Christopher Poole

Christopher Poole


Joint Head of ChambersCall 1996

Christopher (‘Chris’) completed his pupillage at New Court and has been a member of Chambers since.  In 2015, Chris became joint Head of Chambers alongside Giles Bain.

Chris receives instructions mainly in public law work, often, but not exclusively, from Local Authorities and Guardians.

Chris’s work includes Children Act proceedings, adoption, wardship and inherent jurisdiction matters.  Chris has a particular interest in cases involving findings of serious physical and/or other abuse.

Chris is an advocacy trainer at his Inn, pupil supervisor and delivers seminars to solicitors and social workers.

Chris has undertaken a number of independent case reviews for Local Authorities.

Outside court, Chris enjoys a day at Lords or at Anfield and remains an optimistic Liverpool FC fan.

LL.B (Hons) English & European Law

Queen Mary, University of London

Sir Thomas More Bursary, Lincoln’s Inn

FLBA

Some German and Flemish

Radicalisation

Y (Children) (Radicalisation: Interim Removal)[2016] EWHC 3827 (Fam)

Y (Children) (Findings of Fact as to Radicalisation) (Pt.1) [2016] EWHC 3826 (Fam)

Y (Children) (Findings of Fact as to Radicalisation) (Pt.2)[2016] EWHC 3825 (Fam)

 

Honour-based violence

Re S (Findings of Fact; Honour Based Violence)[2013] EWHC 15 (Fam), [2013] All ER (D) 187 (Jan)

 

Complex care proceedings

A County Council -v- A mother and others[2011] EWHC 402 (Fam), [2011] All ER (D) 33 (Jun)

Re H (A Child) [2014] EWHC 970 (Fam), [2014] All ER (D) 252 (Nov)

Westminster City Council -v- M and others[2017] EWHC 518 (Fam), [2017] All ER (D) 176 (Mar)

 

Publicity and care proceedings

Westminster City Council -v- M, F, and H and Associated Newspapers Ltd[2017] EWHC 1221 (Fam)

 

Appeals

M (Children – Care Proceedings: Passport Order)[2017] EWCA Civ 69, [2017] 4 WLR 41

 

Costs (arising from care proceedings)

Kent County Council -v- A Mother, F and X, Y and Z (Intervener) (Costs in Care Proceedings) [2011] EWHC 1267 (Fam), [2011] All ER (D) 95 (Jun)

 

International jurisdiction / Article 15 / Brussels II Revised / Diplomatic Immunity

X London Borough -v- C and others [2014] EWHC 2472 (Fam), [2014] All ER (D) 42 (Nov)

Re B (Care Proceedings; Diplomatic Immunity) [2003] 1 FLR 241

“He provides truly the best representation for his clients.”

“I consult him on all of our most complex matters because of his knowledge, expertise, client care, advocacy skills and overall heft as a barrister.”

“Chris is an excellent barrister.”

“He is a calming and erudite presence in court.”

“A highly experienced junior working at a KC level.”

Chambers & Partners 2025

“His written work is excellent and his experience shines through in the way he presents cases to the court. Judges feel they can trust what he’s saying and that the case is being presented fairly and accurately. He’s always a calm but  robust advocate when appearing on behalf of his client.”

“He’s a good advocate who pays good attention to detail.”

“An extremely able barrister who is also very approachable.”

Chambers & Partners 2024

“His flair and deliverance when presenting a case in court is unrivalled.”

Legal 500 2024

“He’s easy to work with, confident, caring and thorough.”

“Christopher Poole always delivers a fantastic service and is a pleasure to deal with.”

Chambers & Partners 2023

Handles the whole spectrum of children-related issues, from non-accidental injury to abuse, medical treatment and forced marriage cases. Christopher is joint head of chambers and is commended for his work on behalf of local authorities in serious matters. In addition, he has handled matters concerning sensitive cultural and religious differences.

“An experienced advocate who is able to think on his feet and who works in partnership with his clients. He pays great attention to detail.”

“His preparation is great and his cross-examination is precise and to the point.”

“Christopher makes complex issues straightforward and is readily available to discuss matters where necessary.”

Chambers & Partners 2022

‘Christopher’s strengths are excellent client care, thorough preparation and first-rate judgement. His case load is made up of back-to-back complex public law children cases.’

Legal 500 2022

Handles the whole spectrum of children-related issues, from fabricated illness to abuse and neglect cases. He acts as co-head of chambers and is commended for his work on behalf of local authorities in serious matters. In addition, Poole has handled matters concerning sensitive cultural and religious differences.

“A strong advocate who is calm and persuasive when dealing with highly charged situations.”

“A very able family practitioner who can turn his hand to anything.”

Chambers & Partners 2021

“Is a match for silks in other chambers.”

Legal 500  2021

“An expert in everything that he does and an absolute pleasure to work with, he is extremely knowledgeable and highly personable. He deals with the most complex cases and he consistently delivers.”

“A confident and relaxed advocate who is instructed in some of the biggest, heaviest cases in London involving serious sexual abuse and significant injuries to children, he is liked and respected by the judiciary.”

Chambers & Partners 2020

“Christopher Poole handles the whole spectrum of children-related issues, from international adoption to abuse and neglect cases. He acts as co-head of chambers and is commended for his work on behalf of guardians and local authorities in serious matters. In addition, Poole has handled numerous independent case reviews into the local authority handling of care cases.”

“Chris is very good on his feet, and an excellent cross-examiner.”

Chambers & Partners 2019

 

PRIVACY POLICY FOR CHRISTOPHER POOLE

 

Data Controller

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a Data Controller for the personal data that I hold and process as a barrister. My registered address is New Court Chambers, Temple, London EC4Y 9BE and my registration number is Z4644035.

 

Data Collection

All of the information that I hold about you is provided to or gathered by us in the course of your case and/or proceedings. Your solicitor and I will tell you why we need the information and how we will use it.

 

Lawful Basis for processing your information

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires all organisations / individuals that process personal data to have a Lawful Basis for doing so. The Lawful Bases identified in the GDPR are:

·      Consent of the data subject
·      Performance of a contract with the data subject or to take steps to enter into a contract
·      Compliance with a legal obligation
·      To protect the vital interests of a data subject or another person
·      Performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
·      The legitimate interests of ourselves, or a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests, rights or freedoms of the data subject.

 

Examples of legitimate interests include:

  • Where the data subject is a client or in the service of the controller;
  • Transmission within a group of undertakings for internal administrative purposes;
  • Processing necessary to ensure network and information security, including preventing unauthorised access;
  • Processing for direct marketing purposes, or to prevent fraud; and
  • Reporting possible criminal acts or threats to public security.

 

My Lawful Basis is:

·      Your consent
·      To protect the vital interests of a data subject or another person
·      Compliance with a legal obligation

 

My Legitimate Interest is:

·      You are a client
·      The processing is necessary for administering justice
·      The processing is necessary in relation to legal proceedings, for obtaining legal advice, or otherwise for establishing, exercising or defending legal rights

I use your information to:

  • Provide legal advice and representation
  • Communicate with you about services, updates and events

 

I do not use automated decision-making in the processing of your personal data.

 

I collect and process both personal data and special categories of personal data as defined in the GDPR. This includes:

 

Client data

  • Name;
  • Email;
  • Phone number;
  • Address;
  • Date of birth;
  • Location details;
  • Medical history and current medical health;
  • Criminal convictions;
  • Social work involvement;
  • Ethnic origin;
  • Religious background.

 

I may share your personal data with:

  • Instructing solicitors;
  • Pupil or mini pupil, under my training;
  • Opposing Counsel, for the purposes of resolving the case;
  • My Chambers management and staff who provide administrative services;
  • My regulator or legal advisors in the event of a dispute or other legal matter;
  • Law enforcement officials, government authorities, or other third parties to meet our legal obligations;
  • Any other party where I ask you and your consent to the sharing.

 

Transfers to third countries and international organisations

I store my case files on Dropbox which is a cloud hosted environment based in the US.

Dropbox relies upon a variety of legal mechanisms for its international transfer of personal data from the EU to the United States. Dropbox is certified under the EU-US and Swiss US Privacy Shield Programs regarding the collection, use and retention of personal data and its transfer from the EU and Switzerland to the United States.

In addition to the Privacy Shield, Dropbox also provides strong contractual guarantees around the privacy of its services and relies on the EU Model Contract Clauses to cover its international transfers of data.

I am satisfied that such transferred data is fully protected and safeguarded as required by the General Data Protection Regulation.

 

Retention of data

I retain your personal data while you remain a client unless you ask me to delete it.

 

My Retention and Disposal Policy (copy available on request) details how long I hold data for and how I dispose of it when it no longer needs to be held. I will delete or anonymise your information at your request unless:

  • There is an unresolved issue, such as claim or dispute;
  • I am legally required to; or
  • There are overriding legitimate business interests, including but not limited to fraud prevention and protecting customers’ safety and security.

 

Your Rights

The General Data Protection Regulation gives you specific rights around your personal data. For example, you have to be informed about the information I hold and what I use it for, you can ask for a copy of the personal information I hold about you, you can ask us to correct any inaccuracies with the personal data I hold, you can ask us to stop sending you direct mail, or emails, or in some circumstances ask us to stop processing your details. Finally, if I do something irregular or improper with your personal data you can seek compensation for any distress you are caused or loss you have incurred. You can find out more information from the ICO’s website http://ico.org.uk/for_the_public/personal_information and this is the organisation that you can complain to if you are unhappy with how I dealt with you.

 

Data Protection Policy available on request.