About Us

Citadel is a leading and progressive set conveniently situated in the heart of Birmingham, immediately opposite the Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts.

Citadel is a leading and progressive set conveniently situated in the heart of Birmingham, immediately opposite the Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts.

 

Our members and staff are committed to maintaining high professional standards, whilst adopting a flexible and forward-thinking approach to the demands of modern legal practice.

01

Our History

Citadel is a direct descendant of one of the oldest sets of Chambers in Birmingham, a set formerly at 77 Colmore Row. That set was mentioned in the Law List in 1909, the first listing of a  Chambers outside the London Inns of Court

02

Our work

We have acquired a strong reputation defending and prosecuting in criminal proceedings, and  in recent years has developed into a multidisciplinary set in  those areas where advocacy is the core of the service required.

03

Criminal

Our large criminal team headed by 6 KCs, covers the full range of criminal work, and is complemented by teams in other areas of practice – sports law, licensing, general common law (including contentious civil costs), employment, immigration and asylum, inquiries and inquests.

04

Regulatory

We have a wealth of experience in a wide range of regulatory work: trading standards, health and safety, environmental law, consumer law, VAT / revenue appeals, education law, and professional or occupational disciplinary matters.

05

Individual specialisms

Individual members have their own particular areas of expertise, including actions against the police and licensing law. The Hon Mr Justice Saunders, the editor of Paterson ( the bible of licensing law) was a former member of Chambers. 

06

Career progression

Chambers takes an active role in progressing our members careers . Two of our members have become KCs in the last 4 years and a significant number of members of Chambers hold part-time judicial appointments. Citadel’s  current clerks are proud to have developed 32 judges, including 3 recorders of Birmingham, 2 recorders of Stoke  and 3 High Court judges , in addition to many other former members sitting as Chairs of Tribunals , District judges and Coroners .

We look after our People

Equal Opportunities

Citadel’s members come from a range of backgrounds and everyone is treated with the same respect as part of our Chamber’s community. 

Podcast: The importance of diversity, not only at Citadel Chambers, but within the criminal justice system

In this podcast, we talk to Rachel Brand KC about the importance of diversity, not only at Citadel Chambers, but within the criminal justice system as a whole.

Maternity / Paternity Policy

We support all members  who  are fortunate enough to become parents.  We try to be flexible in our approach and to accommodate individual needs.

Childcare and Chambers

How do barristers with young children cope with the job and their family? With the support of their Chambers! In this podcast we look at how barristers at Citadel deal with childcare issues and the kind of support they receive day to day. 

Equal Opportunity Policy

 

Citadel’s members come from a range of backgrounds and everyone is treated with the same respect as part of our Chamber’s community. 

 

We operate an equal opportunity policy and act in accordance with the Bar Code of Conduct and the Equality Code for the Bar.

 

We seek to prevent direct or indirect discrimination towards our clients, staff, tenants and pupils, on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, nationality or citizenship, political persuasion, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or age.

Maternity / Paternity Policy

We support all members  who  are fortunate enough to become parents.   Whilst Citadel has written policies dealing with issues of maternity and paternity leave for members of Chambers and support staff, we also try to be flexible in our approach and to accommodate individual needs.

Uniquely (to our knowledge) we offer direct financial support to members returning from parental leave in order to cushion the cash flow impact of return to practice . 

Click here to listen to a podcast about our members with children and how we deal with childcare issues.

Downloads

Witness Familiarisation Support And Courses

These are a few examples of courses in which our members have been involved:

  • Witness familiarisation with trainee police officers and special constables from Northamptonshire Police, where the officers were questioned regarding their statements about ‘mock’ arrest exercises
  • Similar exercises with detectives from the West Midlands Police
  • Witness familiarisation with officers of the Northamptonshire Probation Service.  These officers were given training on the process of giving evidence in sentencing hearings in the Magistrates Court and Crown Court
  • Expert witness familiarisation and training, with expert witnesses such as independent Forensic Scientists, and officers of the Health and Safety Executive. The exercises involved questioning regarding expert reports prepared by the participants