QEB Hollis Whiteman (chambers) explained

QEB Hollis Whiteman
Offices:	London, United Kingdom
Headquarters:	1–2 Laurence Pountney Hill, City of London, United Kingdom
Key People:	Adrian Darbishire KC and Selva Ramasamy KC (Joint Heads of Chambers)
Num Lawyers:	70 practitioners
Practice Areas:	Crime, regulatory.^[1]
Company Type:	Unincorporated association of self-employed legal practitioners

QEB Hollis Whiteman is a leading set of barristers' chambers specialising in criminal, financial, and regulatory law, located in the City of London. Established in the 1980s, it employs 70 barristers, including 21 King's Counsel, four Treasury Counsel and one Standing Counsel to the RCPO.^[2] The current Heads of Chambers are Selva Ramasamy KC and Adrian Darbishire KC ^[3] and the Chief Clerk is Chris Emmings.^[4]

History

The set was established in June 1982 by Daniel Hollis QC (1925–2016).^[5] It was named after their former premises at Queen Elizabeth Building in the Temple which it left in 2010, moving to the City of London.^[6]

Practice areas

The set's practice areas include:^[7]

• Regulatory
• Corporate crime and Financial crime
• Fraud
• Crime and Private Prosecution
• Public
• Health and Safety
• Confiscation, Restraint and Cash Forfeiture
• Sport, Media and Entertainment

The chambers are considered "the go-to place" for criminal defence as well as for prosecution.

Notable members

Members of chambers have prosecuted and defended in many widely publicised criminal cases.^[8]

• Mark Ellison KC defended Hogan Lovells solicitor Chris Grierson when he was accused of £1.27 million expenses fraud,^[9] as well as prosecuting on behalf of FCA in £7.4m gains insider dealing case.^[10] He also undertook a review of undercover policing in connection to Stephen Lawrence murder for the Home Office.^[11]
• Edward Brown KC advised the SFO and leads for the prosecution in the Barclays-Qatar fundraising prosecution,^[12] as well as prosecuting Kevin Hutchinson-Foster in connection with Mark Duggan murder.^[13]
• Adrian Darbishire KC successfully defended Ryan Reich who was prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office for manipulating the London LIBOR during the Libor scandal.^[14]
• Zoe Johnson KC is a former Senior Treasury Counsel and the founding member of the Bar Disability Panel.^[15]
• Peter Kyte KC is a prosecutor who also sits as a recorder at Southwark Crown Court.^{[16] [17]}
• William Boyce KC is a Crown Court Recorder and former Senior Treasury Counsel.^[18]
• Eleanor Laws KC is a Recorder and has been described as the "go-to Silk" for sexual offences.^[19]
• Tom Kark KC is a Crown Court Recorder and former standing counsel to Customs and Excise.^[20] He has been appointed to chair the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Public Inquiry in Northern Ireland (2022). He was a leading Counsel to the Francis Inquiry that examined the causes of the failings in care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust between 2005 and 2009.^[21] and conducted a review of the fit and proper person test for the Minister for Health published in 2019. He also sits as a legal assessor in the Osteopathic Council.^[22]
• Sean Larkin KC successfully prosecuted alleged Daesh sympathiser in a terrorism case which could have long lasting implications on the definition of terrorism and the impact of public international law on domestic legislation.^[23]

Notable honorary members

Honorary members include Mr Justice David Calvet-Smith, former Director of Public Prosecutions and former chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales.^[24]

Former notable members

Former members include Daniel Hollis QC, the founding member of the set,^[25] and judge Ian Paton QC, criminal prosecutor who prosecuted in major criminal trials as well as sitting as a Recorder in Southwark Crown Court.^[26]

Heather Norton practised at the chambers for 23 years, until 2012 when she was appointed a Circuit Judge sitting at Canterbury Crown Court.^[27]

Rankings and honours

• In 2016, Chambers and Partners named QEB Hollis Whiteman "Crime Set of The Year".^[28]
• In 2017, Who's Who Legal listed QEB Hollis Whiteman as one of their “leading sets” for crime.^[29]
• In 2018, Legal 500 named QEB Hollis Whiteman as “Crime Set of the Year”.^[30]

See also

• Criminal justice
• Criminal defence

External links

• Website of QEB Hollis Whiteman
• Lucy Kennedy of QEB Hollis Whiteman interviewed about regulatory law
• Dailymotion: QEB Hollis Whiteman move to the City of London
• QEB Hollis Whiteman member Tom Kark QC discusses the Francis Inquiry at a Royal Pharmaceutical Society event

Notes and References

1. News: QEB Hollis Whiteman Chambers profile . 30 July 2017 . 30 July 2017.
2. Web site: Barristers & Staff. QEB Hollis Whiteman. en. 4 April 2019.
3. limited . Register . qebhw . 1381897972238127104.
4. News: QEB Hollis Whiteman: About . 31 July 2017 . 31 July 2017.
5. News: Dan Hollis QC Obituary. 29 October 2017 . 29 October 2017.
6. News: QEB Hollis moves to the City in spirit of competitive advantage. 30 July 2017. 30 July 2017.
7. Web site: QEB Hollis Whiteman – Barristers – General Crime, Business Crime, Professional Regulation and Discipline and Intellectual Property. QEB Hollis Whiteman. en-GB. 21 March 2018.
8. News: QEB Hollis Whiteman chambers profile . 30 July 2017 . 30 July 2017.
9. News: Ex Hogan Lovells partner Grierson admits £1.27m expenses fraud. 30 July 2017. 30 July 2017.
10. News: Defendants in insider trading case motivated by 'greed'. 30 July 2017. 30 July 2017.
11. News: Ellison Report findings: After years of secrecy and misdirection, the true story of how corruption tainted the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. 30 July 2017. 30 July 2017.
12. News: Senior Barclays bankers charged with fraud over credit crunch fundraising . 30 July 2017 . 30 July 2017.
13. News: Man found guilty of supplying Mark Duggan with handgun minutes before Tottenham shooting . 30 July 2017 . 30 July 2017.
14. News: Senior Barclays bankers charged with fraud over credit crunch fundraising . 1 August 2017. 1 August 2017.
15. Web site: Zoe Johnson QC. QEB Hollis Whiteman. en-GB. 22 March 2018.
16. News: Prosecutor Peter Kyte QC said the couple had debts of more than £30,000 and had been taken to court by creditors in 2011. 6 August 2017. 6 August 2017.
17. News: Drink-drive mum spared jail after crashes in Highams Park and Walthamstow . 6 August 2017. 6 August 2017.
18. News: William Boyce QC: my life. . 4 August 2017 . 4 August 2017.
19. Web site: Eleanor Laws QC. QEB Hollis Whiteman. en-GB. 22 March 2018.
20. News: Why didn't the GMC prosecute Mid Staffs directors? . 10 August 2017 . 10 August 2017.
21. News: NHS Foundation Trust. 10 August 2017 . 10 August 2017.
22. News: Chambers and partners: Tom Kark KC . 10 August 2017 . 10 August 2017.
23. News: Trial of a man accused of encouraging support for Islamic State nears conclusion . 10 August 2017 . 10 August 2017.
24. News: David Calvert-Smith leads a parole board confronted by an unprecedented backlog of hearings and little option but to keep inmates waiting in overcrowded prisons . 1 August 2017. 1 August 2017.
25. News: Leading criminal barrister known for his insouciance and the sometimes startling brevity of his advocacy in court. 29 October 2017. 29 October 2017.
26. News: Barrister killed in mystery blaze at his home . 30 July 2017 . 30 July 2017.
27. News: Judge Heather Norton orders arrest of man who failed to turn up at Canterbury Crown Court for jury service . 4 August 2017 . 4 August 2017.
28. News: QEB Hollis Whiteman was announced as Crime Set of the Year at the Chambers UK Bar Awards . 30 July 2017 . 30 July 2017.
29. News: QEB Hollis Whiteman listed in UK Bar 2017 . 30 July 2017 . 30 July 2017.
30. Web site: The Legal 500 Awards – UK Awards 2018: Bar Winners. www.legal500.com. en-us. 20 March 2018.