Farrar's Building

Head of Chambers: Paul Lewis KC

Chief Executive & Director of Clerking: Paul Cray

Chambers Manager: Steve Gurnett

Tenants: 60

THE CHAMBERS Farrar’s Building is a long-established specialist civil and common law set of chambers based in London with a strong historic regional presence in Wales. Chambers areas of practice include the following: personal injury; clinical negligence; employment; credit hire; civil fraud and fundamental dishonesty; serious and white-collar crime; health and safety; inquests; disciplinary; regulatory; professional negligence; insurance; property damage; product liability; trusts and probate; commercial law; costs; travel & international; and public inquiries (see individual profiles).

Over the years, chambers has provided a number of judges in the House of Lords, Court of Appeal and elsewhere, and current members sit as deputy High Court judges, recorders and in other public positions. Farrar’s Building prides itself on being a friendly and reliable set, which is efficiently clerked and administered by an experienced and long-established team. Chambers has a reputation for excellence, with members acting for a variety of corporate bodies, insurance companies, prosecuting authorities, sporting bodies and players, disciplinary, regulatory and professional bodies, as well as individuals. Members act in privately funded cases and under conditional fee agreements.

WORK UNDERTAKEN

Chambers core areas of practice are:

Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence: Farrar’s Building is recognised as a leading set of chambers in both personal injury and clinical negligence. Personal injury is the largest field of practice within chambers. Chambers is involved in the whole spectrum of cases ranging from catastrophic brain and spinal injury claims to lower value multi-track and fast-track work. In clinical negligence, members are regularly instructed on behalf of both claimants and defendants (including NHS Resolution, medical defence organisations, private hospitals and independent clinicians).

Health & Safety: The health and safety team works closely with, and benefits from, Farrar’s Building’s strong PI team. Chambers has been involved in a number of high-profile cases in this area and acts in large-scale disasters, including Hatfield Rail, Ladbroke Grove and Grenfell Tower.

Insurance & Property Damage: Chambers has experience and expertise of handling all forms of liability insurance, business interruption, life, permanent health and critical illness insurance, property damage/nuisance and motor insurance. It acts on behalf of insurance brokers, policyholders, third party claimants and all the major insurers.

Employment: Chambers and members of the employment law group are recognised in the field for their efficient, commercially sensitive and competitive approach. Members act at all stages of employment disputes by advising, drafting pleadings and providing advocacy before employment tribunals, the EAT and the higher courts.

Crime: Chambers has a specialist criminal team, involved in major fraud and serious crime cases, and has close links with Wales where it remains a dominant force on the Welsh Circuit. Chambers is and has been involved in many of the major cases on the circuit and members of the crime team are highly sought-after.

Regulatory & Disciplinary: Farrar’s Building has been heavily involved in the development and administration of disciplinary proceedings over the past 30 years. Chambers provide specialist advice and advocacy across the full range of regulatory and disciplinary law, appearing before all major disciplinary and regulatory tribunals, including sports and often chairing such panels themselves.

Public Inquiries: Chambers has a long history of involvement in public inquiries and of chairing/appearing before a range of regulatory and disciplinary tribunals. Recently, members of chambers have been instructed in the Covid, Post Office, Grenfell, Infected Blood and Brook House Inquiries.

Public Law: Members of Farrar’s Building are regularly instructed in public law matters and possess significant depth and breadth of experience in this area. Some members also have first-hand experience of working in-house within government organisations. A number of junior members are currently part of the Attorney General’s scheme and regularly accept instructions from a wide variety of government clients.