The chambers of Roger Gray at 2 Mitre Court Buildings is to close at the end of the month, after merger talks with a number of other sets failed to result in the dramatic growth needed to keep the set afloat.
The decision was officially finalised at a meeting at the end of last month, although the split had been considered inevitable as long ago as April. All but one of the common law set’s 14 tenants have found alternative accommodation.
Six barristers – family specialists John Parker, Delyth Evans, Neelima Mehendale, and Philip McCormack, civil practitioner James Holmes-Milner, and junior tenant Justin Slater – are to join common law set 2 Gray’s Inn Square.
Five others, including head of chambers Roger Gray, are to move to common law set 5 Pump Court. Of 2 Mitre Court’s two crime specialists, Michael Goodwin has joined criminal and civil set 9-12 Bell Yard, and Barry Forward has moved to 10 King’s Bench Walk.
Tenant James Holmes-Milner said: “We took the view that dealing with issues like BarMark and graduated fees in family cases would dramatically change the way (we worked).”
He added: “We wanted to grow more quickly than we could organically. We looked for a suitable merger but didn’t find it, so we amicably decided to go our separate ways.”
The future of the two-man clerking team, headed by senior clerk John Malcolm, has not been finalised, although both are understood to have “irons in the fire”.
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