David is an experienced advocate in a broad range of legal practice areas, including criminal defence, constitutional law, immigration, judicial review, inquests and general civil litigation.
He writes and lectures extensively in the UK, Ireland and internationally.
Ghazala is a strategic and tenacious barrister practising in the areas of family and criminal law. She is accessible and firmly dedicated to the needs of her clients.
Prior to joining chambers, Ghazala worked as an immigration tribunal representative and caseworker for several years.
Ghazala has a growing practice in all areas of criminal defence, representing clients in both the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts. She is recognised for her methodical approach and skilled courtroom advocacy. She has worked on a number of serious and complex criminal matters whilst working as a paralegal, including the 21/7 London bombing case and R v Jalil and Others (2006) under the supervision of Edward Rees KC of Doughty Street Chambers and Jo Sidhu KC of 25 Bedford Row. Ghazala maintains an interest in the Terrorism Prevent Strategy and has worked with local councils, schools and the police force in relation to this.
As a criminal practitioner, her experience of cross-examination and witness handling techniques are particularly advantageous in her family law practice, particularly where there is a crossover in cases involving domestic abuse or sexual violence. With her empathetic manner, she approaches cases with the necessary tact and care to achieve the best outcome for her clients making her a repeat choice counsel.
She also has experience of education law and has represented parents before Independent Review Panel hearings seeking admission for their child into a particular school, as well as representing schools opposing admission for reasons such as infant size prejudice. With more than 15 years’ experience in educational governance she has a particular handle on educational appeal hearings.
Ghazala is committed to helping the vulnerable and disadvantaged and is routinely involved in pro bono work. She has volunteered for the Citizens Advice Bureau and worked for the Free Representation Unit. She was also part of the Mayor of London’s programme, Here to Stay, offering immigration advice to members of the public in light of Brexit. She is involved with various charitable organisations, regularly providing assistance, and has played an integral part in initiatives helping vulnerable members of the community.
Ghazala has a particular interest in human rights having had exposure to such issues in her various practice areas. She did a placement at the UN Mechanism for International Residual Mechanism Criminal Tribunal in the Hague assisting Iain Edwards in the case of Prosecutor v Stanišić & Simatović. Ghazala also supported Evolve with a study visit to London of the Sentencing Guidelines Committee of Uganda, and continues to maintain an active interest in the organisation’s work.
As a barrister of considerable experience in criminal and civil as well as commercial law, Shiraz has been speaking on behalf of the vulnerable and outcast for some 20 years. He has particular experience in criminal defence, housing and personal injury (having a medical sciences degree) and has a wealth of experience in cases concerning vulnerable people.
He is also founder and director of Be Coherent Ltd, a communications and legal training company which provides law and advocacy, persuasive communications, and media and defamation training for non-lawyers.
Mike prosecutes and defends in the Crown Court in a range of criminal matters, including POCA, and has appeared in the Court of Appeal and the High Court. He prepares thoroughly and has excellent client care. Mike is a CPS grade 3 prosecutor and has been appointed to the specialist panels for serious crime, fraud and proceeds of crime. He also been appointed to the SFO’s panel C for prosecution, proceeds of crime and international assistance.
Having completed pupillage at 4 Breams Buildings, he joined 1MCB as a third six pupil in October 2016 and became a tenant in August 2017.
Mike worked previously in conservation and then the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), developing and implementing policy and programmes in Whitehall, Iraq and Afghanistan. His focus in DFID was conflict reduction and security and justice reform in developing countries. After leaving government, Mike managed a large aviation security and police training programme in Somaliland, on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
Mike studied Philosophy at the University of Liverpool, before studying for an MA in International Relations and Development Studies at the University of East Anglia and later an MSc in Security Sector Management at the UK Defence Academy / Cranfield University.
He undertook the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Bar Professional Training Course at City University, London. He has travelled widely and speaks and reads Spanish and Indonesian moderately well.
In appropriate cases, Mike is able to accept instructions directly from members of the public, community organisations and NGOs, through the Bar Council’s Public Access Scheme.
Michael has a busy junior practice, combining housing, employment law and criminal defence. He joined 1MCB in February 2016, having completed pupillage at Garden Court Chambers.
Prior to joining the Bar, Michael worked at law centres in South London, Bristol and Surrey. He provided advice and representation in housing law, especially homelessness and possession, as well as employment law and general public law. He has extensive experience of assisting vulnerable clients under legal aid contracts, including county court duty advice.
Michael regularly accepts instructions in the County Court for tenants defending possession claims, as well as tenants alleging disrepair, unlawful eviction/harassment or discrimination. Michael has also represented vulnerable clients in urgently securing interim relief from the High Court, as well as in homelessness appeals, including final hearings.
Michael also has extensive experience over many years of providing advice and advocacy in relation to employment tribunal claims, having represented in claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing, wages and breach of contract. He has been thanked by the Employment Appeal Tribunal EAT for his “thoughtful analysis and clear presentation” (Stroud RFC v Monkman UKEAT/0143/13).
Pamela practises in all areas of criminal defence, including serious crime and offences alleging violence (attempted murder, section 18 and section 20 offences), drugs offences, firearms offences, and cases involving animal welfare. She has experience of abuse of process submissions and of confiscation proceedings. She has appeared before the Court of Appeal on numerous occasions. She has significant experience in public order law and offences arising out of protests, having represented miners during the 1980s, anti poll tax in the 1990s and anti war protestors more recently. She has been noted for dealing with difficult and sensitive cases over the years. She has been led in cases ranging from murder to confiscation and RIPA and been both led junior and junior alone in the High Court in dangerous dogs cases.
Rajesh is meticulous in his preparation, practical in the advice he gives and bold in his advocacy. He is a well-regarded and experienced barrister who has practised immigration, human rights and public law for over twenty years.
He has been a director of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the Kurdish Human Rights Project, both of which are leading organisations in the field of immigration and international human rights law. He is now on the panel of the council of experts of the democratic progress institute.
Rajesh is formerly treasurer and joint deputy head of 1MCB Chambers. He has also been a director of an AIM-listed investment company where he took charge of the renewable energy portfolio. This has given him insight into business and organisational structures, which he uses when advising on business applications.
He has lectured extensively in the UK and internationally on a wide variety of legal issues, including immigration and asylum law and freedom of expression (Bar of Armenia), enforcement of European court judgments (human rights organisation in Turkey), minority linguistic rights (European Parliament), women’s and children’s rights in areas of conflict (cross-border conference to NGOs working in Kurdish regions). He has chaired these cross-border conferences on an annual basis from 2009 to 2012 in regions in south-east Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan. He has had several reports published as a trial and human rights observer.
Rajesh is also an accredited mediator and accepts instructions in civil and commercial mediation.
Neelim is an established practitioner in criminal and public law children cases. She has also acted for families in inquests and deaths in custody.
She is a long-standing campaigner for community based legal services and was a founder member of the first neighbourhood barristers’ chambers in the UK.
Neelim is actively involved in the work of the International Bar Association and is currently a vice-chair of its Human Rights Law Committee, and an officer of the IBA’s LGBT Committee and the IBA’s Poverty and Social Development Committee. She has previously been a member of the IBA’s Presidential Task Force on Trafficking.
Neelim is head of the family law team at 1MCB.
Ranjeet is a highly regarded barrister who specialises in crime, immigration, asylum and human rights work. She is well respected by her professional and lay clients for consistently delivering positive results through her comprehensive and methodical approach to her cases. She has a professional and approachable manner and is often instructed on cases involving young offenders, vulnerable clients and those with mental health problems.
Iain is a seasoned and compassionate barrister specialising in serious crime. He is a fighter who always goes the extra mile for his clients, whether before domestic or international jurisdictions. Iain represents defendants charged with the gravest of offences and has a particular expertise in international crimes, firearms, and immigration-related cases. He is developing a strong practice in extradition. Iain prides himself on his meticulous preparation and intelligent trial strategy. Clients regularly comment favourably on his down-to-earth, unpretentious approach.
Since 2009, Iain has divided his busy defence practice between domestic and international criminal work. For the last seven years, he has been one of a small handful of barristers ranked by Chambers and Partners as a leading junior in international criminal law, and by The Legal 500 as a Tier 1 leading junior in international crime and extradition.
Iain is currently assigned as defence counsel before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. His client is alleged to be a notorious commander of the Arab militia in Darfur, Sudan commonly known as the Janjaweed. He is charged with 31 counts of murder, rape, forcible transfer, persecution and torture as crimes against humanity, and numerous war crimes, all arising out of the conflict in West Darfur between August 2003 and April 2004.
Iain also represents a client who was granted early release from his sentence by the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in Arusha, Tanzania, in his efforts to be permanently resettled in a safe country. Until recently, he was assigned for the defence of a client on appeal in a multi-hander contempt case before the Mechanism.
Iain has a developing interest in all areas of national and international sanctions work, including before the UN’s Ombudsperson to the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, and under the UK’s new Magnitsky regime introduced through the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.
Iain is accredited by the Bar Standards Board to undertake public access work.
Parveen is an experienced barrister who believes in representing her clients fearlessly and compassionately. She aims to ensure that her client always feels well supported and effectively represented in court proceedings, always taking the time to make sure that the client understands proceedings.
She has had a thriving and broad ranging criminal practice through which she has amassed extensive trial and court experience and has developed a sound sense of strategy, pragmatism and tactics. Parveen has also practised in family law and is further developing her family practice. She also has experience of appearing at inquests.
She has provided advocacy training on the Bar Transfer Test and provides in house advocacy training to pupils in chambers. She has been appointed as an External Examiner by the Bar Standards Board. Parveen has provided witness training to counter fraud officers as part of their accreditation.
Prior to joining Chambers, she completed an internship at the Office of the State Public Defender in California, working on appeals for those on death row. In England, she represented many clients through the Free Representation Unit.
Michael has a mixed general criminal and civil practice.
His criminal practice covers all areas of crime including gang related serious violence, public order disturbances and drug related allegations; fraud, including benefit fraud; domestic violence and sexual offences including rape and serious sexual assault.
His civil advice draws upon his 15 years’ experience of working in the commercial sector, before retraining as a barrister in 2003. He has advised and represented clients in defamation suits, applications for injunctions and several breach of contract cases.
He also has a rapidly developing family practice including private children law, financial orders and confiscation proceedings.
He is a witness and case preparation trainer for the UK’s leading legal training company where he has run numerous courses for professionals involved in the legal system as witnesses and/or investigators.
Before qualifying as a barrister Michael spent over 20 years in advertising in London and New York where he was responsible for the negotiating, planning and buying of multi-million pound television advertising campaigns for major companies including Fiat, Twentieth Century Fox Films, Procter and Gamble and Nationwide Building Society.
He also undertakes public access work.
