12 King’s Bench Walk Sports Law Seminar

Harry Steinberg KC

Harry Steinberg is a “widely acclaimed practitioner”, “brilliantly knowledgeable”, with a “standout practice”. His practice spans serious injury, sports law and environmental damage. His work often involves an international dimension and he specialises in large-scale group actions for claimants and defendants. He is renowned for innovative thinking, challenging legal orthodoxy, and winning difficult cases. Accordingly, he is regularly instructed in test litigation. The directories recognise him as a leading silk in personal injury, industrial disease, product liability, group litigation and international litigation.

Patrick Kerr

Patrick is consistently ranked as a Leading Junior, Tier 1, in the Legal 500 and a Leading Junior, Band 1, in Chambers & Partners. The current editions describe him as “warm and approachable, and his attention to detail is first class. His advocacy is eloquent, innovative and charismatic” and “an outstanding barrister who is undoubtedly destined for the top”. Recent editions say he is“a superb advocate who is highly intelligent” and “definitely the counsel you want on your side”.

Patrick has particular expertise in mesothelioma claims, clinical negligence and sporting injuries. Most of his claims involve catastrophic injuries.  He also has extensive experience in defending fraudulent claims.

He provides expert evidence on the law of England and Wales in other jurisdictions and has been called to the Northern Irish Bar.

Away from work, he has co-founded and helps run Le Cure, a charity which funds cancer research fellowships at the Royal Marsden Hospital. He also co-founded and helps run a law scholarship to increase diversity and equality at the Bar of Northern Ireland. He was awarded an MBE for his charity work in the New Year’s Honours List 2026.

Emily Read

Emily focuses on civil litigation involving damage to people and to property as well as proprietary interests, insurance disputes, recovery and costs.

Emily’s extensive caseload spans from lower value multitrack claims that raise complex legal issues such as Article 2 inquests and short life expectancy cases, to the highest value catastrophic damage/ injury claims. Recent successes include a settlement of over £20 million in a catastrophic brain injury claim and successfully defeating a multimillion-pound personal injury claim on the basis of FD. Emily is also a costs specialist and is happy to lead on costs disputes and assessments.

Emily has significant experience in equine cases, in particular involving jockeys- and in other sports related claims, recent cases have involved classic race cars, water sports, climbing accidents, coasteering, professional mountain biking and football.

Having worked in the insurance industry for a number of years and always maintained a strong insurance practice, Emily is very well placed to advise on insurance disputes. This has bolstered her property damage practice. Emily is largely instructed from an early stage, in particular in water and fire related damage, usually in commercial or industrial settings and land contamination following fire and where commercial and underwriting interests as well as brokerage issues may arise.

Emily has also represented the emergency services in the High Court, County Court and Coroners Court and in well versed in the particular issues that arise within this sector.

Emily’s practice covers Claimant and Defendant work in almost equal measures, and she has a keen eye for both the personal and commercial needs of different clients, making her strong and UpToDate knowledge of costs and the CPR a significant strategic benefit.

Emly remains acutely aware of costs and commercial interests when advising clients, as well as reputational issues when acting for all clients, including high profile clients, and the need for confidentiality.

Thomas Banks

Tom is ranked as a Personal Injury Leading Junior in Legal 500. He specialises in catastrophic, complex and high value Personal Injury claims, Insurance Law, Inquests, Military claims, Fraud and Costs.

His specialist personal injury practice focuses on Brain and Spinal Injuries, Fatal Accidents, Motor Insurance and Indemnity Law,  International and Travel Law, Public and Employers Liability and Industrial Disease

As former Tank Commander and Intelligence Officer in the British Army, he is also recognised as an established specialist Counsel in Armed Forces Claims.

Tom has also been instructed in High Court Defamation proceedings.

Aliyah Akram

Aliyah Akram is acknowledged as a leading junior in personal injury and industrial disease litigation. She is renowned for her expertise and experience in group litigation in all of the core areas in which she practices. Many of her cases have an international aspect and give rise to both jurisdictional issues and conflicts of laws.

Aliyah is a robust and persuasive trial advocate. She prides herself on working closely as a team with instructing solicitors, not just in group litigation, but in every case in which she is involved. Her focus is always on maximising the client’s prospects of success. She is able to cut through the background noise and gets straight to the issues.

She is a contributing author of Asbestos: Law & Litigation (Sweet & Maxwell, 2^nd edition, 2022).

She is ranked by the legal directories as a leading junior in Personal Injury, Industrial Disease and Travel: International Personal Injury.

Ted Cunningham

Ted accepts instructions across all of 12KBW’s core areas. He specialises in personal injury, fundamental dishonesty, fatal accidents, sports law, costs and inquests.

Ted is an extremely experienced advocate and continues to appear in Court multiple times a week. In addition to frequently representing clients in Court, Ted’s paperwork practice includes advising and pleading in high value claims for both Claimants and Defendants in both the County and High Court.

Away from Chambers, Ted has had several articles published in national newspapers, presented his own radio shows and volunteered both abroad and in the UK with human rights and legal charities.

Spencer Turner

Spencer specialises in sports disputes, personal injury, clinical negligence, international and travel law, industrial disease, information law, and group litigation. He is regularly instructed in complex and high-profile matters for claimants and defendants, both as led and as sole counsel across all of his core practice areas and before a range of different courts and tribunals. He is a sought-after junior barrister who is often praised for his diligence, excellent client care, strong advocacy and ability to work well in teams.

The legal directories recognise Spencer’s expertise across a broad range of practice areas where he is ranked as a ‘rising star’ or ‘up and coming’ in personal injury, industrial disease, insurance fraud, international personal injury, clinical negligence and sports law. They variously describe him as “great” with “impressive advocacy”, “already having developed a practice that exceeds his seniority”, “absolutely superb”, and “thorough, professional and well-liked by clients”.

Spencer’s sports disputes practice sees him regularly instructed on behalf of sports governing bodies, players/athletes, clubs, coaches and agents across the full range of sports matters. His personal injury, clinical negligence, industrial disease and travel work involves cases of the utmost severity, and he has experience of large-scale litigation, being led, and acting as sole counsel.

Megan Griffiths

Megan has a mixed claimant and defendant personal injury practice with particular experience in claims for complex psychiatric injuries. She is a regular and effective court advocate. With a combination of due sensitivity, attention to detail and commercial awareness, Megan works collaboratively with her instructing solicitors to achieve results for their lay and insurer clients. 

Megan’s personal injury practice includes claims arising from road traffic accidents, public liability and employers’ liability. Her employers’ liability practice includes claims arising from manual labour, educational settings, healthcare, sports, the military and religious institutions.

On the claimant side Megan is particularly experienced in claims for psychiatric injury arising from sexual abuse engaging complex issues of limitation, liability and causation. She recently secured an assessment of damages on the Masters’ Corridor in excess of £300,000 to beat a Part 36 offer.

On the defendant side she is particularly skilled at forensically analysing disclosure in catastrophic and non-catastrophic injury claims to inform the best approach to litigation. She is regularly instructed to advise upon and pursue findings of fundamental dishonesty and her effective cross-examination has seen claims discontinued before judgment.

On both sides Megan frequently advises on tactics and settlement parameters and conducts conferences with expert and lay witnesses. She is frequently instructed to prepare without prejudice schedules and advise on paper offers. She has conducted JSMs with co-counsel and as sole counsel in six figure claims.

Megan is regularly in court before Masters, Circuit Judges and the district bench. She is experienced in witness handling across liability, causation, quantum and fraud and has been commended by her tribunals for her skilful cross-examination. She is procedurally aware and regularly makes and opposes interlocutory and costs applications.

Megan’s mixed practice and regular appearances in court inform her approach to both her claimant and defendant work. She is praised by her instructing solicitors for her communicative and thorough approach.

Megan is instructed as junior as well as sole counsel. She has previously been instructed by the defendant as junior counsel in a multi-million TBI and amputation claim and by the claimant as junior counsel in group litigation arising from sexual abuse abroad. She is currently instructed in the rugby litigation and another high-profile group action.

Before joining chambers Megan worked as a paralegal in a London law firm’s clinical negligence department. She therefore appreciates the importance of working closely with solicitors to achieve the best results for commercial and lay clients.

Megan regularly contributes to chambers’ various blogs and has been published by AvMA, Law in Sport and LexisPSL. She speaks at chambers’ various events and at in house events for solicitor and insurer clients.

Private: Jessica Franklin

Jessica specialises in personal injury, disease and employment.

Jessica writes robust pleadings, offers realistic advice on liability and settlement and is a confident advocate. In employment, she is particularly experienced in whistleblowing, discrimination and unfair dismissal claims. In personal injury, she is experienced in a range of areas including complex vicarious liability, disease and military disputes.

Jessica is interested in appellate work and was recently junior counsel in the Court of Appeal and in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Jessica is a scholar of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. She achieved a Distinction in the GDL and the BVS. She was awarded academic scholarships by the City Law School and the Inner Temple to undertake her legal studies.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Jessica had a career in advertising and marketing. She worked in Beijing for a year and has a great interest in Chinese culture, language and food.

Eleanor Duckenfield

Eleanor joined chambers in October 2022 following successful completion of her pupillage. She advocates in court numerous times a week in trials, interim hearings, CCMCs and applications. In addition, Eleanor is frequently instructed on paperwork matters.

Eleanor accepts instructions in all areas of personal injury, credit hire, clinical negligence, industrial disease, costs and fraud. She is also keen to accept instructions in inquests. In addition, Eleanor is an experienced courtroom advocate in Disposal hearings, Stage 3 hearings and Infant Approvals.

Eleanor is clerked by Lily Baker (baker@12kbw.co.uk).

Under her supervisors, Rachit Buch, Charles Robertshaw and Isaac Hogarth, she obtained experience in personal injury, clinical negligence, inquests, and industrial disease, with a particular focus on mesothelioma and noise-induced hearing loss claims.

Eleanor studied Anthropology at Durham University (with a particular interest in Forensic Anthropology). Following her degree, Eleanor achieved a Distinction in both the GDL and LLM in Bar Practice. Eleanor won a prize for receiving the highest mark in Ethics in her BPTC cohort and 91% in her Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence module.

Following several successes in mooting competitions, Eleanor volunteered at the University of Law’s Legal Advice Centre where she represented litigants in person in hearings and offered assistance throughout the litigation process.

Prior to pupillage, Eleanor gained experience working abroad in Austria and Spain, before returning to the UK to work in the pharmaceutical industry throughout Covid, whilst simultaneously completing both her delayed Bar exams and a Medical Counter Assistance course.