header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
04 December 2015 / Caoilfhionn Gallagher , Geoffrey Robertson KC
Issue: 7679 / Categories: Features , Profession
printer mail-detail

​Doughty Street: the first 25 years

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
web_gallagher

Geoffrey Robertson QC & Caoilfhionn Gallagher reflect on the triumphs & challenges of human rights since 1990

Doughty Street Chambers celebrates its 25th birthday this year. It was founded in 1990 by 21 like-minded barristers who wanted to leave the Dickensian rabbit warren of the Temple and found a new Chambers dedicated to the shared ethos that—as Baroness Helena Kennedy QC has put it “law had to serve all of the people, lawyers had to be creative, courageous and progressive and that we should be striving for the highest standards in the protection of civil liberties and the Rule of Law” (“Doughty Street: the Next 25 Years” in Rights: Up Our Street—Celebrating 25 Years of Doughty Street Chambers (November 2015)).

The 21 founders included Baroness Kennedy, Peter Thornton (now the chief coroner) and Keir Starmer, former DPP and now MP for Camden. Three associate tenants supported the new chambers: Sir Louis-Blom Cooper, the great South African silk, Ismael Mohammed QC, and leader of the Mauritius Bar, Guy Ollivry QC.

Landmark cases

1990

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

HFW—Simon Petch

HFW—Simon Petch

Global shipping practice expands with experienced ship finance partner hire

Freeths—Richard Lockhart

Freeths—Richard Lockhart

Infrastructure specialist joins as partner in Glasgow office

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: No such thing as a ‘Welsh seat’
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
NLJ this week: Jury reform risks justice for efficiency’s sake
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
NLJ this week: Time to revive the duty to report crime?
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
NLJ this week: When are experts truly ‘necessary’?
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll