Richard A Hartley QC is head of the Personal Injury Department at Cobden House Chambers.

He is a Civil Practitioner with a busy paper and Court practice.
He specialises in personal injury and clinical negligence work of the higher value and more complex kind as well as dealing with Sports Injury, Regulatory Law and Insurer Recovery cases. He is instructed by both Claimants and Defendants.

Mr Hartley was regarded as one of the busiest and most well-respected Juniors in Manchester and repeatedly received praise for his work in well known Bar Directories where he was recognised for his effectiveness. He took silk in 2008 and has continued to develop a strong practice.

The current edition of “the Legal 500” reflects his standing thus: -

“Richard Hartley QC took silk and continues to deal with cases of the utmost technical complexity”

 The majority of his work concerns major injuries sustained in road traffic accidents, accidents at work, occupiers liability claims, clinical negligence, product defects and fatal accidents. The injuries differ greatly, but recently he has worked increasingly on claims involving major brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, psychological injuries, stress at work claims, WRULDs, major orthopaedic injuries and sports injuries involving claims for the lost chance of sporting earnings - including several high profile players and clubs.

As well as pure compensation claims, he deals with some of the ancillary work such as health and safety prosecutions and appeals, regulatory law and coroner's inquests and Article 2 Inquiries. He is frequently instructed in cases involving very large claims, sometimes with a Junior and sometimes alone.

He is considered to be approachable as well as hard working.  Solicitors have frequently fed back to the clerking team that he has put clients at ease and combined a professional attitude with a friendly approach.

He has appeared in reported cases involving acceleration of injuries, jurisdictional disputes and quantum decisions. He appeared as Lead Counsel for the Claimant in what is currently the highest ever value sports injury claim and is currently instructed in several other similar cases.

Special Interests

Mr. Hartley enjoys cases involving complex medical and engineering issues, detailed factual disputes and legal arguments. He regularly gives talks on his experience in litigation and on topics as diverse as The Court of Protection, Brain injury claims, Motorcycle Cases, Sports Injuries and many other aspects of Personal Injury Litigation. He is a significant contributor to Chambers’ programme of seminars and Lectures to firms of Solicitors.

Memberships

Mr. Hartley is a member of the following bodies:- The Personal Injuries Bar association; The Northern Circuit Medical Law Association

Appointments

Mr. Hartley sits as a Recorder in Criminal Cases in the Crown Court and in Civil Cases in the County Court.

He is a member of the Northern Circuit Working Party on Joint Settlement Meetings.

Richard Hartley took silk in 2008

Instructions

Mr. Hartley is prepared to accept Conditional Fee work, subject to the Chambers Protocol and fees can be arranged on an hourly basis if needed and should be discussed with the civil clerks.

Informal Approach

An important part of our ethos as a set of chambers is that our barristers can be telephoned on an informal basis to mull over a problem or to chat about an issue without always the need for formal instructions. An ongoing relationship between Solicitor and Counsel is highly valued by this set and all its members.

Hobbies

Mr Hartley tells us that he has little time for hobbies, but that when his four children allow it, he can sometimes be found snowboarding, (badly), watching a local football team, (always with hope but seldom with joy) or trying, (largely unsuccessfully) to restore an old car.