NEWS

Monckton Chambers Welcomes Two New Tenants

28 October 2008

Monckton Chambers is delighted to welcome two new tenants, Anneliese Blackwood and Laura Elizabeth John, following their successful completion of pupillage.

Prior to pupillage, Anneliese Blackwood was a Teaching Fellow at University College London teaching on the LLB Public Law II course (2006-2007) which covered the application of the Human Rights Act 1998 and judicial review. In October 2008 she was taken on as a junior tenant at Monckton Chambers, having completed a year's pupillage in Chambers with pupil supervisors Tim Ward, George Peretz, Peter Mantle and Kassie Smith, all recommended leading juniors by the main legal directories. During her pupillage, she was able to gain first hand experience across the full breadth of Chambers' practice. Commenting on her new tenancy,

Anneliese said, "I wanted to join Monckton Chambers not only because they are a leading set in their field with an excellent quality of work but also because they are a truly collegiate set. Everyone's door is genuinely "open"; individuality is welcomed yet there is a sense of unity and intellectual curiosity is encouraged. This attitude overflows into relationships with clients where there is a strong sense of teamwork between members of chambers and those instructing them. I hope to be able to develop my practice in a number of areas of EU law, building lasting relationships with clients, and to continue to learn from more experienced members of chambers."

Before coming to the Bar, Laura John was a Higher Executive Officer in the Animal Welfare Bill Team (now the Animal Welfare Act 2006) at DEFRA, following studies at Oxford University. She gained particular expertise in policy negotiation and drafting during the Bill's passage through Parliament, through cross-Whitehall negotiation of Government amendments and drafting with Parliamentary Counsel. She has undertaken ministerial speech-writing for all stages of the Parliamentary process, assisted in drafting secondary legislation, chaired policy working groups, and dealt with complex requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

Laura said, "Monckton Chambers provides a unique opportunity to develop my interest in the niche area of European environmental law, together with public and regulatory work more widely, and also to channel my public sector experience into working with a client base that falls both sides of the public/private divide."

Commenting on Monckton Chambers' latest tenants David Hockney, Senior Clerk, said, "I am delighted that Chambers has offered tenancies to our two pupils, Anneliese and Laura. After what has been two successful pupillages they both have bright futures ahead of them and we all look forward to developing their practices with them."

Monckton Chambers now has a total of 49 members.

Please click below for more information on:
Anneliese Blackwood
Laura Elizabeth John