Cornerstone Barristers

Cornerstone Barristers is a set of barristers who specialise in social housing law, planning, common and commercial law.

History[]

Cornerstone Barristers was formed in 1880 by Sir Charles Hall as 2-3 Gray's Inn Square.^{[citation needed]} Sir Graham Eyre QC was the Head of Chambers, before being succeeded by Anthony Scrivener QC in 1992.^{[citation needed]}

In 1999, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to cull its panel of prosecuting chambers, resulting in more than 30 barristers moving out of 11 sets. 2-3 Gray's Inn Square lost practice manager Paul Simpson and senior clerk Bill Harris. Gray's Inn Square said they had been asked to be taken off the list prior to the cutbacks.^[1]

In the early 2000s, Gray's Inn Square grew steadily. From 2001 - 2006 Anthony Porten QC led the firm as its head of chambers. During this time the organization grew its expertise in housing and licensing.^[2] Revenues grew from £9.7m to £10.6m from 2004 - 2006 alone. The following year the chambers lost three members, but revenue per barrister and overall revenue continued to grow.^[3] In 2006, planning specialist Mark Lowe QC was elected as its new head of chambers in a move to help the firm modernize and grow. Lowe's goals were to streamline the civil set and attract more members.^[2]

In December, 2011 2-3 Gray's Inn Square was renamed to Cornerstone Barristers.^[4]

Notable cases[]

In 2005, the co-head of chambers Anthony Scrivener QC appeared before the House of Lords on behalf of air passengers claiming airlines had caused deep vein thrombosis.^[3]

Reputation[]

Cornerstone Barristers is highly regarded, in particular in the social housing sector and for the strength of its juniors.^[5] Legal Week recognized many of Cornerstone's juniors among a list of rising stars in 2005.^[6] Many of Corerstone's lawyer's are among the top-rated silks as well.^[7] It was first recognized by the Lawyer's Bar Top 30 in 2004, when it had only £9.7m in revenue. The chambers enjoys a strong reputation in common and commercial law,^[3] as well as the social housing sector. members of chambers are best known for their work with local authorities, though they represent both providers and consumers.^[5]

Notable members[]

• Planner, Sir Graham Eyre QC, was knighted for taking on the job of Inspector for the London Airports Inquiry from 1981 to 1984.
• Anthony Hidden QC and David Penry-Davey QC were made High Court Judges 1989 and 1994 respectively.
• Anthony Scrivener QC, Head of Chambers, served at the bar for 36 years.
• Anthony Porten QC^[7]
• Tim Straker^[8]

• Malcolm Spence QC left chambers at Christmas 2011, having served 53 years.
• Sir Charles Hall was first Head of Chambers. He was Attorney-General to King Edward VII, then Prince of Wales.
• Suella Braverman QC the second female Attorney General, and first Conservative female AG.

Legal Associations[]

• Many barristers are founding members of the Social Housing Law Association.^[9]
• Jenny Oscroft is a council member of a consumer rights organization called Which?^[10]

Further reading[]

• Spence, Malcolm (2005). The Chambers of Marshall Hall:125 Years. UK: Aeneas Press. ISBN 1-902115-48-1.

References[]

External links[]

• Official website