Julian Hawes, the former joint senior clerk of Brick Court Chambers, has been appointed as Cornerstone Barristers’ new senior clerk.
Hawes succeeds Elliot Langdorf, who has in turn joined Gatehouse Chambers as its practice director.
Hawes’s appointment marks a return to clerking: he was joint senior clerk at Brick Court Chambers for more than 20 years before a spell as director of business development at the privately-owned International Arbitration Centre (IAC), which he left six months ago.
His arrival at Cornerstone completes a reshuffle of its management following the departure of long-term chief executive Clare Bello for Littleton Chambers in January. She has been replaced by Nadia Biles Davies, who joined last month from leading public law firm Sharpe Pritchard, where she was chief operating officer.
Hawes brings a wealth of experience in clerking and business development, making him an invaluable addition to the set’s senior management team.
Cornerstone, the rebranded name for 2-3 Gray’s Inn Square, shares many practice areas with Brick Court, where Hawes developed the careers of future silks and judges during his tenure, especially in commercially led public law cases. He also had a strong relationship with the Government Legal Service.
After retiring from Brick Court alongside co-senior clerk Ian Moyler in 2019, he joined the IAC in 2021, where he gained a national and international platform to work with commercial law firms
Philip Coppel KC and Tom Cosgrove KC, joint heads of chambers said: “Julian’s appointment marks an exciting new chapter for Cornerstone Barristers. His extensive experience and strategic vision will be instrumental in driving chambers forward, enhancing our service offering and reinforcing our position as a leading set.”
Meanwhile, Langdorf will work alongside CEO Amanda Illing at Gatehouse Chambers, a leading commercial set which rebranded in 2021, abandoning its previous name Hardwicke Chambers, after discovering it was named after a historical legal figure who helped legitimise the Atlantic slave trade.
Illing said: “As an experienced senior clerk, Elliot will bring years of expertise in business development, client relationship management and career development. I am looking forward to working with him to nurture and develop the talented people around us, with whom we have the great privilege to work.”
Hawes’s and Langdorf’s appointments come as another longstanding clerk, Chris Gittins, takes up the role of director of clerking at Outer Temple Chambers.
The move marks a return to the set for Gittins, where he was a highly respected clerk from 2002 to 2010, with intervening periods at Fountain Court Chambers, Quadrant Chambers, and as senior clerk at family law set 1KBW, which he joined in 2017.
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