0
Landmark is delighted to congratulate Julia Smyth, Sasha Blackmore, Simon Allison, and Zack Simons who will be appointed as King’s Counsel in the Spring.
Extra celebrations are in order this year as this is a record number of Silks appointed in one round for Landmark.
Julia Smyth (1996 Call) practices in public law and is an EU and ECHR specialist. She won the award for ‘Human Rights and Public Law Junior of the Year’ at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2022 and the award for ‘Immigration Junior of the Year' at the Legal 500 Awards 2024.
Julia returned to self-employed practice in 2012, following a successful career as a senior government lawyer. Julia has particular expertise in EU and Withdrawal Agreement law, human rights and civil liberties, social security, health, immigration and free movement law, as well as experience in a broad range of other areas.
Sasha Blackmore (2005 Call) specialises in public, environmental, and planning law. She has a particular expertise in rights-based cases at the cross-section between the environment and public law and has deep experience in a wide range of public law issues including net zero pathways, energy infrastructure, marine law and fisheries, water law, education, gender rights, immigration and health. She appears in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court as well as at public inquiries and hearings and international matters. Reflecting her long standing interests and global outlook, she also has a Masters degree in sustainable development, spent time on a Pegasus scholarship in Australia and New Zealand examining their system of environmental and planning courts, studied in the United States on a Kennedy Memorial Fellowship, and has also been a Trustee and Director of Forum for the Future and has been a Trustee and Director of the United Kingdom Environmental Law Association as a member of the Governing Council.
Simon Allison (2005 Call) is a specialist property practitioner. Whilst he undertakes a wide range of property work, he is particularly recognised as a specialist in leasehold management, including building safety and service charges. He has appeared in a number of the leading cases in this area including twice in the Supreme Court in recent years. Simon won both Property and Housing Junior Barrister of the Year in the Legal 500 Awards 2024 and the Real Estate Junior Barrister of the Year in the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2024. He was also shortlisted for Barrister of the Year at the Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards 2022.
Zack Simons (2009 Call) was the top-rated junior planning barrister in the country (Planning Magazine Legal Surveys 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024). He was nominated for the Environment and Planning Junior Barrister of the Year in the Chambers and Partners Bar Awards 2024, as well as for the Planning and Land Use Junior Barrister of the Year in the Legal 500 Bar Awards in both 2022 and 2024. He is a Tier 1 ranked “leading junior” in planning law in both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.
Congratulations to Julia, Sasha, Simon and Zack!
