2025 in review

2025 has been another busy year for Chambers. We are now firmly settled into our new home in Grays’s Inn, have enjoyed a successful cycle of awards wins and have been instructed in some of the most high-profile cases of the last 12 months.

Police Law continues to be at the heart of what we do. We have worked with nearly every police force in England and Wales, as well as with Police Scotland and PSNI. We also acted on behalf of central Government, coroners, regulators and other public authorities in some significant cases, such as the Thirlwall Inquiry, the Covid-19 Inquiry, XGY v Chief Constable of Sussex and the CPS, and the Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan to name but a few.

The annual Police Law Conference was as popular as ever – an event we look forward to every year as an opportunity to connect to many of our valued clients. In addition, we hosted webinars on Mediation, Information Law as well as several pupillage events. We have an exciting calendar of events planned for 2026. Do visit our events page for more information.

As Chambers continues to grow, we welcomed four new Members of Chambers:

• Eleanor Guildford joined Chambers in March 2025 from a highly regarded northern set.
• Matthew Simpson joined in July as an Associate Tenant.
• Former Pupil Stella Wojdyla became a Tenant in September.
• Edward Barham joined in October as a Tenant, moving from a large regional Police Force where he was in-house counsel.

Our new cohort of pupils, Leah Arthur and Harry Thomas, started their pupillage in September and are gaining experience across Chambers’ core practice areas.

The expertise of a number of Members was recognised through the following appointments:

• Bilal Rawat was appointed to King’s Counsel.
• Francesca Whitelaw KC served for six months as Interim Biometrics Commissioner.
• Fiona Barton KC was awarded a commendation for her outstanding contribution to a Counter Terrorism South East (CTSE) operation.
• Millicent Wild was awarded a commendation by the Metropolitan Police for her work in disrupting high-risk sexual offenders.
• Many of our barristers continue to serve on the Attorney General’s Panels of Counsel.

5 Essex continues to retain top tier status in both major legal directories for Police Law and Inquests and Public Inquiries with more barristers joining or moving up the rankings this year. We were also shortlisted for several awards and were delighted to win Chambers of the Year at the Legal Cheek Awards 2025 and Georgina Wolfe was named Inquests and Public Inquiries Junior of the Year at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2025.

We are proud to be the Chambers with the second-highest proportion of female KCs (71%) and first in the ‘Most BME KCs’ category (42%) according to the latest ‘Legal Cheek Most Lists’. 5 Essex Chambers also continues to lead the way in supporting those taking parental or carer leave, thanks to the work of our ED&I committee, led by Emma Price, co-author of the forthcoming book “Baby at the Bar – Navigating life at the Bar after becoming a parent’ (to be published by Bloomsbury Professional, February 2026).

Finally, I would like to say thank all our clients for your continued loyalty and support. Wishing you a peaceful and relaxing festive break.