Recognised as a leading set in the field of inquest work, we have an enormous breadth and depth of experience in coronial law. Our members have appeared in many of the most high profile and controversial inquests over the years, as well as cases that have shaped this area of law.

We appear in jury inquests as well as claims for judicial review of coroners’ decisions and subsequent damages claims. This work often overlaps with other areas of expertise, including public inquiries, clinical negligence, personal injury, human rights, mental health, public law (including prisons, police, the military and the intelligence services). We are therefore ideally placed to advise and represent interested persons and coroners in the most complex of cases.

We provide representation to families and other interested persons, including clinical practitioners, NHS bodies, private health care providers, government departments (including the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence and the intelligence services), the police and local authorities. Our members have been Counsel to the Coroner and regularly undertake advisory work for coroners.

Members have also edited and co-authored the leading practitioner guide to coronial law The Inquest Book: The Law of Coroners and Inquests (Hart Publishing, 2016). Read more about our publications here. Caroline Cross is Consultant Editor of Halsbury’s Laws on Coroners, Cremation & Burials.

Areas of expertise encompass:

  • Medical deaths, including alleged surgical, nursing, obstetric and anesthetic failures
  • Homicides
  • Terrorist-related deaths
  • Deaths in custody
  • Military deaths
  • Construction Accidents

Notable cases include:  

  • Manchester Arena Bombings
  • Stephen Port Inquests
  • Westminster Bridge Inquests
  • London Bridge Attack Inquests
  • Guildford Pub Bombing Inquests
  • The Hillsborough Inquests: 96 football supporters lost their lives as a result of a crush on the terraces at Hillsborough stadium during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989.
  • Inquest into the death of Molly Russell: an inquest which explored the impact of Instagram on teen suicide.
  • Inquest into the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse: a young girl with a severe sesame allergy who died after eating a baguette from Pret at Heathrow Airport, which led to ‘Natasha’s Law‘ and the formation of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation.
  • Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA)
  • 7/7 Bombings: terrorist bombings in London on 7 July 2005, in which 52 people were killed.
  • Inquest into the death of Alexander Litvinenko: the former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who was poisoned by FSB operators.
  • Inquest into the death of Alexander Perepilichnyy: a Russian national and whistleblower found dead whilst running. It has been claimed he was poisoned.
  • Inquest into the death of Kingsley Burrell: 6 week jury inquest into the death of a man in Birmingham who was restrained by police at a Mental Health Unit and then transferred by ambulance, whilst still under restraint and with a covering over his head, to another Unit. He was then left in a seclusion room and shortly thereafter died.
  • Birmingham Inquests (1974): the reopened inquests of 21 people who died in the IRA Birmingham pub bombing on 21 November 1974.
  • In Amenas: inquest into the murder of seven BP workers during a terrorist attack on an Algerian gas plant.
  • Alice Gross: inquest into the murder of Alice Gross by a Latvian criminal Arnis Zalkalns.
  • Coagh Inquests: inquest into the shooting of three IRA volunteers by a specialist British Army unit in 1991.
  • Re AC: Irish resident who died of a massive haemorrhage following a late termination of pregnancy, having been discharged from the abortion clinic shortly prior to death.
  • Inquest into the death of Grace Roseman: a seven week old baby who died of asphyxia after her head became stuck over the half lowered side edge of a bedside sleeper cot. The inquest has led to an industry-wide re-examination of baby cot safety internationally.
  • Liam Hogan: the six year old boy whose father threw him off a hotel balcony in Crete.
  • Horatio Chapple: schoolboy who was attacked and killed by a polar bear on a school expedition in Norway.

‘An excellent set’ with ‘a strong inquest team’ which draws upon the chambers’ wider expertise in clinical negligence, personal injury, and human rights law.”A very strong set with many excellent inquest and inquiry practitioners.” (Legal 500 2024) 

“A first-rate and go-to chambers for complex inquests and inquiries”, instructing solicitors say that they are “always impressed with the set’s barristers and the type of work offered.” “Leading set for inquests – a fantastic outfit.”

1 Crown Office Row is well known in the inquests and inquiries field for having excellent barristers at all levels of seniority, who are renowned for handling central roles in extremely high-profile cases. Our interviewees note: “They have a good spread of very good people who instil trust.” “1COR has the best clerks, who always pick up the phone and get back to you as promised.” “I have always been impressed with the clerking, particularly at the senior end; they will go out of their way to make things easy for you.” (Chambers & Partners 2024)

For information on our team based in Brighton, please click here.

 

Who to contact:

Clerking team

london@1cor.com

020 7797 7500

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KCs

Richard Booth KC

Call 1993
Silk 2013
Philip-Havers-QC-1COR

Philip Havers KC

Call 1974
Silk 1995
Paul Rees QC 1COR

Paul Rees KC

Call 1980
Silk 2000
Martin Forde QC 1COR

Martin Forde KC

Call 1984
Silk 2006
Angus McCullough QC 1COR

Angus McCullough KC

Call 1990
Silk 2010
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John Whitting KC

Call 1991
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David Evans KC

Call 1988
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Henry Witcomb QC 1COR

Henry Witcomb KC

Call 1989
Silk 2016
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Owain Thomas KC

Call 1995
Silk 2016
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Jeremy Hyam KC

Call 1995
Silk 2016

Clodagh Bradley KC

Call 1996
Silk 2016
Peter Skelton QC 1COR

Peter Skelton KC

Call 1997
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Oliver Sanders KC

Call 1995
Silk 2017
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Shaheen Rahman KC

Call 1996
Silk 2017
Sarah Lambert QC 1COR OLD

Sarah Lambert KC

Call 1994
Silk 2018
Neil Sheldon 1COR

Neil Sheldon KC

Call 1998
Silk 2019
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Robert Kellar KC

Call 1999
Silk 2019
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Andrew Kennedy KC

Call 1989
Silk 2021

David Manknell KC

Call 2001
Silk 2024

Juniors

Martin Downs 1COR

Martin Downs

Call 1990
Giles Colin 1COR

Giles Colin

Call 1994
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Sydney Chawatama

Call 1994

Richard Smith

Call 1999
Christopher Mellor 1COR

Christopher Mellor

Call 1999
Iain O'Donnell 1COR

Iain O’Donnell

Call 2000
Cara-Guthrie-1COR

Cara Guthrie

Call 2000
Matthew Barnes 1COR

Matthew Barnes

Call 2000
Shahram Sharghy 1COR

Shahram Sharghy

Call 2000
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Suzanne Lambert

Call 2002
Judith Rogerson 1COR

Judith Rogerson

Call 2003

Richard Mumford

Call 2004
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Leanne Woods

Call 2005
Rachel Marcus 1COR

Rachel Marcus

Call 2005
Pritesh-Rathod-

Pritesh Rathod

Call 2006

Benjamin Seifert

Call 2007
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Amelia Walker

Call 2007

Isabel McArdle

Call 2008

Matthew Hill

Call 2009
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Alasdair Henderson

Call 2009
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Paul Reynolds

Call 2010
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Rory Badenoch

Call 2010
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Lois Williams

Call 2012
Jim Duffy 1COR

Jim Duffy

Call 2012
D-Ruck-Keane

Dominic Ruck Keene

Call 2012
Jess Elliott 1COR

Jessica Elliott

Call 2013

Marcus Coates-Walker

Call 2013
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Hannah Noyce

Call 2013
Michael Deacon 1COR

Michael Deacon

Call 2014

Robert Mills

Call 2014
Rhoderick Chalmers 1COR

Rhoderick Chalmers

Call 2014
Emma Louise Fenelon 1COR

Emma-Louise Fenelon

Call 2015
Gideon Barth 1COR

Gideon Barth

Call 2015
jo moore 1cor

Jo Moore

Call 2015

Jonathan Metzer

Call 2016

Amelia Williams

Call 2016

Rajkiran Arhestey

Call 2017

Darragh Coffey

Call 2018
Thomas Beamont 1COR

Thomas Beamont

Call 2019
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Alice Kuzmenko

Call 2018

Gareth Rhys

Call 2019

Lucy McCann

Call 2020

Jasper Gold

Call 2021

Thomas Hayes

Call 2021

Nicholas Jones

Call 2021

Lance Baynham

Call 2021

Paula Kelly

Call 2022

Rebekah Lee

Call 2022

Associate Members – Door Tenants

Christian Howells 1COR

Christian Howells

Call 2007

Associate Members – Coroners

Emma Whitting 1COR

H.M. Coroner Emma Whitting

Call 1991

Associate Members – Overseas

Matthew Flinn 1COR

Matthew Flinn

Call 2010

Academic Consultants

Caroline-Cross

Caroline Cross

Call 2006