2-4 Tudor Street expansion sees set rebrand as Carmelite

The Chambers of Richard Ferguson QC, 2-4 Tudor Street, is set to relaunch as Carmelite Chambers in July as it boosts its numbers with a new member.

Today (4 June) the mainly criminal set is also boosting its numbers, with Matthew Buckland from One Paper Buildings joining the chambers.

The addition of Buckland will see the set's criminal practice grow.

The rebrand comes as the set moves from its Tudor Street home to 9 Carmelite Street, a historical Blackfriars road dating back to the time of the Whitefriars Monastery, which was formed in 1241.

The new building, which will house the set's 64 members, is double the size of the Tudor Street premises, allowing for the set to expand its barrister numbers.

Carmelite's expansion will focus on private practice as the shake-up of legal aid recommended in the Carter Report is likely to affect the set's criminal practice.

Marc King, senior clerk at Carmelite, said: "We see that the impact of the changes in legal aid could affect our barristers, especially the juniors, which is why we're looking at increasing our work in areas such as regulatory."

The Carter reforms will see publicly funded criminal work severely reduced.

As a result, barristers' chambers across the UK are deserting criminal work in the rush for more lucrative commercial and civil cases.