About Us

Located in the heart of Sydney directly opposite the New South Wales Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia, 11 St James Hall specialises principally in commercial and public law. Our barristers provide clients with high quality, ethical legal advice and expert advocacy services.

The chambers currently has 23 barristers from diverse backgrounds with varying seniority, 7 of whom are senior counsel. The current head of chambers is Peter Newton SC.

It is a source of pride to the floor that a significant number of former members have been elevated to judicial office. These include the Honourable Justice Jayne Jagot, who was appointed to the High Court of Australia in 2022 and the Honourable Justice Robert Beech-Jones who was recently appointed to the High Court of Australia in August 2023. The Honourable Justice David Hammerschlag, is the current Chief Judge in Equity of the NSW Supreme Court.

Our barristers practise across Australia, appearing at all levels of courts, tribunals, commissions of inquiry (including Royal Commissions) and inquests, as well as a diverse range of domestic and international arbitration forums. While they are generally instructed by solicitors, some of our barristers accept direct briefs from in-house counsel and a range of Commonwealth, as well as State and Territory government departments.

The management of our chambers is overseen by our clerk, Michelle Newlinds, who can be contacted on 02 8226 2300 or by email on clerk11@stjames.net.au.

11 St James Hall has a strong commitment to the principle that all are equal before the law and that every person deserves high quality legal representation.

11 St James Hall acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we practise. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to other First Nations peoples.