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Common law sets 1 Chancery Lane and 9 Gough Chambers agree to Autumn 2022 merger

The members of 1 Chancery Lane and 9 Gough Chambers have agreed to merge to form one of the largest common law sets in the country.

The new set, to be known as 5 Norwich Street, will consist of more than 120 barristers, including 14 Silks. Jacob Levy QC and Simon Readhead QC will be Joint Heads of Chambers.

Once the merger is completed in the Autumn, all members and staff from 1 Chancery Lane will join those from 9 Gough Chambers in their existing premises at 5 Norwich Street.

Clients of the set have included public bodies such as the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office, government departments, insurers, police forces and local authorities as well as national and local firms of solicitors, companies and individuals.

Simon Readhead QC, current Head of Chambers at 1 Chancery Lane, said: “This merger is built on shared ambitions and values. By bringing together our specialist expertise and experience, we aim to enhance the quality of the service that we offer to our existing clients and to expand and develop the large range of practice areas in which barristers in both Chambers are already widely recognised as pre-eminent in their fields. Our objective is to strengthen still further our position as a leading Chambers in all these practice areas.

“Going forwards, administrative efficiencies will mean that we can be more responsive to the needs of our clients in the areas that are important to them and react, quickly and appropriately, to the challenges of a fast changing market for legal services.

“We remain committed to reinforcing and developing our many exceptional and longstanding client relationships. We are excited about the opportunities which this merger provides us to offer an increased and more focused level of support and assistance to all our clients in the future.”

Jacob Levy QC, current Head of Chambers at 9 Gough Chambers, said: “A merger between our two chambers – 9GC and 1CL – is both exciting and innovative. We’ve long been admirers of each other and the prospect of increasing our overall bench strength is hugely appealing to both of us.

“We consider that the already excellent service we offer our clients; the range, depth of knowledge and skilled counsel available – would only see an enhancement by a merger of our two sets.

“This is an exciting time for 9GC and 1CL, and we want to assure all our clients that this is not just business as usual, but business with even greater choice, more variety, more skill and the offer of an even larger pool of first-class advocates delivering first class and specialist advice in all our core areas of work. And more.”

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