Chambers of the Year 2011
22 Jun 11
Blackstone Chambers has won The Lawyer Chambers of the Year 2011.
The presentation was made at The Lawyer Award ceremony, held on 21 June 2011.
The Lawyer, (4th July), published its reasoning for naming Blackstone 'Chambers of the Year'. It said:
"Consistently involved in the most groundbreaking, high-profile and significant cases of the year, Blackstone Chambers has achieved standards of excellence in terms of service and expertise while offering a supportive and cohesive culture for members of Chambers and staff alike.
The set achieved a total of 29 mentions in The Lawyer’s top 20 cases of 2011, with 21 barristers featured in the prestigious list. Those matters include BSkyB v Ofcom, with Dinah Rose QC appearing for Ofcom; Alstom Transport v Eurostar Intl, with John Howell QC instructed for Siemens; and Morrisons & Ors v the OFT with Pushpinder Saini QC acting for Morrisons.
Meanwhile, the set continues to attract new members, adding four in the past year, including leading Scottish silk Richard Keen QC and public specialist Tim Otty QC.
At the heart of its success sits an outstanding clerking team led by senior clerk Gary Oliver, who is widely considered a stalwart of the bar. It was one of the first sets to bring non-clerking staff into the management, with practice director Julia Hornor and her deputy Mat Swallow leading the team.
Blackstone’s success at building from the grass roots has helped it break into the magic circle in the past year, no mean feat. Under the joint leadership of Ian Mill QC and Thomas Beazley QC, the set is consistently setting new standards for others to aim for."
