"A very good advocate and a very good negotiator." "He has an absolutely fantastic manner with clients and experts." "An insightful and forensic barrister."Chambers and Partners (2022) ‘Very down to earth with clients and makes them feel at ease. Very passionate about ensuring he helps to get the best possible settlement.’Legal 500 (2021)
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 Injuries, Regulatory Law and Insurer Recovery cases. He is instructed by both Claimants and Defendants.
Richard is regarded as one of the busiest and most well-respected P.I. Silks in Manchester and his effectiveness continues to attract praise. He took silk in 2008 and has continued to develop a strong practice. He has received praise in the major legal directories.
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, major orthopaedic injuries and sports injuries involving claims for the lost chance of sporting earnings - including several high profile players and clubs from a variety of sports.
As well as pure compensation claims, he deals with some of the ancillary work such as health and safety prosecutions and appeals, regulatory law, 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 liability and quantum decisions. He has appeared as Lead Counsel for the Claimant in most of the recent high value sports injury cases and has appeared for premiership and international players and appeared in what is currently the highest ever value sports injury claim and is currently instructed in several other similar cases for Claimants and Defendants. He has also appeared in cases involving professional Rugby League and Rugby Union players, golfers and other sportsmen.
Richard enjoys cases involving complex medical and engineering issues, detailed factual disputes and complex 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.
Richard 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
Richard 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.
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.
Richard tells us that he has little time for hobbies, but that when his four children allow it, he can sometimes be found snowboarding, (badly) or watching a local football team, (always with hope but seldom with joy ... until recently). However, his love of motorcycles dictates that he can more often be located restoring an old motorbike or riding a modern one locally or abroad.
Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards 2018 (Personal Injury - Barrister of the Year - UK)
Chambers and Partners - UK Bar 2024
Richard Hartley KC is a highly regarded personal injury silk. His practice focuses significantly on catastrophic injury cases, including sports injuries, as well as chronic pain conditions. He represents both claimants and defendants.
Strengths
"He's a great and very experienced practitioner."
"Richard clearly has the necessary knowledge for the case, and our client has expressed confidence in his ability as a advocate."
Chambers and Partners - UK Bar 2023
Richard Hartley KC is a highly regarded personal injury silk. His practice focuses significantly on catastrophic injury cases, including sports injuries, as well as chronic pain conditions. He represents both claimants and defendants."Richard has a pragmatic approach."
Chambers and Partners - UK Bar 2022
Richard Hartley QC is highly regarded personal injury silk. His practice focuses significantly on catastrophic injury cases, including sports injuries, as well as chronic pain conditions. He represents both claimants and defendants.
Strengths: "A very good advocate and a very good negotiator." "He has an absolutely fantastic manner with clients and experts." "An insightful and forensic barrister."
Chambers and Partners - UK Bar 2021
Highly regarded personal injury silk. His practice focuses significantly on catastrophic injury cases, including sports injuries, as well as chronic pain conditions. He represents both claimants and defendants.
Strengths: "He is very bright, extremely good with clients and always well prepared." "Richard is really pragmatic and very approachable."
Chambers and Partners - UK Bar 2020
Highly regarded personal injury silk. His practice focuses significantly on catastrophic injury cases, including sports injuries, as well as chronic pain conditions. He represents both claimants and defendants.
Strengths: "He's knowledgeable, extremely approachable and takes a very practical approach to his cases." "He's extremely professional, hard-working and dedicated. He has a real empathy with his clients and is very diligent with paperwork."
Chambers and Partners - UK Bar 2018
"Highly regarded personal injury silk who is also head of chambers. His practice focuses significantly on catastrophic injury cases, including sports injuries, as well as chronic pain conditions. He represents both claimants and defendants.
"His ability to cut through the most complex issues and advise clients in extremely difficult times, with charm and humour, is wonderful." "Considering his level of expertise and position in chambers, he is very approachable, easy to work with and has an exceptionally down-to-earth manner with clients. He is a pleasure to work with.""
Chambers and Partners - UK Bar 2017
"Highly regarded personal injury silk who is also head of chambers. His practice focuses significantly on catastrophic injury cases, including sports injuries, as well as chronic pain conditions. He represents both claimants and defendants and receives wide acclaim for his advocacy and ability to build rapport with clients."
Strengths include "His extensive knowledge of the law and of the tactics involved with litigating catastrophic injury claims mean he is someone I would always want on my side. He has the ability to make even the most complex legal issues seem straightforward." "He has excellent expertise and brilliant ideas. He is also very good at dealing with difficult family dynamics and complicated situations."
The Legal 500 - 2021
‘Very down to earth with clients and makes them feel at ease. Very passionate about ensuring he helps to get the best possible settlement.’
The Legal 500 - 2019
‘Very strong on his feet; his disarming style gets results.’
The Legal 500 - 2017
States: "A wonderful negotiator and clients naturally warm to him"
The Legal 500 - 2016
States: "A conscientious and hard working advocate"
Chambers and Partners - UK Bar - 2014
"Richard Hartley QC of Cobden House Chambers Heads the set's personal injury group, and acts for both claimants and defendants on complex cases. Expertise: "He's personable; extremely good with clients and experts, and has a very good presence in court." "He gives very straightforward advice and is good at getting to the crux of the issue with experts on complex cases."
The Legal 500 directory
States: - Cobden House Chambers' friendly and approachable Richard Hartley QC and Marc Willems regularly handle multimillion-pound litigation.
Richard Hartley is a member of the following bodies:-
The Personal Injuries Bar association;
The Northern Circuit Medical Law Association
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