We are delighted that Lizanne Gumbel KC won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2024.
Lizanne was called to the bar in 1974 whilst studying at Oxford for a degree in PPE. Her first pupillage was in Paris in the summer vacation from university. Pupillage in London was followed by 4 years of squatting before she became a tenant at 5 Pump Court, moving later to 199 Strand where she took silk in 1999 and then to 1 Crown Office Row in 2003.
When Lizanne was called to the bar there had only ever been 6 women silks, she became the 99th in a list that is still only 641.
In the 50 years of practice so far Lizanne has appeared in the Supreme Court in 10 cases. These cases have tested the boundaries of local authority liability for children in care, of vicarious liability of institutions for sexual abusers and of limitation in personal injury cases.
Lizanne has brought group actions for children abused in local authority care in a number of different care homes and by catholic priests as well as the residents of Winterbourne View. She also acted for the Claimants abused by Jimmy Savile, Harvey Weinstein and Ian Paterson and now acts for Claimants suing Crispin Odey and Kevin Spacey.
In 2019 Lizanne appeared in the HOT 100 list. She has been awarded Clinical Negligence Silk of the year by Chambers and Partners in 2023 and 2016.
