Clerks
The members of Chambers’ clerking team have over 100 years of clerking experience between them both in London and the South West. They aim to provide the highest standards of service to all our clients and to assist in selecting an appropriate barrister.
Public access clients should contact our clerks in the first instance who will be able to guide them through the process.
Senior clerk James Basden and civil clerk Harry Turner provide, ‘a very effective personable service and are also very commercial in terms of fees’; solicitors would ‘thoroughly recommend them’.
James Basden
Senior Clerk
James started clerking in London in 2000 working at chambers in the Temple and in Gray’s Inn becoming 1st junior at 2 Temple Gardens. He moved to Devon in 2008 working in chambers in Plymouth before becoming the dedicated civil clerk at Southernhay Chambers in 2011 and our Senior Clerk in 2014.
Email: james@magdalenchambers.co.uk
Lisa Lyons
Marketing and Administration Clerk
Lisa began her clerking career at Castle Chambers in Exeter in the early 1990s. After a period working at St John’s Chambers in Bristol, she moved to Rougemont Chambers in 2004 becoming joint senior clerk in 2009.
After the merger in 2013 Lisa became Marketing and Administration Clerk to chambers.
Email: lisa@magdalenchambers.co.uk
Harry Turner
Senior Civil Clerk
Harry began clerking at Rougemont Chambers in 2006. Over the last 12 years he has grown in experience to become an invaluable member of the clerking team whilst working up the ranks to become our Senior Civil Clerk.
Email: harry@magdalenchambers.co.uk
Grainne McGovern
Senior Family Clerk
Since Gráinne joined us in 2015, she has gained vast experience in all aspects of family clerking including billing, fee negotiation, direct access and practice management. She deals with the day to day running of the family team and has been recognised in Chambers and Partners as, “an excellent clerk providing information regarding fees and availability of counsel in a quick and efficient manner.”
Email: gm@magdalenchambers.co.uk
Kadie Blackburn
Junior Civil Clerk
Kadie joined Southernhay Chambers in Oct 2012 and has since developed into an important member of the team. In her role as Junior Civil Clerk, she assists the clerking team with the smooth running of the civil team.
Email: kadie@magdalenchambers.co.uk
Nick Headley
Junior Clerk
Nick joined the clerking team in June 2018 after finishing his A-Levels and relocating from Surrey to Devon in 2017. In his role as a valued Junior Clerk he assists the clerking team with the smooth running of chambers.
Evie Duffy
Junior Family Clerk
Evie joined our team in 2020 as Junior Family Clerk and has since developed her clerking skills whilst assisting Gráinne in the running of the family team, including fee negotiation and direct access clerking. She is a valued member of the clerking team with an enthusiasm for efficiency and detail.
Emails: Eduffy@magdalenchambers.co.uk
Lindsey Nash
Senior Fees Clerk
Lindsey originally joined the clerking team at Southernhay Chambers in 2009. Since our merger in 2013 she has headed up our fees team using her wealth of experience, particularly in Family Legal Aid matters and is the first port of call for billing queries.
Jan Wood
Fees Collection clerk
Jan, having moved from the Court Service to Clerk of Castle Chambers, under the headship of Christina Gorna has a wealth of experience. Jan is our front of house receptionist and fees clerk.
Email: JWood@magdalenchambers.co.uk