About Us

Our services

Doughty Street Chambers was set up in 1990 by thirty independent-minded barristers, aiming to break the mould of traditional chambers by moving out of the Inns of Court and setting new standards of professionalism and excellence in the legal world. That desire for justice and excellence remains the driving force behind all that we do in Chambers today, now three times the size with 95 members, including 16 QCs.

Our aim is to provide an outstanding, accessible and sensitive service to a broad range of clients in accordance with our commitment to the promotion of human rights and civil liberties through the law.

While at the forefront of many cutting-edge domestic and international human rights cases, and with several members of Chambers having rights of audience in jurisdictions around the world, we operate across a wide range of different areas of law. For a full list click here.

We are committed to publicly funded casework and are available to undertake private and contractual casework, CFAs, Treasury Solicitor work, mediation, consultancy work, CPS work, as well as subsidised and pro bono work.

The values that define us can be summarised as a commitment:

• to human rights - that includes a recognition that the poorest citizen is not made equal to the richest corporation simply by according them the same rights and is part of a liberal tradition of defending freedom and citizens' rights irrespective of the popularity of the cause or the client;
  
• an undisputed reputation for excellence, providing a service that is efficient, responsive and at a price our customers are prepared to pay; and
  
• to ensuring that principles of equality, respect and diversity are embodied both in the service we provide to our clients and in the recruitment, training and support policies we promote.
  

We are proud that our commitment has been recognised many times, including, over the last five years:

• Legal Aid Lawyer of the year, legal aid barrister - Robert Latham 2008
• The Chambers Bar Awards, human rights & public law silk of the year - Keir Starmer QC 2007
• Legal Aid Lawyer of the year, young legal aid barrister - Alison Gerry 2007
• Legal Aid Lawyer of the year, young barrister - Ruth Brander 2006
• Outstanding commitment to pro bono work - Keir Starmer 2005
• The Chambers Bar Awards, human rights junior of the year - Phillippa Kaufmann 2005
• The Chambers Bar Awards, human rights set of the year - 2005
• The Chambers Bar Awards, human rights silk of the year - Edward Fitzgerald 2005
• For outstand commitment to pro bono work - Andrew Hall QC 2004