I’m a practising barrister and King's Counsel — KC — which is a mark of seniority at the Bar. KC’s are known as leading counsel, and are engaged in the largest and most complex cases.

My practice is in planning and environmental law, compulsory purchase and compensation. I'm a co-author of leading textbooks in each of my core practice areas, and a former Visiting Professor of Law at King’s College London. As a junior I was awarded Junior of the Year twice (Chambers and Partners) and have been nominated silk of the year several times (Legal 500).

Each case involves leading a multidisciplinary team — consultants in planning, landscape, heritage, ecology, highway, engineering, valuation, for example. My role is not just to advise on the law, but to bring the strands of expertise together into a coherent story, and support each team member to perform at their best in service of the client.

What I've learned through my coaching work — and through my own professional challenges — is that being good at law is only a fraction of what the job actually requires.

Yet the profession continues to train lawyers exhaustively in the externalities - what good drafting looks like, how to hold yourself in court, how to frame an argument - while ignoring the essential personal skills needed to perform with excellence and lead teams to success. I've spent years learning and practising these wider skills, bringing insights from outside the profession, and passing it on to the people who work with me.

If you want me for my legal work, you can click here for my Chambers website page (Francis Taylor Building, Inner Temple, London).