CityGate Chambers Limited is one of less than 150 BSB regulated entities. It is owned and managed by Stephen Hines.
Stephen was called to the Bar in 2014 having qualified as a solicitor in 2009. Shortly after qualifying as a solicitor, he was granted Higher Rights of Audience as a Solicitor Advocate (All Proceedings, All Courts) and is a former partner of a top 200 law firm. He has been praised by peers and clients alike for his clear, practical and thorough advice, and complimented by members of the judiciary on his written and oral advocacy.
Stephen's particular specialism is legal costs disputes, in particular high value and complex costs litigation - from the highly technical Portal rules through to multi-million pound costs claims. Stephen acts for paying and receiving parties.
Stephen attends every kind of costs-related hearing including costs management, detailed assessments, oral reviews, interim applications and appeals in all courts. He also prepares points of dispute/replies and opinions on difficult issues.
His experience has seen Stephen being involved in numerous high profile, high value and complex cases, such as Kilby v Gawith [2009] 1 WLR 853, Solomon v Cromwell Group Ltd [2012] 1 WLR 1048, Dockerill & Healey v Tullett [2012] 1 WLR 2092, Bush and Baseline Properties Ltd v King [2017], Jackson v Barfoot [2017], Bamrah v Gempride & Anr [2018] EWCA Civ [2018] EWCA Civ 1367, and Hislop v Perde and Kaur v Ramgarhia Board Leicestr [2018] EWCA Civ 1726.
Stephen is a former President of FOIL (the Forum of Insurance Lawyers) - the representative voice of the defendant insurance lawyer community - being President from 2017-2018. Stephen's involvement with FOIL has given him a leading and influential role in the legal insurance industry, helping to inform and shape government policy on a wide variety of issues, like fixed costs regimes, whiplash reform, pan-European insurance issues (like those arising out of the Vnuk case) and the discount rate.
Stephen is a member of the MedCo Education and Training subcommittee and a member of the Ministry of Justice Whiplash Reform Programme Guidance and Support Sub Group. He is also a member of the Senior Courts Costs Office Practitioners Group.
Barristers who do not undertake direct access (also known as 'public access') work, and even many of those that do, actually have little interaction with their individual clients. When undertaking work directly for members of the public, Stephen makes use of his experience as a solicitor when speaking with individual clients to understand their needs and take their instructions. This also enables him to better represent them in court should the need arise. This sets him apart from many other barristers undertaking direct access work and Stephen prides himself on being able to put clients at their ease.