Doughty Street Chambers is delighted to announce that Alex Durance and John Hobson have joined us from Garden Court North Chambers. Both of these well established and highly regarded practitioners will operate principally from our Manchester office, working mainly with our Housing & Social Welfare Team.

Alex Durance (called 1997) has a practice predominantly in housing, and this increasingly incorporates community care, mental health and asylum support. He is also recommended as a leading junior in immigration. Alex is involved with the NW Housing Law Practitioners Association as well as NALA and ILPA. He has been described in Chambers & Partners as having "simply fantastic knowledge" and an "expert eye in finding the key issues to challenge cases".

John Hobson (called 1999) has a housing practice embracing both private and public law, and also practices in inquest/coronial law and employment law. He is an Executive Member of the Haldane Society and his voluntary work includes acting as a mentor to vulnerably housed young people. Legal 500 has described John as "a tough and intelligent lawyer" with "a deserved reputation for fighting hard for the underdog".

Doughty Street Chambers Director Robin Jackson said: "Until now, clients did not have a great deal of choice in chambers to instruct in tenants' housing and social welfare matters outside London, but, with the arrival at Doughty Street of excellent local practitioners Alex Durance and John Hobson as part of our outstanding team of highly successful H&SW barristers, there's a new player in the market based in Manchester. This is also tremendous news for the development of our Manchester office which opened last summer and for which further recruitment is imminent."

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