About Us
Fenners Chambers, founded in Cambridge in 1973, has established a reputation in East Anglia and the East Midlands for a professional and businesslike approach to the provision of legal services. During 2003/4 we welcomed the following new members:
Deborah Tripley - formerly in-house lawyer with Greenpeace, has joined our Environmental Team
Howard Llewellyn - formerly Head of Legal Services for Cambridgeshire Police.
Cameron Maxwell Lewis - Cameron joined our Business Team following a successful career at the Hong Kong Bar, founding his own chambers and heading the legal department for NBC and another international organisation. He retains strong media connections, running his own production company.
Celia Miller - Celia joined us from East Anglian Chambers, where she was head of their family team. She has practised solely in family law for the past 16 years and we are delighted that she has joined us to further bolster our already substantial and committed Family Team.
Bruce Monnington - formerly Chief Legal Adviser at the Country Land and Business Association, has expertise in all areas of real property law, especially with a rural/agricultural leaning. He also brings with him a wealth of experience of environmental law relating to agriculture and the countryside at national, EU and international levels.
George Speed - before joining Fenners in June this year, George previously practised in London. He has wide experience in criminal law, both prosecution and defence and, due to his military background, is also experienced in Courts-Martial work.
Expansion
The opening of our second centre in Peterborough in 1993 demonstrates our continuing commitment to the provision of a range of legal services that meet the growing and changing needs of our clients throughout the Anglia region.
Organisation in Groups
Fenners Chambers is organised around teams of barristers, led by a senior member of Chambers and specialising in different areas of work: Contract and Business; Crime; Employment; Family; Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence; Property; Probate Wills and Trusts; Environment Law, and Police Law. Within each team there is further individual specialisation.
Technology
We seek to ensure that we are using the most modern technology to keep up to date with changes in the law - through the Internet, using reports and text books on CD Rom, as well as our extensive traditional library. We can provide opinions and pleadings on disc or by e-mail. Chambers IT infrastructure now runs under Freedom 2000 software. This enables all members to work effectively from any location. It is hoped that, save for members being unavailable, i.e on holiday or due to illness, you should receive a response, where requested, to any transmission within 24 hours. Should you experience any difficulty in this regard please contact one of our administration team on 01223 368761. Chambers' ability to communicate effectively is further enhanced by our new voice mail telephone sytem, which can be accessed remotely, thus enabling members of chambers to pick up their messages and remain in contact at all times.
Access to Justice
Throughout the history of Chambers, members have been involved in the provision of legal services to those less able to afford it - by giving voluntary advice at the CAB legal sessions, through the Free Representation Unit and the Bar Pro Bono Scheme. We have taken the initiative to develop a "Suggested Settlement Scheme" for ancillary relief disputes. Members of Chambers also accept cases on a Conditional Fee basis. Some members accept instructions directly from appropriate professionals. Chambers welcomes the development of the "Bar Direct Scheme". A number of members are qualified mediators and have been involved in the development of arbitration and mediation services.
The Quality of the Service
The Bar Council has introduced the "Quality Mark Assurance Scheme". Fenners Chambers aims to comply with the requirements of that scheme and has been awarded the Legal Services Commission's "Quality Mark" in recognition of the high quality of service that chambers provides.
The ability of Fenners Chambers to initiate such schemes and to adapt to new technology means that we are able to ensure we can continue to provide a professional service to our clients - whether individuals, corporate, privately funded or legally aided.
Fenners Chambers has adopted the Bar Equality Code. Our Cambridge premises are accessible to wheelchair users, but Members of Chambers would be willing to hold conferences in Solicitors’ offices or clients’ homes if appropriate.
Our experienced clerking team, headed by Michael Dean, are always happy to give further information about members’ specialist areas, their background and their expertise. Members of Chambers also welcome direct enquiries from solicitors and we seek to establish and maintain a friendly and positive relationship with solicitors, based on mutual respect and professional equality.
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