Barrister Category: Associate Members

Tanya joined chambers as a pupil in 2009 and spent ten years in full-time practice specialising in crime, immigration/asylum and public law.  She also acted pro bono in several employment law matters and represented individuals before the Mental Health Tribunal. She was regularly instructed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and by the Serious Fraud Office as disclosure counsel on two multi-million pound investigations in 2015 and between 2018-2020.

In 2013, Tanya took a sabbatical from her practice to run a sentencing project for the Centre for Capital Punishment Studies in Uganda, during which she organised and facilitated the re-sentencing process of beneficiaries of Attorney General v Susan Kigula and 417 others, which held that the mandatory death sentence was unconstitutional. In 2014, Tanya founded Evolve, a criminal justice development organisation which aims to improve access to justice; build the capacity of lawyers, judges and institutions; and promote respect for human rights and the rule of law in Uganda.  In 2017, Tanya won the Sydney Elland Goldsmith Bar Pro Bono Award, for her work.

She was appointed as a fee-paid judge of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in 2019.

Ariane is a multi-disciplinary practitioner focusing on equality and human rights law. She is the Head of Legal at the Human Dignity Trust, the only organisation working globally to use strategic litigation to defend the human rights of LGBT people. Previously, Ariane led the Equal Rights Trust‘s global legal research work on the rights to equality and non-discrimination, and strategic litigation before regional and international courts and bodies. Between 2022 and 2023, Ariane led the casework and research teams at the Public Law Project, spearheading in particular the organisation’s work on artificial intelligence and non-discrimination.

In her private practice, Ariane specialised on discrimination and human rights claims, particularly in the areas of immigration, housing/homelessness, privacy/data protection and employment.

Ariane has led litigation, advocacy and research initiatives for several organisations, including Amnesty International and Reprieve.

Over her long years of immigration & asylum practice Christa has been a champion for immigration applicants, their families and asylum seekers, having attained countless successful results. She has been involved with many landmark cases such as for example Re Musisi in which the duty of “anxious scrutiny” was established and Boybeyi which helped to bring about “fresh claims”.  Many clients also particularly needed to rely on human rights arguments, as for instance where people have overstayed but nevertheless need to fight against their removal from the UK and in these cases Christa’s creative approach became crucial and she has won many “unwinnable” cases.

Nicola Williams is the first Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces, appointed in January 2016, following a year in the role as the Service Complaints Commissioner for the Armed Forces. She sits on the Executive Committee of the Ombudsman Association. She was appointed as a Crown Court Recorder sitting on the London and South Eastern Circuit in 2009. She was the Complaints Commissioner for the Cayman Islands – the territory’s sole Ombudsman –  from August 2009 to January 2015.

Between 2004 and 2009, Nicola was a Commissioner at the then Independent Police Complaints Commission. From 2001-2004 she was a Board Member at the Police Complaints Authority. Between 1985 and 2001, Nicola was a barrister in private practice specialising in criminal law and police misconduct. During this time she was the author of a successful legal thriller, “Without Prejudice” published by Hodder Headline. She is involved in mentoring and is a member of Speakers For Schools.

Alex has a multidisciplinary practice covering criminal law, actions against police, and human rights, with a particular interest in areas impacting on vulnerable parties, minorities, or involving accountability of public authorities.

He defends and prosecutes regularly in serious and multi-handed criminal cases and deals frequently with POCA proceedings, findings of fact, and is trained to handle vulnerable witnesses, and youths.

He has specialist expertise in bringing actions against the police, regularly acting successfully for claimants in jury trials, and on appeal, to challenge wrongful arrests, profiling, assaults causing personal injury, and other areas of police misconduct.

He has considerable further experience in areas of social welfare law which raise issues of human rights or public law. He has regularly acted in human rights, asylum, and deportation cases in the First-tier and Upper Tribunals; in possession and homelessness proceedings, and in cases involving the intersection of these areas and community care law, including on judicial review.

Alex has international expertise in legal issues surrounding the death penalty and human rights in capital jurisdictions, and international human rights more generally. He is Director of Programmes at Evolve which regularly offers technical assistance in capital cases, and has headed up statistical research into sentencing trends in Uganda. He has addressed judges on sentencing issues surrounding the death penalty and has designed, built and delivered online training tools for prosecutors in Uganda.

Alan Williams was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1978.  Practising from the Chambers of Leonard Woodley QC and Lord Gifford QC at 8 King’s Bench Walk (now 1MCB Chambers), he became a fee paid District Judge in 1998 and an Immigration Judge in 2003.

John Dunning is a former member of 1MCB, now practising on the North Eastern Circuit.

Whilst his practice covers the broad spectrum of criminal matters, acting for both prosecution and defence, he has particular experience in fraud, money laundering and drug importation. John has also developed niche expertise in trading standards and environmental law.

John also has a developing interest in education law, having been a past chair of governors of a large primary school and presently an LEA appointed chair of governors of a state secondary school.  He is a member of the East Riding Education Appeal Panel, and chairs the Appeal Panel of the University of York.

Jacqueline is a barrister and dispute resolution expert, accredited by FCIArb and CEDR.

She practised for fifteen years at 1MCB Chambers, where she was a well respected leading barrister in crime, with a special interest in white collar crime, confiscation and civil recovery.  Jacqueline prosecuted and defended in a large number of serious criminal cases involving murder, sexual offences, serious violence, drugs, fraud, money laundering.  She practised as a grade 3 prosecutor, and was part of a panel of barristers specialised in prosecuting sexual offences; she also prosecuted for HM Revenue & Customs in Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings, and was instructed by the Serious Fraud Office as disclosure counsel.  In the latter years of her practice in the UK, Jacqueline developed a more commercial and civil law oriented practice.

In 2015, Jacqueline relocated to Uganda, becoming a partner at Bowmans, a pan-African commercial law firm.  Here she built up a practice in corporate and commercial law, banking, governance, compliance and investigations (GCI), NGO law, white collar crime, and dispute resolution – arbitrating and mediating commercial disputes.

In 2020, Jacqueline left Bowmans for a career at the United Nations.

Jacqueline is an accredited Inns Advocacy Training Council trainer and previously taught on the Bar Professional Training Course at BPP Law School for over ten years.

Jacqueline has also trained lawyers in negotiation, mediation and arbitration on behalf of the International Law Institute – Africa Centre for Legal Excellence and various arbitral institutions in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Botswana.

Jacqueline previously worked for Evolve – Foundation for International Legal Assistance, which promotes access to justice in Uganda, particularly in capital cases.

She is admitted to the list of counsel at the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

The Rt Hon Lord Boateng PC DL is a civil liberties and employment lawyer.  He qualified as a solicitor in 1974 and was called to the Bar in 1989. He was an executive member of the National Council for Civil Liberties and, between 1977 and 1981, was legal advisor to the Scrap Sus campaign.  One of his most notable cases is that of Cherry Groce, a mother of six who was shot and paralysed by the police during the course of a raid of her home in search of her son: the shooting sparked the 1985 Brixton riot.

He was elected to the Greater London Council for Walthamstow in 1981.  As chair of the GLC’s police committee and vice-chair of its ethnic minorities committee, he advocated greater accountability in the Metropolitan Police and spoke out against racism in relation to their dealings with the black and Asian communities.

He thereafter served as MP for Brent between 1987 and 2005, becoming the first British MP of African descent.  He served within the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury between 2002 and 2005, before being appointed British High Commissioner to South Africa. In 2000, he became the first Minister for Young People, in which capacity he launched the Youth, Citizenship and Social Change programme – then the UK’s largest research project designed to examine social exclusion and promoting citizenship among young people – and played a leading role in coordinating the Every Child Matters policy paper, which called for the reform of children’s services, including greater accountability and coordination among government agencies.

He currently chairs the English Speaking Union and the Nairobi-based Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund.  He is also on the Board of the Ghana International Bank in the City of London, of which he is a Freeman.

Peter joined 1MCB in 2005 and stayed within chambers until his retirement in 2014. His work included a broad range of family law work, particularly children and care work.

He was known here for arriving on his motorbike and is now enjoying being able to give more time to his allotment and brewing hobbies.

Called to the Bars of both England and Wales and Monserrat, Sylvia is highly regarded for her family work.  She has acted in a number of reported cases, including Re. X (A Minor) (HIV Tests) [1994] 2 FLR 116; Re. E (Residence: Imposition of Conditions) [1997] 2 FLR 638 CA, and Re. O v J (Paternity: Blood Tests) [2000] 1 FLR 418.