CityGate Chambers Limited was one of the first BSB-regulated entities. It is owned and managed by Stephen Hines.
Initially qualifying as a solicitor in 2009, Stephen was called to the Bar in 2014. Before establishing CityGate, Stephen was a partner of a top 60 law firm, responsible for the litigation department. 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 fixed costs rules through to multi-million pound costs claims. Stephen acts for paying and receiving parties.
We attend every kind of costs-related hearing including costs management, detailed assessments, oral reviews, interim applications and appeals in all courts. We also prepare points of dispute/replies, and opinions.
Stephen's experience has seen him 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 gave 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 was a member of the Senior Courts Costs Office Practitioners Group. He is also a former member of both the MedCo Education and Training subcommittee and the Ministry of Justice Whiplash Reform Programme Guidance and Support Sub Group.
Barristers who do not undertake direct access (also known as 'public access') work, and even many of those who 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.