they are always professional.’
‘Nick Jeanes knows his onions. He knows the market, he knows how to introduce barristers and solicitors to cultivate good working relationships, he is always available to talk shop or discuss prices and goes the extra mile.’
‘Julie Hathway and Joanne Banfield are unfailingly organised and helpful. They are also incredibly pleasant to deal with.’
‘Michael Harding and Julie Hathway always provide an excellent service.’
‘Julie Hathway and Michael Harding are fantastic clerks. They are always willing to help, incredibly hard working and reasonable with regards to fees.’
‘You will always receive a high level of service from the clerks. Michael Harding and Julie Hathway in particular are very helpful and come back to you promptly with available counsel and keep you updated.’
‘Albion Chambers are a leading set in the South West, and Julie Hathway, Michael Harding and Joanne Banfield from the family clerking team are particular assets to the set. Albion go above and beyond to provide representation for hearings, even where these are at short notice.’
‘All clerks are great. Michael Harding is always on hand to help and goes out of his way to offer the best service. Joanne Banfield is efficient and a pleasure to correspond with.’
‘The clerks at Albion Chambers are very experienced. Charlotte Fryer is all over everything and quick to assist in resolving any issues.’
‘Joanna Cload always goes out of her way to find a counsel’s assistance, particularly at short notice.’
‘Clerks room is good. Charlotte Fryer is great.
Many of our members received individual comments:
Divorce and Financial Remedy
Richard English – ‘Richard is an extremely smooth operator. He is unflappable and commands respect from clients and the court.’
Nicholas Sproull – ‘A well-respected junior.’
Daniel Leafe – ‘Ranked’
Gemma Borkowski – ‘Gemma is just brilliant. She is a strong, persuasive advocate, formulates a clear strategy and gives clients realistic advice.’
Caroline Middleton – ‘Caroline is an incredibly experienced barrister; she has the capacity to deal with the most complex cases and difficult clients calmly and efficiently. She is unruffled in court whilst also being able to stand her ground and argue the case forcefully and with skill.’
Alexander West – ‘Ranked’
Family and Children Law
Libby Harris – ‘Libby is an exceptionally strong advocate who is calm under pressure but is able to articulate herself very well when on her feet and is an effective and strong advocate. She prides herself with a great level of empathy, she is very well respected not only with clients but with other barristers and lawyers, and she is a very safe pair of hands and is very pragmatic in terms of resolving issues before the court.’
Fiona Farquhar – Her advocacy is extremely high quality, and she is tenacious and always clear and detailed.’
Sarah Pope – ‘Sarah is an extremely robust advocate who will fight hard for her client. She is extremely experienced in dealing with complex private children law matters and will give clear advice.’
William Heckscher – ‘William is excellent, always professional, and well prepared. He is a strong advocate, intellectual, reassuring and empathetic, and inspires confidence both for clients and the court.’
Alice Darian – ‘Solid, robust and extremely persuasive on her feet.’ ‘Highly knowledgeable and a formidable advocate’
Joanna Lucas – ‘Joanna is clear and pragmatic in her advice, she thinks laterally around any issue, and delivers advice in a way that clients are able to understand and follow. Her communication with her instructing solicitor is prompt, helpful and creates a constructive dialogue which assists in providing the client with the most cohesive representation.’
Jonathan Wilkinson – ‘Ranked’
Caroline Middleton – ‘Caroline has superb client handling skills. She is able to manage the most difficult and challenging clients, and has seemingly endless patience, she adopts a pragmatic approach to resolving cases and works hard to find a workable resolution, and her advocacy is clear, calm and persuasive.’
Gemma Borkowski – ‘Gemma is extremely knowledgeable and her attention to detail is impeccable. Her advocacy skills are incredible, she combines the ability of being gentle, kind and understanding with the client and being robust when cross-examining the other side, and she can quickly think on her feet and adapt her cross-examination to reflect the answers given.’
Hayley Griffiths – ‘Ranked’
Yasmine El-Nazer – ‘Yasmine is an incredibly supportive barrister, as she is fully engaged in your case, responsive to calls and emails and works collaboratively to provide clients with the best service from their legal team. As an advocate, Yasmine is confident, persuasive, knows when to be firm and also when to take a more delicate approach.’
Emma Roberts – ‘Emma, having previously worked as a solicitor, is very strong in relation to client care and understanding the timescales that solicitors can work to. Her previous experience of working in-house for a local authority also makes her a strong advocate in public law matters.’
Simranjit Kamal – Her empathetic approach creates a supportive environment where the client feels comfortable expressing their views and concerns, and most importantly, she carefully listens to instructions and powerfully advocates for her clients’ position in court.’
Crime (General and Fraud)
Adam Vaitilingam KC – ‘Adam is outstanding. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law and procedure. He is incredibly considerate of his instructing solicitor and will go above and beyond to provide the most comprehensive of services.’
Sarah Regan – ‘Sarah is a fearless advocate. She is unafraid of lengthy and complex questioning, covering every point with a thoroughness second to none.’
Edward Hetherington – ‘Edward is a strong and fearless advocate who knows how to express complex points to make them understandable to juries.’
Charley Pattison – ‘Charley is an excellent communicator. She has expertise in representing people with complex mental health or communication difficulties. Her manner in court is persuasive and directed.’
Rupert Russell – ‘Ranked’
Lucy Taylor – ‘Lucy is approachable. Her commitment and work rate are excellent, and she is always on top of her brief.’
Emily Heggadon – ‘Emily is a hard-working, diligent barrister. She advances her cases with great care and thought and leaves no stone unturned.’
Business and Regulatory Crime (Including Health and Safety)
David Sapiecha – ‘David is a stalwart of criminal defence. He always remains calm and instils confidence even in the most challenging cases. He is tenacious when it comes to identifying and advancing defences. His likeable personality enhances his advocacy, earning the trust of judges and juries alike.’
Alan Fuller – ‘Alan is stellar at diving into the details and picking up on minute details. He is intelligent and an A-lister for all things technical and complex.’
Alexander West – ‘Ranked’
Inquests and Inquiries
Kate Brunner KC – ‘Kate is thorough, considered and always well-prepared.’
David Sapiecha – ‘He remains composed even in the most challenging of cases but is tenacious in his approach to the investigation of the issues and the required instructions.’
Alexander West – ‘He has a remarkable ability to calm even the most passionate clients, and his tranquil demeanour carries over into the courtroom. His expertise in coronial law and procedure is impressive, and his advocacy is both concise and compelling.’
The full list of rankings and quotes of chambers and our members can be found on the Legal 500 website.
