Advocates launch on terra firma

New chambers aims to focus on property, planning and public law issues

News, 21 January 2008

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A new stable launched this month at the Faculty of Advocates, specialising in property, planning, commercial and administrative law matters.

Terra Firma Chambers is the latest devolved stable within Faculty Services Ltd, the body which provides advocates' clerking and other support services. To date it boasts 27 counsel, including eight QCs - one of them former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, who intends to keep his hand in now that he has been relieved of the pressures of leadership, as he did when he first went to the Commons.

The stable expects three more members to join on 1 March, including a further silk.

"Our aim is to be at the first port of call when practitioners are looking for specialist advice or representation in connection with property, planning and public law issues", said one of its member advocates. "We have had a very positive response to our startup earlier this month."

In another development, the Arnot and Manderson stables have merged under the name Arnot Manderson. From being the two smallest of the more generalist stables, they are now by some distance the largest, with a total of 74 members including 11 Queen's Counsel.

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